A very short story appeared in the January 27, 2016 edition of the Metro newspaper that stunned and angered me.

According to the Metro, a decorated Boston Police Sergeant was accused of allegedly sending sexually explicit photos to his friends’ 16 year old daughter.

What I found equally horrific was the BPD Sergeant’s lawyer’s comment, and core of the police sergeant’s defense. “You can’t tell me someone her age has never seen a picture of a penis on the Internet.“

Clearly the client and his lawyer were perfectly matched. The story sounded so unreal, I had to check it online.

As I read the different accounts, I recalled a line from a poem, written by my first grade class mates. “There is man all dressed in blue/who is a friend to me and you!”

In fact, I find myself repeating that line, every time I hear a story about police brutality and corruption. It has become my chant.

The story raises many questions. The key question for me is ‘who can you trust?’

 

Janet Cormier is a painter, writes prose and poetry, and performs comedy. JC prefers different and original over pretty. She loves collecting stuff, but cleaning not so much. Janet also talks to strangers… a lot. Her column now appears weekly on Oddball Magazine.