Can the Police Be Reformed?
The killing of Sean Bell cries out for justice and a mass struggle against cop brutality. But the same old plans for police reform being pushed from various quarters are frauds. Much of the Black political leadership in Queens accepts Bloomberg’s expressions of sympathy and his wrist-slap criticisms of the cops. They have pledged to wait for the results of an investigation by the Queens District Attorney, hoping to keep protests quiet. They could be waiting a long time, since as of December 4 the D.A. hadn’t yet interrogated the five cops! More militant talk has come from City Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn, who calls for the resignation of Police Commissioner Kelly and a federal investigation. The group “100 Blacks in Law Enforcement” is calling for a special prosecutor, pointing to the tight relations between D.A.’s and the cops. They are part of the same corrupt “justice” system and should know. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who in the past has led mass protest marches against police
