If a cop commits a crime on video and in front of dozens of witnesses, is it still a crime?

Imagine you were walking down a street with a weapon, say a scary-looking assault rifle of some type. Imagine you turned to a person walking down the street near you and said, "I will fucking kill you," while pointing said scary-looking assault rifle at said person. Now imagine it was all caught on video tape with lots and lots of cops around. Just imagine what would happen to you.

I'll tell you: you'd be arrested and charged with aggravated assault. That's one of those crimes cops won't wait to present to a DA for formal charging and an arrest warrant. Cops can actually just arrest you if they see you commit a crime.

Now let's change the hypothetical a tad: imagine the person you pointed your scary-looking assault rifle at while threatening murder was a cop. What do you think would happen to you then? Personally, I think you might be lucky to avoid seeing a few new holes in your body next time you looked in a mirror (not that you'd really be able to look in a mirror because the number of new holes in your body would be incompatible with life). At the least, you'd be surrounded, tackled to the ground, probably roughed up a bit.

But, if you're a cop, well you'd just keep going about your merry business of crowd dispersal and intimidation. Sure, one of your colleagues would pull you away from the guy you were threatening to kill. Probably that colleague would suggest you should cool your heels a bit.

It wouldn't be until the next day after the bystander who caught the incident on video uploaded it before people really noted your out-of-control, criminal conduct.

Of course, this really did happen last night in, where else, Ferguson, MO. That video went viral. Thanks to that, the cop was identified. None of the witnesses could have identified him last night because cops in Ferguson are still refusing to wear badges or anything else with identifying information. He was asked his name and responded colorfully.

Now that the video has gone viral and the cop has been identified, he has at least been suspended.

I could go off on a tangent now about why so many legislators are so infuriated by teacher tenure because it means experienced teachers who have proven their classroom abilities can't just be fired for any reason. Teachers are worried about being fired for things like political reasons or as punishment for speaking up for particular students. Teachers are not trying to keep jobs they're bad at; nor does tenure protect bad teachers. But still, we put an end to teacher tenure in my state.

Meanwhile, just try to fire a cop. A bad cop, a dirty cop, a rogue cop, a murdering cop. They're impossible to fire. Even when you have video of them brazenly threatening someone. They get suspended, usually with pay. They get thorough investigations, hearings with representation, the backing of the police union. Heaven forbid a cop caught on tape threatening a pedestrian should just be summarily dismissed. Can't have that!

But suspending this cop isn't enough. He should be charged with a crime. Aggravated assault is, with a deadly weapon, putting someone in fear of harm. What this cop did fits the bill in my book. I would accept a plea down to criminal threat because I'd be a very reasonable prosecutor. But I wouldn't accept letting it go without criminal prosecution. Any non-cop who pulled that crap would be under arrest already. This guy should be, too.

Think of what that might do to calm tensions in St. Louis County if this cop were immediately charged with a crime. How many images have we seen in the past week of cops acting like thugs? Pointing their weapon muzzles at citizens instead of holding them in a downward position. A cop calling protesters "fucking animals." Snipers atop armored vehicles. Tear gas being thrown, journalists being arrested. And throughout it all, I've seen so much evidence of cops who don't see the people on the streets of Ferguson as the community they volunteered to protect and serve, but as underlings who are to do exactly as they are told, regardless of the rightness or lawfulness of the order. I've seen contempt, not compassion. I've seen disgust, not desire to bridge gaps.

Forcefully letting the community know that cops in St. Louis County do not have a license to threaten, do not have authority to make citizens fear for their lives would be a strong first step to improving relations between the residents of this county and their police force. Charging this cop with a crime we have video of him committing would let the people of Ferguson (and the rest of the US) know cops are accountable in a very real way for their very bad behavior. Oh, and charging him with a crime when we have video of him committing that crime would also just flat be the right thing to do.