Just about everyone suspects there’s a strong rightwing bias in U.S. policing, manifesting itself in police violence against peaceful demonstrators against racism and police brutality, with coddling of violent rightwing extremists.
Now, hard data bears that out.
“In the past 10 months, US law enforcement agencies have used teargas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and beatings at a much higher percentage at Black Lives Matter demonstrations than at pro-Trump or other rightwing protests,” according to “a non-profit that monitors political violence around the world,” the Guardian reported on Thursday, January 14, 2021.
Read story here.
That’s not surprising, given that in August 2020, a report (here) by a retired FBI agent found that the KKK, militias, white supremacists, and rightwing extremist groups are encouraging their members to become police officers and are successfully infiltrating police departments in numerous states, including California and Washington (read article here).
There are growing suspicions of active police collusion and involvement by Capitol Police and pro-Trump rightwing cops in last week’s violent attempt to overthrow the U.S. government and murder its political leaders.
By Monday, January 11, five days after the insurrection, a Capitol Police officer had been arrested and two others were suspended “as speculation persists that elements of the police force tasked with protecting Congress may have cooperated with the assailants,” U.S. News reported (here).
GOP congressmen are suspected of leading unusual tours of the Capitol the day before the invasion which are now suspected of being “reconnaissance” (story here); and “panic buttons” were suspiciously stripped from a Democratic congresswoman’s office before the attack (story here).
A number of police officers from around the country, including 2 from Seattle, have been put on administrative leave pending investigations of whether they participated in the insurrection. Seattle’s police chief said he’ll “immediately terminate” any officers who did; meanwhile, Seattle’s cop union boss, a rightwing extremist and provocateur, falsely blamed the insurrection by Trump supporters on Black Lives Matter and “leftists,” resulting in calls for his ouster by Seattle’s mayor and city council (story here).
If it’s shown that police participated in the failed insurrection that attempted to violently overthrow a U.S. presidential election, that may finally force a reckoning with the radicalization of America’s police rank-and-file and their politically extremist unions.
Reading the article there is no indication that efforts were made to address other factors that could explain the disparities.
Time of protests.
How long protests were.
Size of the cities protests were in.
Where in the cities did protests occur. (City center, park, financial district, ect.)