You may have read about Michael Hamill, the “hot cop” from Gainesville, Florida, who became famous for his hunky good looks shortly after Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Sunshine State. You may recall that Hamill’s fame immediately exposed him as someone who was comfortable making anti-Semitic jokes online, a transgression for which he promptly was suspended.
Over the past few years, the news has been filled with stories of police officers disciplined for posting material online that any reasonable person would consider racist, anti-Semitic, and otherwise inappropriate. A few bad apples, say police apologists, exceptions to the rule. Perhaps. But the “apple” excuse becomes more tiresome and inadequate each day.
It’s not just the “bad apples” within police departments who cause citizens to lose confidence and trust in their local police. It’s not just the cops who engage in discrimination or other forms of misconduct. It’s these “good apples,” too, the ones who obey the law, and the rules, but who countenance, excuse, justify, or defend the bad behavior of their friends and colleagues. So many “good apples” spend so much time defending the “bad apples” that it becomes hard to tell which apples are which.
[For more on this story by Andrew Cohen, go to https://www.themarshallproject...e-bunch?ref=hp-1-121]
Photo: A photo posted on Facebook by the Gainesville Police Department showing officers, from left, John Nordman, Michael Hamill and Dan Rengering. It was widely shared with comments praising the officers' looks. GAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
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