KLRU
Doesn't Trust City's Leadership
RECEIVED Mon., June 27, 2005
Dear Editor,
Together with hundreds of others from the East and Southeast Austin community, I was in the Dove Springs audience last Thursday night in anticipation that Police Chief Stan Knee, Mayor Will Wynn, and City Manager Toby Futrell might instill some trust among us that the true facts regarding the fatal shooting of Daniel Rocha have any possibility of surfacing [“Rocha Shooting: Plenty of Questions, Few Answers,” News, June 24]. Unfortunately, nothing that was presented by this leadership reinforced our hopes.
As an East Austin youth more than 40 years ago, along with many of the other fathers and grandfathers in the audience, I found a kinship with Daniel – for many of us in our youth were harassed, threatened, and abused by Austin policemen who knew on which side of town this type of police misconduct would result in no consequences. What many of us have learned and trust is that the police will always cover for their brotherhood. The events surrounding the tragic motorcycle deaths of the husband and wife police officers is a shameful example of Austin police officers not enforcing the law that may have protected two of their own and, then, the “shameful whitewash” that followed in the report issued exonerating fellow police officers that should have acted to do their lawful duty and maybe saved the lives of two of their own. What can we expect but more of the same.
Together with hundreds of others from the East and Southeast Austin community, I was in the Dove Springs audience last Thursday night in anticipation that Police Chief Stan Knee, Mayor Will Wynn, and City Manager Toby Futrell might instill some trust among us that the true facts regarding the fatal shooting of Daniel Rocha have any possibility of surfacing [“Rocha Shooting: Plenty of Questions, Few Answers,” News, June 24]. Unfortunately, nothing that was presented by this leadership reinforced our hopes.
As an East Austin youth more than 40 years ago, along with many of the other fathers and grandfathers in the audience, I found a kinship with Daniel – for many of us in our youth were harassed, threatened, and abused by Austin policemen who knew on which side of town this type of police misconduct would result in no consequences. What many of us have learned and trust is that the police will always cover for their brotherhood. The events surrounding the tragic motorcycle deaths of the husband and wife police officers is a shameful example of Austin police officers not enforcing the law that may have protected two of their own and, then, the “shameful whitewash” that followed in the report issued exonerating fellow police officers that should have acted to do their lawful duty and maybe saved the lives of two of their own. What can we expect but more of the same.
Santo J. (Buddy) Ruiz
