What does it take to get fired in Memphis?

Apparently beating another human being is not grounds for dismissal from the Memphis Police Department.

Last February a Memphis police officer beat a person waiting for processing for not responding to the officer. The incident was caught on video tape and while the officer that held the woman down was fired (he was on probation at the time), the officer doing the beating is still employed, but on desk duty.

Due process is important, but it shouldn't take four months to investigate something that can be clearly seen on video.

Det. Monique Martin, a Memphis police spokesperson, tells the Commercial Appeal:

"Part of our policy is not to humiliate an officer, whether they were right, wrong or indifferent," Martin said. "We can't rush through an investigation just because a video has been released."

Well, we wouldn't want an officer to be embarrassed, would we? Unlike the woman who was beaten and left on the floor to bleed while a nurse checked out the officer involved.

This officer's actions are reprehensible. The Memphis Police Department and Shelby County District Attorney are also negligent in not acting quickly to either punish those involved or demonstrate why the situation isn't what it seems to be.

Law enforcement officials are granted powers beyond those of average citizens. For that reason, they should be held to a higher standard and when that standard is broken, justice should be swift.

    -- Jim Grinstead