A Maryland police officer was convicted on Friday of charges that he joined a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and hurled a smoke bomb and other objects at police officers guarding a tunnel entrance.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard two days of trial testimony without a jury this week before he found Montgomery County Police Officer Justin Lee guilty of two felonies and three misdemeanors. The judge, who also acquitted Lee of two other misdemeanors, is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 22.
Lee, 26, ignited and threw a smoke bomb into the tunnel entrance on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where a mob of rioters attacked a group of outnumbered police officers. The device struck a police officer’s riot shield and filled the mouth of the tunnel with a large plume of smoke, prosecutors said.
I think saying all cops are bastards because they are bastards is unfair to however few actual good cops there are out there. It’s the system that is failing us, and putting bad cops in a position where they can’t fail and where they can’t or won’t be held accountable. I think it’s unfair to however many cops out there who just want to help, aren’t racist, aren’t willing to abuse their power, etc to claim that ACAB means all cops are bastards because they are all bastards and that there are no good cops. I feel like it’s a step away from saying the only good cop is a dead cop, which is probably not the most popular sentiment, but I think some people here might actually believe in that sentiment.
I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, and I’m not afraid of acknowledging systemic problems, and I think I have done so. Oh well, that’s my thoughts.