This brief clip from the FOX-TV Show COPS shows a Deputy Sheriff with a prosthetic leg chasing down a suspect. It is highly unlikely the Cambridge MA Police Department or many other police departments which have offensive attitudes toward persons with disabilities would hire this man. This officer has a physical disability, which does not prevent him from acting as a police officer. This Deputy deserves much praise and admiration for his determination and for his successes.
If he was accused of a mental disability he would never be considered for the job. Police are the most abusive toward persons with non physical disabilities. They often attribute mental illness to persons who challenge their unlawful policies regarding persons with disabilities. They are unaware that the law protects persons so accused. But the police and the taxpayer funded lawyers who are paid to protect such persons do not do so.
Cambridge, MA the holier than thou community of the world, is having an election for nine city councilors and six school committee members. As of October 3, 2007, there were three candidate forums (question and answer sessions). Three more are planned. There was one forum for the school committee candidates. Not one school committee candidate asked a question about the rights of persons with disabilities. One city council candidate mentioned the issue. YouTube censored this video clip allegedly due to complaints from the COPS tv show.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Deputy Sheriff with Prosthetic Leg Catches Fleeing Suspect
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6 comments:
Who was the one candidate at the forum who mentioned the issue? Is it the same one who posted the video?
He let him catch him lol....
It is possible that the COPS show staged the chase.
Council Candidate Kathy Podgers mentioned disability as an issue.
What is the hiring process that Cambridge Police have to go through? Isn't it Civil Service?
You can learn the Cambridge Police hiring process from the Police. The City of Cambridge has two Affirmative Action officers, who focus on hiring persons of color. They exclude persons with disabilities from their outreach for hiring underrepresented persons in Cambridge contrary to law. Affirmative Action laws apply as well to persons with disabilities who remain excluded from city programs. Written City policy specifically includes them but the policy is ignored. I raised the issue four times before the School Committee and the City Council. Both government bodies ignored me.
Dear Diogenes,
Thanks for posting this video. I am a Cambridge Police officer, and I wanted to say that I would be proud to work with this individual. He is a truly extraordinary individual.
I also wanted to answer the question about the hiring process on 10/28/07. Yes, Cambridge Police hires from a Civil Service list, generated from exam results of the Civil Service Municipal Police Officer exam (which is offered every two years) from officers who want to report their scores to the City of Cambridge for consideration.
Points may be added to the exam based on such things as military service or residence preference. The City of Cambridge will then send letters to the applicants with the highest scores (including these added points), asking them to accept an appointment which will effectively remove them from consideration from other municpalities.
Once the applicants accept the appointment, they must then go through a background investigation which is designed to rule out individuals with a significant criminal past.
After the ineligible applicants have been successfully screened, those who pass are then asked to have a psychological evaluation. This is done by an outside source (no affiliation with the Cambridge Police).
Finally, those passing the psych. evaluation go on to take the Physical Abilities Test, which includes a timed obstacle course designed to mimic the types of experiences a police officer may encounter during a foot pursuit. I'm certain the individual from the video would pass this with flying colors.
After the completion of the Physical Ability Test, the applicant then enters an Academy class. Cambridge Police sends its recruits to the Lowell Police Academy, which is well-known for its high academic and physical education.
The Cambridge Police searches for the finest individuals. I am certain that the Officer from the video would have been selected to go to the academy, barring any significant criminal past of course.
I hope my explanation was sufficient and enlightening. The process described above would NOT necessarily exclude a disabled person from being hired by the City of Cambridge as a Police Officer.
Thank you, Diogenes, for allowing me to post this. Good luck in the battle for the rights of disabled individuals, a worthy cause. Keep up the good fight.
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