Police statement prompts questions
It is unclear exactly what the thinking was behind the statement issued by the association of Attica police officers on Wednesday, which condemned the violent attack by a mob of suspected anarchists on labor union chief Christos Polyzogopoulos and referred to «naturally emerging questions concerning the tolerance of those who nearly killed the GSEE president and of police officers in the recent past.» The statement also questioned if Greek citizens seriously doubt that the country’s police force has the necessary political will to ensure that such things do not happen again in the future, to ponder who is trying to discredit and incriminate police, and to consider if political intervention is necessary to guarantee that officers do their job. However, it is not of primary significance whether the public believes that the police have the ability to catch this «small group… of the usual suspects,» as the statement phrased it. More important is the fact that the alleged culprits were not caught. If they had been, then the circle alleged to have been tolerating such attacks would have been broken and the police would have done the job they profess to be entirely capable of doing. I have no recollection of police officers being discredited or sitting in the dock after having done their job well. Of course, it is difficult to forget the media outcries provoked by instances of police abusing their power or resorting to force. In any case, the questions that have arisen from the recent police statement should be addressed without delay.
