ICE Raids, Beaten Kids, Silence—But Tell Me Again About the ‘Good Ones’
- Graham E. Whitaker
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
In April 2025, a Florida police officer was caught on bodycam slamming a handcuffed 13-year-old girl face-first into the pavement, knocking out teeth, while other officers stood nearby—watching, adjusting gear, saying nothing.
In March, ICE agents raided a bakery in Los Angeles using a fake fire inspection as cover. They detained 16 undocumented workers, including a mother who had just dropped off her child at preschool. [Source: LA Times, 3/17/25]
In February, a Tennessee school resource officer dragged a 10-year-old special needs student out of class for “defiance.” The child was later hospitalized with a fractured wrist. The department defended the officer’s actions. [Source: Tennessean, 2/8/25]
These are not rogue incidents. They’re routine. And yet again, we must ask the question no one with a badge seems willing to answer:
Where are the good cops?
Silence Is a Statement
Let’s be clear: we’ve seen walkouts.
We’ve seen full-force police protests.
We’ve seen cops turn in their badges.
But never for us.
Not for the children bruised by batons.
Not for immigrants dragged from their workplaces.
Not for the peaceful protesters kettled, maced, and arrested en masse.
Cops have walked out because they were asked to wear a mask.
They’ve resigned over vaccine mandates.
They’ve lined up in coordinated defense when one of their own faced consequences.
But when it comes to violence inflicted on the public?
Crickets.
The Good Apple That Never Falls
We are told—again and again—that the majority of police officers are “good people.”
That most of them don’t support brutality.
That the problems are isolated.
But a truly good cop doesn’t just avoid doing harm.
A truly good cop would say something.
Do something.
Refuse.
Instead, what we see is this:
Complicity in silence.
Cowardice in uniform.
A badge that grants both violence and immunity.
If there were truly thousands of “good apples,” where are the mass resignations in protest of ICE raids?
Where are the department-wide statements condemning brutality caught on camera?
Where are the officers choosing unemployment over abuse?
They don’t exist. Not in numbers that matter. Not in ways that make a difference.
The Machine Protects Itself—And Silences the Dissenters
On the rare occasion an officer does speak up, the system chews them up.
In 2021, Officer Cariol Horne was fired and blacklisted for intervening when a fellow cop tried to choke a handcuffed man. She only won back her pension after a public campaign—15 years later.
In 2023, Lt. Amanda Stratton of St. Louis quietly resigned after reporting racist slurs and excessive force among her fellow officers. Her complaints were “investigated” and dismissed.
In 2024, a new NYPD whistleblower came forward with evidence of targeted surveillance of BLM protesters. He was immediately placed on administrative leave. His name hasn’t made it past internal memos.
This isn’t about rogue actors. It’s about an institution that not only tolerates violence—but enforces silence.
The Uniform Is Not a Cloak of Morality
Many of us have a friend, a cousin, or a neighbor who’s a cop.
We’re told, “He’s one of the good ones.”
“He doesn’t believe in all that.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
Fine. But here’s the test:
Did he report misconduct?
Did she quit when ICE started raiding schools?
Did they march with the people getting beat instead of standing beside the ones doing the beating?
No?
Then they’re not the good ones.
They’re the quiet ones.
And silence has a body count.
This Isn’t Just a Systemic Failure—It’s the System
The idea that we can reform policing from within rests on the lie that there is a core of decency inside a violently enforced structure.
But this structure wasn’t built for public service. It was built to protect property, preserve racial hierarchies, and control the poor. The police didn’t evolve into a violent force by accident—they’ve simply continued doing what they were created to do.
And every time someone says “not all cops,” they’re defending an institution that has made clear:
accountability is the enemy.
resistance is a threat.
and public outcry is a nuisance—not a mandate for change.
If the Good Cops Were Real, They’d Be With Us
They wouldn’t be hiding behind qualified immunity.
They wouldn’t be “just following orders.”
They’d be walking out with bullhorns, not writing op-eds after retirement.
So if you’re still clinging to the belief that there’s a battalion of good-hearted cops waiting for the right moment to speak out—ask yourself this: why haven’t they?
And if your answer is fear of retaliation, then admit what that means:
this system is so corrupt, even the good ones can’t survive inside it.
And if that’s true—
then maybe the whole thing has to go.
Sources:
[NBC News: Florida Teen Girl Beaten in Handcuffs, April 2025]
About the Author
Graham E. Whitaker is a writer, policy analyst, and full-time agitator for public accountability. His columns for Big Mouth Media challenge the institutions we’re told to trust—and the silence that sustains them.
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