Rick, let's not throw stones at each other unless there's a good reason to. I wouldn't excuse a crime because of a person's race, any more than I would assume a person's guilt because of his or her race. And I don't assume the cops are always right; I'm actually pretty appalled by a lot of what I hear from various police departments, including New York (the Abner Louima case, for instance) and LA (the current scandal over the gang-busting unit's alleged behavior). And yes, I will admit that the facts I'm aware of in the Diallo case are pretty troubling, and suggest that this one warranted some pretty intensive investigation -- which it has received.

I don't buy the "they only accept stupid jurors" rationale, nor do I think that we're likely to get a more accurate story from scattered media accounts than from evidence that is tested in the courts. Bottom line: I don't know if these guys (the cops) are guilty of a crime or not. But I do believe in the jury system -- with all its flaws, nobody has come up with a better one -- and I happen to think that the jurors are in a better position to get to the truth of the matter than I am (or than you are).