“At least 14 cops have been charged in recent months with committing murder, homicide, or manslaughter while on duty.” — The Atlantic
The Atlantic says in this article that cops are being charged with homicide at “five times the normal right” in recent months. But 14 cops in 5 months — which computes to about 33 a year — still isn’t much, considering American police kill over 1,000 people a year.
American policing is in a crisis. Although questionable police killings, many of which are also tainted by a component of racism, are getting most of the media and public attention, the problem goes much deeper. The root of the problem is a police culture characterized by a laissez-faire attitude that cops can do no wrong and are never accountable for their behavior.
In reality, the authorization to use force given by our laws to police is not a personal prerogative but a power entrusted to them to use for our benefit, and it must not be misused, as when an Indiana cop knocked over a man in a wheelchair for accidentally running over the cop’s foot. (This cop wasn’t fired.)
Public tolerance of police mistreatment of citizens reached a ripping point when Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot down in the streets of a St. Louis suburb almost exactly 1 year ago by a white cop working for one of the most blatantly corrupt and racist municipal governments in America. Ever since then, police all across America have been under heightened scrutiny, and winds of change have begun blowing.
What needs to happen:
(1) We need police to keep our communities safe, and of course the public should support good cops who do their jobs properly. But at the same time, we have every right to insist that police departments weed out bad cops — the racists and bullies, and those who are trigger happy, unprofessional, or dishonest (e.g., file false reports, plant fake evidence, lie in court, etc.).
(2) Cops have a dangerous job, and there are bad people out there; they have a right to defend themselves. But we can’t and shouldn’t tolerate unjustified killings, excessive use of force, or bullying — in all cases, but especially when the victims are innocent. We have a right to insist on professionalism from our police at all times.
(3) Police departments need to be demilitarized, and cops need to be deconditioned from thinking of our streets as a war zone and the public they serve as the enemy.
(4) We need stronger civilian oversight of police agencies, and much more accountability of both police managers and rank-and-file officers.
(5) We should recognize that police unions exist to promote the selfish interests of their members, not serve the public interest — and not let them run the show.
(6) Proponents of so-called “broken windows” policing claim it reduces crime, but it’s at odds with basic civil liberties. The technique, as I understand it, is to respond aggressively to minor crimes (“broken windows”) to prevent serious crimes, and there appears to be some statistical data to validate this approach to some extent. But if such tactics are used at all, they must be carefully supervised and used with restraint, so it doesn’t turn into preemptive policing — i.e., taking police action against people who have committed no crimes. There is no place in a free society for a system of policing that involves forcibly grabbing people, throwing them against a wall, and searching them simply because they’re walking on a sidewalk or going about their business in a high-crime area, regardless of whatever effect it may have on crime rates.
(7) Racism must be purged from our police culture, police practices, and police rosters. This should go without saying. But the fact is, racism is rampant among America’s police. Changing this will require changes in recruiting, training, and retention practices. There is no place for racists in our country’s 18,000 police departments, period. We must get rid of racist cops.