Shame on the Bristol, PA police

Tony Devine, a Councilman in Bristol, PA arranged for a guided tour of the Police Department prior to being officially sworn in.  On his tour he saw a picture with some commentary that he found to be racist, homophobic, and generally offensive.  It was a picture of Tupac Shakur flanked by the comments “Stop. Are you wearing your vest?” and “I like wiener dogs.”  He raised his concerns.  Mayor Bob Lebo and Police Chief Arnold Porter immediately launched an investigation … into why Devine was there in the first place.  I won’t mince words, this is ridiculous.  The concern isn’t about whether the picture was inappropriate; it’s about how a member of the general public could have possibly been in there while escorted by a police officer.  I mean, it’s not as if the police are public servants.  It’s not as if the reasons why Devine was there should be beside the point, at least for a little while.  It’s not as if talking about access to the police department might be a way of taking public attention away from the picture.  It’s not as if there is a sizeable minority population in Bristol that is already distrustful of the police.  It’s not as if it would have been an option simply to apologize and take the picture down.  Which brings us to the bottom line: if you make a mistake just admit it.  Politicians, police departments, and even school boards are allowed to admit to mistakes.  I don’t expect any of those folks to be perfect.  I’d rather they not pretend to be.  I’d also rather they not be racist, homophobic, secretive, and dishonest.  It’s not Tony Devine that has some explaining to do … it’s Mayor Lebo and Chief Porter.