His
thesis is basically that training won't fix things; there is already a
ton of training that officers don't take seriously - because they know
there are above punishment (leave with pay is the worst it gets). There
has to be independent oversight and real accountability. DAs won't
really represent the best interests of the public to investigate and
punish police misconduct, as we've seen from the Eric Garner grand jury.
Same how the military won't really look into sexual assault within its
ranks (so the Senate is trying to pass a law and create an independent
investigation office).
A South Asian man from LAPD (who also has a PhD) on why it's the public's job to prevent police use of force:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/19/im-a-cop-if-you-dont-want-to-get-hurt-dont-challenge-me/
Heck,
the title of his op-ed is "I'm a cop. If you don't want to get hurt,
don't challenge me." That demonstrates the power trip, confrontational
attitude pervasive in their ranks. I agree with a lot of what he was
saying, but not his expectations for the public. Yes, it's true that
people will be safer if they just do everything that the cop tells them
to do. But what does that make us, slaves? Cops are not our overlords.
And what if the cop asks us to take our clothes off, or steals our
property (which has happened before in the US)? If we value our lives,
we just let it happen and then seek redress later? Well that might work
in theory, but the people most likely to be abused by the cops can't
afford legal representation and likely don't have the ability to go
through these protracted channels of justice (with no guarantee of
success at the end). And frankly, "just do everything he says or you'll
get hurt" sounds like terrorism to me. We have to be submissive and not
provoke a guy with his finger literally on the trigger. And of course
the author expects the communities that have the worst history of
prejudice and injustice against them to behave like Gandhis through
humiliation and aggression, right?
Yes, it's true that cops
have to deal with a lot of hate, threats, and other crap too. It's not
right, but they knew that coming into the job. If they have thin skins
and short tempers, maybe they should have joined a monastery? And
statistically these days, being a cop has less chance of death on the
job than the average American worker (as we discussed in a previous
email). So why are they freaking out? If the anxiety over bodily harm
(from minorities) is making them unable to do their jobs and fulfill
their obligations to society, then they should be deemed unfit for duty.
I wonder if this is like the military - the job sucks so much that they
need to relax hiring standards to fill the slots. Is it hard to become a
cop? Well it should be a lot harder, obviously. Clearly we need more
psych and behavioral exams. And maybe police need higher pay also to
attract better candidates.
But all the shootings and beatings can't be just the public's fault.
----
I'm pretty tired of these police unions demanding apologies after pro
athletes have made pregame statements about the wave of high profile
police killing incidents. If you have such thin skins, don't become
cops.
Do you want everyone to love you all the time? Then maybe
treat people with respect. And what about all the victims of police
misconduct? Apologize to and compensate them first, and then I am sure
these athletes will say sorry a hundred times if you like. What's worse:
hospitalizations and funerals, or getting your fragile feelings hurt
over a t-shirt? These people have no clue, and yet we've given them
guns, pensions, and the full power of the justice system behind them.
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/12/15/7397201/andrew-hawkins-browns-statement-shirt-police-demand-apologyhttp://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/rams-exec-denies-apology-to-police-chief-over--hands-up--gesture-044001777.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/sports/basketball/i-cant-breathe-tshirts-in-the-nba-how-jayz-lebron-james-and-others-made-them-happen.html
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