"They muscle criminals to the ground, they go after the bad guys, they do what it takes to get them into handcuffs." These accolades come from a recently released San Antonio Express News study documenting the city's 14 most "aggressive" cops.

Their victims have a different story to tell. In March 1999, a legally blind man was on a fishing trip with his son when he was punched in the face by Officer James Vinson, who claimed that the man "came at him." In response to a loud music complaint, another officer, Brian Sullivan, choked a man to the point of unconsciousness.

You would expect these cops to be in jail for their crimes. Instead, they received "sparkling reviews from their supervisors and have seldom been disciplined." Many were promoted.

While a few complaints have been filed, the report admits that most victims are too afraid. Equally disturbing is the SAPD's claim that it is free of the "racial issues that plague other police departments."

This is a direct slap in the face to San Antonio's Hispanic population. Of the 428 use-of-force reports in the last four years, Hispanics were the target in a stunning 305 incidents. In the case of Michael Todd Grogan, a white officer who boasts 44 use-of-force reports--the most of any officer in the city--all 44 of these incidents involved a suspect who was Hispanic.

The brutality and racial injustice that runs rampant throughout the SAPD mirrors that of police departments across the nation.

It's time that we take a stand against these racist pigs!

Warren Craig, San Antonio, Texas

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