“These are not isolated incidents,” Obama said. “They are symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system.”…. “According to various studies — not just one but a wide range of studies that have been carried out over a number of years — African-Americans are 30 percent more likely than whites to be pulled over. After being pulled over African-Americans and Hispanics are three times more likely to be searched. Last year African-Americans were shot by police at more than twice the rate of whites. African-Americans are arrested at twice the rate of whites. African-American defendants are 75 percent more likely to be charged with offenses carrying mandatory minimums. They receive sentences that are almost 10 percent longer than comparable whites arrested for the same crime…. [W]hen incidents like this occur, there’s a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if because of the color of their skin they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us.”
I’m White, which I suspect for some will render whatever I have to say about police violence to be of little import. I don’t agree with that, but if you think me a member of the oppressing class, so be it. I was born this way, and I’ll be the first to acknowledge that White privilege is real and I recognize that I’ve undoubtedly benefited from it many times over. For the purposes of this discussion, it means it’s very unlikely that I will ever be at risk of being shot and killed by a police officer. While I’m thankful for that, I’m also horrified that it’s decidedly NOT so for many African-Americans. We should- we MUST- be better than this.
That said, only someone who’s spent the past couple years living under a rock would think it hyperbole to say that American law enforcement is facing a crisis of confidence. The perception of this issue is largely split along racial lines…because White Americans aren’t dying from police violence in nearly the numbers African-Americans are. Many African-Americans feel as if they’re being hunted by police, while many Whites feel police are being uniformly (and unfairly) condemned as murderers and thugs.
It seems barely a day goes by without reports of yet another problematic officer-involved shooting. Ferguson, Cleveland, Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights…the list is as long as it is seemingly never-ending. Law enforcement is supposed to protect us- ALL of us- from the bad guys…and yet it seems too often law enforcement personnel ARE the bad guys.
We expect law enforcement personnel to be able to correctly make split-second decisions which often are the difference between life and death. What we often forget is that those wearing a badge are as human as the rest of us. Sometimes they assess a situation incorrectly and make a split-second decision that turns out to be horribly, fatally wrong.
What then?
Granted, I understand that being a police officer is difficult and dangerous; to call it a tough job would be an understatement. I’ve known a few law enforcement personnel in my time, and I can say with no uncertainty that I can’t imagine a circumstance which would make me want to walk in their shoes. Long hours, low pay, dangerous working conditions, and a pervasive lack of respect from the public…and yet people still want to protect and serve. It takes a special kind of person to do police work, especially given the pressures they face and the risks they take on a daily basis.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that the vast majority of law enforcement personnel are caring, committed, and conscientious public servants who are professional and committed to protecting and serving the public. The problem, of course, is that, as with any other undertaking, there are a few bad apples who ruin things for everyone. Not everyone is cut out to be a cop, and even some cops aren’t wired to do the job for a long period of time. Some are able to handle the stress better than others, and, like any other career, some stay too long and burn out.
It’s an understandable reaction, I suppose. Work in a dangerous environment, where every interaction with the public could prove to be your last, and over time it can change a person. I’ve known cops who over time became harder, more cynical, and less compassionate. Those aren’t good qualities for an armed law enforcement officer.
The above may be reasons, but they’re not excuses. NO ONE should have to fear for their life at a traffic stop or any other police-civilian interaction. No person of color should have to educate their children on how to survive being stopped by a police officer…and yet that’s an everyday fact of life for those unfortunate enough not to be born White.
I don’t have an answer, something that will quickly fix the problem, but I do have a few ideas:
Body cameras should be mandatory equipment for every armed law enforcement officer, and dash cams should be installed (and working) in every police vehicle. Creating a video record of every action and interaction with the public should be an accepted part of every officer’s work environment. Most if it will be mundane and boring, but there are times when seeing what an officer saw will help in judging the appropriateness of their response.
Officers must understand that, given the current environment, their every action and reaction will be parsed and examined to the nth degree. The current political climate means that law enforcement must prove to the public that they’re competent, committed, and willing to treat ALL fairly and equitably.
Officers should be evaluated yearly to ensure they still possess the mental and emotional fitness to do the job. The public must be able to expect that law enforcement officers are capable, competent, and emotionally fit enough to carry out their duties.
Officers found to be incompetent, unfit, or prone to using excessive violence should not be allowed on the street. Period. End of story. Those unwilling or unable to interact with ALL civilians they encounter in a fair and equitable manner should likewise not be allowed on the street. The public has every right to expect fairness, competence, and professionalism from law enforcement. Nothing less should be considerable acceptable. Under ANY circumstance.
Officers should be paid more. It stands to reason that those who risk more should be paid more, yet law enforcement officers in many communities are grossly underpaid given the risks they face.
Officer should be expected, and in some cases forced, to undergo regular counseling to help them deal with the stresses of the job. Therapy should not be viewed or dismissed as a sign of weakness. Rather, it should be promoted as demonstrating that an officer is strong enough to recognize and admit that the job takes a toll and that sometimes getting help is necessary.
Training must become a frequent, rigorous, and ongoing component of every law enforcement officer’s career. Such training should reflect real-world situations, issues, and techniques, and ensure that an officer’s skills are as up to date and sharp as possible.
Racism in the ranks must be identified, addressed, and eradicated. There’s no excuse for a state of affairs where African-Americans are shot for the very same things Whites get a free pass.
The public must understand that police officers are human beings. While no one wants to see innocent people hurt or killed, tragic misunderstandings and even more tragic mistakes happen. Law enforcement personnel must be held accountable while also granted the right to be human.
The above are ideas only, a starting point at best. I cannot fully address the specifics: funding, logistics, and infrastructure. Nor can I begin to address how we create a system that recognizes a law enforcement officer’s humanity while also holding them to a high standard of conduct. Those are discussions for Congress and society as a whole.
The public needs to be able to know that law enforcement is competent, capable, and ready, willing, and able to protect them in a fair and equitable manner. Law enforcement needs to be able to know what we have their backs. It’s a two-way street; we can’t simply place the blame squarely on the law enforcement community and walk away. We need to set solid, reasonable, and enforceable expectations; we need to be able to hold law enforcement personnel to high standards of conduct. Likewise, those who protect us should be able to expect that we respect them, recognize their humanity, grant them the right to be imperfect, and stand behind them as they accept the risks that come with being in law enforcement.
These are just ideas, a starting point for a much-needed conversation that we must have if there’s to be any hope of restoring trust between the law enforcement community and people of color. I can’t address the details of what needs to happen, but I think talking about ideas is a good place to start…because police need to stop killing innocent civilians and the public needs to stop expecting absolute, uncompromising perfection from police.
Dealing with problems within law enforcement is all well and good, but we can’t afford to look at this issue as merely a police violence issue. Yes, police killing innocent civilians is a serious problem, but it’s a manifestation of a much larger social problem surrounding race and how we relate to one another. It’s about White privilege and how society still tilts the playing field in the direction of those of us with White skin. It’s about how we never consider the disparity in opportunities afforded Whites vis-a-vis African-Americans. It’s about not recognizing that a segment of our population is denied access to programs, education, and employment opportunities that White Americans take as their due.
It’s about fairness, equal treatment, and equality of opportunity.
This is a multi-faceted problem- a police violence problem, a too-easy availability of guns problem (another discussion best left for another time), a race problem, a White privilege problem. President Obama’s statement nailed it in that he discussed at length the difficulties young African-Americans must overcome in order to be successful…and to survive. We need to recognize that while all lives matter (It’s not about Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter), some living those lives face much longer odds and far greater risks than others.
We can fix this problem- but it’s going to take some folks coming out from behind their White privilege and realizing that when innocent African-Americans die needlessly, it diminishes ALL of us. We have sufficient ability and resources to devote to this problem…but I wonder if society will be able to set aside their fear and prejudice and allow discussion of how to make this a priority. Americans- regardless of skin color- dying needlessly should be a priority for all of us.
We can be better. We must be better.
