This new pattern of police demanding apologies when someone publicly expresses an opinion on a topic in national news I find really disturbing. That's not what the police are supposed to be doing.
I understand how police officers might feel embattled right now, with all the stories of police abuse coming out and the negative press that follows. But in the end, their primary purpose is to protect people's rights. That includes speech about police misconduct, even if the police in question believe that the message in question is fundamentally misguided.
ADDING: What Digby said:
I understand how police officers might feel embattled right now, with all the stories of police abuse coming out and the negative press that follows. But in the end, their primary purpose is to protect people's rights. That includes speech about police misconduct, even if the police in question believe that the message in question is fundamentally misguided.
ADDING: What Digby said:
This self-righteous defensiveness just exposes them as the kind of thin-skinned, unprofessional authorities with little regard for citizens' constitutional rights that has people up in arms in the first place. Failing to treat the police with the respect they believe they deserve is not against the law. At least not yet.
