"[The Torture Provision] must be construed as not applying to interrogations undertaken pursuant to [the President's] Commander-in-Chief authority
...if executive officials were subject to prosecution for conducting interrogations when they were carrying out the President's Commander-in-Chief powers, 'it would significantly burden and immeasurably impair the President's ability to fulfill his constitutional duties.'"
-- Bybee Memo (pdf) to Alberto Gonzales, Aug. 1 2002
"War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, 'I was just following orders.'"
-- President George W. Bush, Mar. 17 2003
I wonder what President Bush would say to Officer Ramon Perez, a fundamentalist Christian fired from the Austin Police Department for refusing an order to use excessive force against an elderly man?
One year ago, Officer Perez was a rookie who followed along with his partner Officer Robert Paranich to a domestic violence call. The man suspected of domestic abuse tried to leave; Paranich shoved him to knock him down. Paranich then ordered Perez to Taser the elderly man to subdue him. Perez refused, and the two arrested the man using only "soft-hand" force instead. Perez was fired for refusing to follow Paranich's order. Two weeks ago, he filed suit against the Austin Police Department.
Perez charges that the Austin P.D. fired him for being too religious -- their "fit-for-duty" review focuses heavily on his morals and religious beliefs. Perez is an ordained minister and occasionally preaches to congregations around Austin.
The Austin Police Department says it's not Perez's religion, specifically -- it's just that anyone with strong moral fiber is unfit to carry out the duties required of an Austin police officer. This got me thinking quite a bit about morals and the chain of command.
In January 2004, Spc. Joseph Darby sent photographs of the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib to the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. Despite the torture having been authorized by those in command, Spc. Darby knew it was wrong -- his moral compass told him "you can't stand by and let this happen." Darby was told by the Army that he could never go home, because the risk from death threats was too great. The commander of his local VFW said he "was a rat. He was a traitor. He let his unit down, he let his fellow soldiers down."
Meanwhile, Jay Bybee, who wrote one of the memos authorizing torture, is a sitting federal appellate judge. John Dean has argued persuasively for his impeachment. On Dec. 13, Senator Patrick Leahy promised that as chairman of the Judiciary Committee he will subpoena a second memo by Bybee that the White House has refused to release. It will be interesting to see what other advice the White House has requested on the balance between following orders that go against one's Christian -- or simply humane -- beliefs, or that are outright illegal as the order given to Perez likely was.
Against this background, I would like some enterprising reporter to visit President Bush on his ranch in Crawford, TX this holiday season and ask him about Ramon Perez over in Austin. "Mr. President, do you think Officer Perez was right to ignore an order that violated his Christian ethics and the law?" I'd like them to ask.
"Mr. President, if you ordered a soldier to torture a prisoner, do you think he should obey?"
Cross-posted from The Next Hurrah