#title Police Your Local Support
#author Fifth Estate Collective
#SORTauthors Fifth Estate Collective;
#date 1969
#source [[https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/71-january-23-february-5-1969/police-your-local-support]]
#lang en
#pubdate 2021-07-31
#notes Fifth Estate #71, January 23-February 5, 1969

Police are always complaining about what dangerous jobs they have.

Some of this is justified; some of it is of their own making. When you are part of an occupying army, the people do tend to get a little uptight and unfriendly towards you.

Still, it’s not as dangerous a job as all that. In New York City (noted crime in the streets center) policemen rank third in hazardous city jobs behind sanitation workers and firemen.

Also, one has to inquire into the nature of police injuries before becoming too concerned for them.

In a confidential report on injuries involving citizen-police altercations released by State Rep. James Del Rio showed that of injured citizens, 305 out of 481 sustained injuries to the face, scalp, head, eye, nose or jaw.

Of the police injuries, 119 out of 261 were injuries to the hand, finger, knuckle, wrist or arm.

“You can draw your own conclusions,” said Del Rio.

The report also showed that certain officers were involved repeatedly in cases involving injuries to citizens. One officer was involved in nine injury cases in a year; another eight in a year; and eleven in five each.

Del Rio and Rep. John Conyers feel that such officers should be subjected to psychiatric tests to determine their attitudes towards those they arrest.

The report also showed that of 35 brutality complaints filed with the farcical Citizens’ Complaint Bureau during a year, the bureau found for the citizen 25 times and for the officers 10 times. However, in none of the cases decided in favor of the citizen was any action taken by the Police Department.