"This is a human issue & we need to speak up for change, together." -Maya pic.twitter.com/tyfl65Ag81
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) July 9, 2016
Four off-duty Minneapolis police officers working the Minnesota Lynx game at Target Center on Saturday night walked off the job after the players held a news conference denouncing racial profiling, then wore Black Lives Matter pregame warm-up jerseys. Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, praised them for quitting. “I commend them for it,” he said. Kroll said the four officers also removed themselves from a list of officers working future games. He did not know who the officers were. “Others said they heard about it and they were not going to work Lynx games,” he said. Asked if other officers will fill in for those who quit, Kroll said, “If [the players] are going to keep their stance, all officers may refuse to work there.”
An open letter to law enforcement:
We get it, being a police officer is a tough dangerous job. No reasonable person will deny that truth…and I suspect you were well aware of that when you signed up. Nor does law enforcement pay well or result in officers being universally loved and respected. Again, I suspect you knew that going in…and if you didn’t, you have issues I can’t begin to address.
Yes, the vast majority of police officers are committed, dedicated professionals who want to protect and serve to the best of their ability…and then go home to their families. No reasonable person would posit that police are uniformly corrupt, racist, or vindictive sorts ready, willing, and far too able to exact “street justice” upon those who’d put society at risk.
You can’t very well expect to be an effective member of the law enforcement community if you have a thin skin. To those Minneapolis police officers who left their posts and walked out, I’d say only, “GROW UP.” In case you may have forgotten, the 1st Amendment is still a thing- part of what you’ve sworn to protect and defend, in fact- and none of the players attacked you directly. If you can’t handle a member of the public you’ve sworn to protect and serve expressing their Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech and expression, I’d submit it’s time for you to find a new job.
The three-time WNBA champions wore black T-shirts that read “Change starts with us, justice and accountability” and on the back had Philando Castile’s and Alton Sterling’s names along with “Black Lives Matter” and a Dallas Police Department emblem.
Police officers killed Castile in Falcon Heights and Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., last week, setting off protests here and nationwide.
At a pregame news conference, Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson said the players were “wearing shirts to honor and mourn the loss of precious American citizens and to plead change for all of us.”
“We are highlighting a longtime problem of racial profiling,” said forward Maya Moore, the 2014 WNBA MVP.
Players also denounced the “senseless ambush” of Dallas police.
Only a police officer who’s been living under a rock would deny that law enforcement in the broad sense has a huge problem. When officers shoot innocent civilians- very often unarmed, peaceful African-American males- without being held accountable, that’s a problem, and no one in law enforcement could credibly claim otherwise.
The Lynx players were in no way attacking law enforcement. They were speaking out against the current state of affairs, in which innocent people as murdered by cops who are never charged with a crime- ANY crime. That’s a problem…one that needs to be fixed. Yesterday.
Before the Lynx’s game against the Dallas Wings on Saturday night, captains Rebekkah Brunson and Maya Moore spoke in a news conference which the Lynx posted on their Facebook page. The two players were flanked by Minnesota’s other captains, Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus.
“If we take this time to see that this is a human issue and speak out together, we can greatly decrease fear and create change,” Moore said. “Tonight we will be wearing shirts to honor and mourn the losses of precious American citizens and to plead for change in all of us.”
Moore also spoke about the Dallas shooting, in which five police officers were killed, during the nearly five-minute news conference. She praised that city’s effort on leading the way in “de-escalation training and other efforts that led to a noticeable drop in the number of shootings by officers in the last few years.”
I’d asked officers offended by the Lynx players taking a stand to listen- REALLY listen- to what they said. You should be able to recognize that in no way was it an implied or explicit condemnation of law enforcement…in ANY sense. The players expressed sadness over the deaths of innocent Americans- including the police assassinated in Dallas.
I firmly believe the officers who left their posts prior to the Lynx game should be disciplined for dereliction of duty. Judging by Lt. Kroll’s comments, I suspect that may well be a tough sell to the rank-and-file of the Minneapolis Police Federation, whose collective butthurt is as considerable as it is unjustified. The officers walked away because their tender sensibilities were offended by basketball players exercising their 1st Amendment rights, which didn’t in any way include a blanket condemnation of law enforcement.
Lt. Kroll’s reaction is indicative of the problem within the law enforcement community- an insular “us against them” mentality which advances the belief that police are under siege and any response intended to protect themselves is as justified as it is appropriate. This mindset views the public- the people they’ve sworn to protect and serve- as the enemy, and that police must first and foremost protect themselves. This bunker mentality is a large part of the reason why so many innocent Americans are killed by police officers. If you’re taught to believe that Those Not Like Us © are the enemy and that you must attack before you are attacked yourself, you’re probably going to spend your time on duty on edge and constantly scanning the world around your for threats. That’s a helluva way to go through life; do it long enough, and it changes you…and not in good ways. It’s why so many police officers are so reactionary. They spend their working hours surrounded by perceived (and occasionally real) threats, which can make them prone to overreacting and defaulting to the use of deadly force- a bell that can’t be unrung.
If police feel as if they’re under siege, it’s largely because they’ve created a self-fulfilling prophecy. They believe they’re under siege, and so they act and react as if they are. They react quickly, in some cases employing deadly force, under circumstances in no way indicative of an actual threat. It’s how you get police officers shooting innocent young men reaching for their wallet, or handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. It’s how you get citizens marching in the streets to protest police brutality, lack of accountability, and official oppression.
Law enforcement faces a problem largely of their own creation. The good news is that said problem is not without an available solution. Accept that you have a problem- one of perception as well as action and overreaction. Understand why people are angry…and LISTEN to their concerns instead of hiding behind a blue wall. You serve your community, and they have every right to demand you do your job. As your employers, they have every right to hold you to a high standard of professional conduct. In return, you have the right to expect to be treated with respect and dignity…if you do right by your community.
Respect is a two-way street, and it’s incumbent upon the law enforcement community to demonstrate that they’re worthy of respect. That’s going to mean having a zero-tolerance policy for officers who egregiously and inappropriately overreact. It’s going to mean holding officers who murder civilians accountable for their crimes. More than anything, it’s going to take officers growing up and recognizing that citizens exercising their 1st Amendment rights don’t represent a clear and present danger to their safety and well-being.
Both sides have work to do, but I’d submit that law enforcement has the farthest distance to travel and the most work to do. Recognize and understand the (largely self-created) challenge in front of you and determine how you might help facilitate the restoring of trust and respect. Walking away from your post is no way to demonstrate your commitment to protecting and serving your community.
Basketball players wearing t-shirts are the least of your problems.
