A foundation that specializes in fighting for civil and religious rights across America has come out with a warning that police now have been given the go-ahead to use force against suspects who already have surrendered.
“The old police motto to ‘protect and serve’ has become ‘comply or die,’” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of “Battlefield America: The War on the American People.”
“This is how we have gone from a nation of laws—where the least among us had just as much right to be treated with dignity and respect as the next person (in principle, at least)—to a nation of law enforcers (revenue collectors with weapons) who treat ‘we the people’ like suspects and criminals.”
The situation is a result of a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to accept a case that could have been used to hold police accountable for using force on unarmed individuals who already have surrendered or complied with police orders.
“Despite a series of high-profile incidents involving the use of unnecessary and excessive force by police against unarmed individuals, the court declined to narrow the scope of qualified immunity granted to officers who assault non-violent suspects who have ceased to resist arrest,” the institute reported.