Another Motown Anomaly

"One is accused of pointing a gun at a man who had poured pop on his car. Another was allegedly smoking crack cocaine. A third tested positive for marijuana use -- for the third time, police said.

"All three are Detroit cops...

"’We set our goals and principles very high in this department,’ said police spokesman James Tate. ‘If someone within our personnel violates the policies of the Detroit Police Department or commits behavior that could be interpreted as illegal, then appropriate action must be taken.

"’We have hundreds of dedicated men and women who go out every day and provide first-rate service. These are definitely anomalies.’"

Really?

Then I guess “appropriate action” has been taken on those 500 backlogged disciplinary cases? You know, the ones that were anomalies?

Maybe the cops should hold another gun “buyback,” if for no other reason than to get the media fawning all over them.

Plus it might help them raise funds to help stave off the effects of "a $300 million budget deficit, and the threat of laying off 612 police officers." It would also get people's minds off Detroit's leader in gun control, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who responded to Motor City's fiscal woes by charging "more than $210,000 on the city's MasterCard in his first 33 months in office. Some of the charges include an $850 steakhouse dinner; $3,837 on chauffeured sedans; and $11,644 on Super Bowl hotel rooms."

At least we can take comfort that "Kilpatrick again disputes persistent rumors of a party with strippers at the mayoral residence."

I bring this up because I don't want anybody thinking official criminality is endemic, or that the 3 cops were simply emulating their masters. As should be evident to all who can see, corruption in Detroit is an anomaly, and on those rare occasions when it surfaces, appropriate action is taken.