Angry: The Problem with the Police

Stock Photo via Pond5

I have never had a bad encounter with the police.  When I've been pulled over my biggest fear has generally been about what's about to happen to my bank account. I've written about the police before on this blog, over ten years ago in a post entitled "Lessons Learned from the Long Arm of the Law." Spoiler alert: It was positive. Even after everything that has happened in the past few weeks, if I felt like I or my family was in danger, I would still feel comfortable calling the police.*  A police officer--an African American woman--lives in our neighborhood.  And this guy right here was one of my students' heroes--and is one of mine too.

Former student El-Ryck Kendrick with one CPD's finest. El-Ryck chose the Columbus Police Department as oneo f his heroes for my 7th and 8th graders Heroes Reception back in 2013 and this officer attended the gala event as the department's representative.

Now, don't get too excited. Before you run off sharing this post far and wide as proof that the police don't have a problem (See, this black guy says he's not afraid for his life!).  You might want to keep reading. You see what I am is anecdotal evidence (I just talked about this in a recent Dispatch from Coronaville post). One person's story is not proof of a general principle.  At issue here is not individual police officers personal prejudices or an individual black person's response.  The concern is a systemic need for accountability when it comes to what the police can do without consequence.

Here's the reality: The relationship between the police and predominantly black communities, the relationship between law enforcement and black people has been fraught for a very long time.  Again, understanding history is vital to understanding racism in America.  For generations the police have been white society's chief tool for keeping black people "in line."  While for most white Americans, the police are friendly presence that makes them feel safe, for most black Americans a police presence is cause for heightened caution. And that's true even for me. I generally don't worry about getting  mistreated by cops, but I also would never have the temerity to do this, like, ever: 

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  We are not certain the police are on our side, and that is because for a long time they haven't been. I find that many white people have this kind of knee jerk defensiveness whenever there is even mild criticism of the police.  And it makes sense, after all, since the police have always been there to serve and protect their interests.  That has not been the case historically for black people.  I guess the idea is that the approach of policing black America instead of protecting them just kind of disappeared sometime after Martin Luther King Jr? How does that work exactly?  Has it worked?

Let me clear up a few misconceptions:

The problem isn't that police killings are the leading cause of  death among black Americans. They are not. A common misdirection is to point out that a black person has greater chance of being killed by a another black person than by a police officer.  But that's not the point. We are not arguing about who one is most likely to be killed by, but addressing why black Americans have a higher likelihood of being killed by police than their white peers do. 

The problem is not the racism of individual officers. It's not about a few bad apples and mostly good cops. It's not even about the racism of white people in general.  The undercover cop who killed Prince Jones, an unarmed black man, back in 2000 was black.  Some of the officers involved with the death of Freddie Gray were black. And at least one of the four cops arrested for George Floyd's death doesn't look quite white (and I"m not talking about the Asian officer).  Racist assumptions about black pathology, the supposed inherent violence of black people, the danger of "black anger", the risk of the physicality of the black man (side note: one of the reasons I worry less is because of my build; I can't conceive of myself looking like a threat to anyone, which is not quite the same as saying that I wouldn't be perceived as a threat)--all of these things affect everyone of every race. They permeate our society. It seems absurd to think that somehow law enforcement would be immune from these assumptions. 

The problem is police being allowed too much latitude to harm civilians as part of doing their job. I believe it was Floyd's status as a black man that led to Chauvin to put his knee on Floyd's neck (I have a hard time imagining Officer Chauvin would have done this to a white man or woman). But it was Chauvin's status as a police officer that led him to keep his knee on Floyd's neck, ending his life.  He believed that there would be no meaningful consequence for his actions. And he had good reason to believe so, given the litany of complaints against him over the years all of which had come to naught. He was certain that the thin blue line, that code that officers share, would rise to protect him.

There are service professions: Teaching, medicine, and firefighting are examples.  Police work is also intended to be a service profession.  Police exist--or should exist--primarily in a defensive capacity, to keep people safe.  They are not intended to be soldiers. While in rare cases they may have to use deadly force, their job is not to kill people. If you want to be a solider, join the military, not the police. 

The solution to our police problem is clear. It's not making officers "less racist."  You can't mandate a change of heart.  What we can do is enact laws that hold police accountable. No police officer should go about their work feeling that they can do pretty much whatever they want without consequence. It's fair to say most police officers won't take advantage of that opportunity, but there are those who will. And there are many who wouldn't themselves but who will feel duty bound to close ranks around their fellow members of the force who do. We've had this backward notion that because the police have greater power they should have less responsibility, less accountability.  Conviction of these four officers should be a given, but even if they are convicted (and especially if they are not) our focus needs to be on drafting laws that demand accountability from police for the actions they take.  For the "not about race" crowd,  and you libertarians concerned about the authoritarian state--this is your moment. These laws wouldn't be "about race", they would benefit everyone. But they would especially benefit those who have been dis-proportionally affected by police violence.

Calling for police reform is not anti-cop anymore than calling for education reform is anti-teacher. We can do better.  We must do better. And when we do everyone will benefit.

*And that's what I did. How's this for irony. Guess what I did just as I was beginning to work on this post last Thursday night?  I called. ..the police.  Barbara was working late at her school. No one else was in the building. She heard voices and saw at least four people walking around outside her classroom windows. She was afraid to go out into the darkened back parking lot alone. Since we have only one vehicle, I couldn't go to her which is what I would have done. She never told me the race of the people outside--she may not have known--and I never asked.  She asked me to call the police for her, and I did. It turned out that there a group of eight guys playing basketball in the gym across from Barbara's classroom with the lights out. It's not clear how they got in, but it appears a door was left unlocked. They were cooperative by all accounts, and left without incident.