Anonymous asked this question on 3/18/2000:

Dear Masterpeace,

My 16-year old son was walking his girlfriend home from school, and upon arriving at her house, she witnessed her brother handcuffed and being hit with a pistol by a police officer. My son heard his girlfriend screaming, "that's my brother!" as she ran up to stop the police from beating him. As she ran to the police officer, my son also ran with her, and the officer turned and struck my son, and began to beat on him.

My son is a good kid who has never gotten into trouble with the law. The police officer beat my son to the point that we could not even recognize him at the hospital. Now my son has to go to court for something that he never did nor even attempted to do. I have been a law abiding citizen, and have always held the police in high esteem. The truth of the matter is, I was just turning the corner to pick up my son from his girlfriend's house, when I saw my son running with his girlfriend towards her brother who was lying on the ground. My poor son, who weighs only 127 pounds, has taken a beating at the hands of a brutally violent police officer, and now I feel intense hatred towards the police. I am going out of my mind.

To top it off, the police went to the wrong house---my son's girlfriend's brother was NOT the person they were looking for. It is totally disgusting that they can get away with perpetrating such abuse, and violating the civil rights of innocent people. Please help me.

Devastated Mother

masterpeace gave this response on 3/18/2000:

Dear Precious Mom,

First of all, let me commend you for the bravery and the wisdom that you possess. I hope and pray that your son will have a quick recovery, physically, but my main prayer will be for his mind to be healed and to rise above the element of this wrongdoing.

I'm pretty sure that you have already consulted with an attorney. If not, I do recommend that you go see an attorney. As you have witnessed, there are good cops and bad cops; there are good apples and bad apples. But as a law abiding citizen, you possess all the virtues to impact the course and destiny of this nation. There are little children that are waiting in line to become police officers, and we encourage them to do so. It is people like yourself that will allow change and justice to ring loud, where we can train officers of the peace to be governed and monitored in such a way that their characters and their lifestyle enable them to become positive role models.

I suggest that you start a campaign wherein we can assist the good cops to continue their service, and not allow the rotten apples to plant seeds of violence in the lives of our kids. Let me say something to you personally---you have the power within you to become bitter or to focus on the impact that this has made on your family. It is obvious that you are bigger than the officer that abused your child. You cannot allow the seeds of bitterness to give birth to seeds of violence. The issue is that you stay on top with your mind totally focused on how to make this experience a spring board that will take you to a level of courage. Possessing the courage will allow you as a citizen of this great country to become active for the betterment of the kids.

This officer, for one reason or another, has major problems. Perhaps the seeds of violence have taken root in his heart, and has made him the individual that he is. The reason that I say to you that you have the ability to turn this into a spring board, is that this will enable you to become a voice and assist this nation in ensuring the highest standards and integrity in our law enforcement system. I suggest that you do this for the sake of the police officers who every day go to work and operate with integrity, and most importantly, for the youth of our nation.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Action does cure fear. Stay in action!

Masterpeace

The average rating for this answer is 5.

Anonymous rated this answer a 5.

Thank you so much for your assistance and encouragement. I am ready to advocate for change, and to encourage others to do so as well.