On one hand, I appreciate the State police trying to keep the City officer from releasing the dog. Even if the trucker initially fled, he did ultimately pull over and comply with officers. His hands were in the air, and he wasn't a threat. To release the dog was just...beyond cruelty.
Today, I saw the first follow up (link) on the story. It's good to see the offending officer was fired and not "put on desk duty" or whatever. Hopefully the officer is charged and convicted, too.
I guess the main point of this little blurb is this: bodycams work, law enforcement is getting better at disciplining its own for this kind of behaviour, and I feel like (in general) courts are getting better at handling these kinds of cases.
I had a post a long time ago about respecting progress even when I feel like "we're not quite there yet" in terms of equality in justice. And I do want to say that I appreciate the progress being made. It's a slow, but (mostly) steady road to reform and change, but it is happening. And it's important to acknowledge that. And that's what I'm doing here. I appreciate all of those people in law enforcement, court systems, and law-making who are not only driving the progress, but also holding their own accountable. It's good to see. I won't be alive forever, but I'm glad that I got to see this (start) happen(ing) in my lifetime.
To those in the aforementioned fields who believe in "justice for ALL", and who truly walk the walk: Thank you. It doesn't go unnoticed.
update 10 August
I do want to add a bit about the importance of acknowledging progress in this (and other) issue. If you only focus on criticizing the bad police/lawyers/judges/etc, and you ignore the efforts of those doing the right thing, you risk alienating those who are doing the right thing. It's good to call out the bad ones when they do bad things. Silence and acceptance of oppression achieves nothing. But ignoring the good ones and their efforts is a mistake. You can appreciate the efforts of the good people without "selling out" and/or giving the (false) idea that everything is ok now and the problems have been completely solved. Ignoring the efforts of those working to change things for the better, and alienating those people making the effort, can cause those making the effort to back away from doing the right thing. Without encouragement and acknowledgement, you're essentially saying "I don't have your back on this. Fight for me, but don't expect me to even give you a kind word in support."
In the case of racial injustice in law & enforcement of law, those fighting the good fight for equality may be facing things behind the scenes (on the job, in the community, at home) that may make them say "Is this really worth it if no one even has appreciation for me making this effort?". So it's important to acknowledge their efforts if you want to keep trending towards equality.