Let me vent for a minute, as maybe one of your few friends that has actually been in law enforcement for most of his life. This is a long read, so feel free to skip it. But if you want to have an opinion about this, make it an educated one.
I've arrested at least three thousand people in my career, mostly high-level offenders, and was on maybe a thousand "high risk" warrants. For virtually every one of those people, we were all that stood between them and their freedom and they would have hurt us in a second if they had the opportunity. I say that only to make it clear I was actually in the mix and not behind a desk. Let me add not one complaint filed. Not. One. And I was only hurt once or twice 🙄. There were at least a handful I probably should have sent to meet their maker and didn't.
You can't just de-fund the police regardless of your definition, it's a horrible idea. They are essential and necessary and are literally that "thin blue line" between the good people and the bad people in this world. Look up "End of Watch" for the movie version. Until you've been there you don't realize that there are some truly evil people. And I can't tell you how many times we went to a house and what was behind the door wasn't what we were told, so sending out unarmed social workers will turn into a sh*t show. The attitude that if you stop treating people like criminals they will quit acting like criminals is liberal nonsense. And I'm a liberal.
If you're a politician or you're not in law enforcement, you shouldn't get an opinion on tactics and equipment. Getting rid of Night Service and No-Knock warrants solves a problem that didn't exist and sets a dangerous precedent. Most (not all) departments take tactics very seriously, and they evolve over time based on what works and doesn't work. Mistakes are costly. Things we did 20 years ago we don't do now, because they were ineffective or unsafe or there was a better way. There are training standards throughout the country based on best practices. If a tactic doesn't work it's more likely a training issue. If it's intentionally used improperly it's more likely a culture issue. All police officers are someone's spouse or kid or parent; they are willing give their life to protect you, and deal with the worst society has to offer; and they deserve to come home at the end of the day. I can't count how many times I said goodbye to my wife and wondered if it might be the last time. If it was your kid or spouse, ask yourself how much money or equipment or training would be too much...
So that brings me to what's going on today. Am I angry at what's happening? Sure. Are some officers and perhaps departments racist or incompetent? Probably. Does something need to change? Of course.
So how do we fix it?
First, require a higher standard for training. Most bad shootings and injuries occur because the officer was poorly trained to respond. For example, the carotid choke was a great tool, I've used it effectively a hundred times. A bad guy wants to fight, you put him out, and he wakes up in 15 seconds in handcuffs. Safely resolved for everyone. But too many people were injured and most depts ended it. Biden wants to ban it federally. I would argue George Floyd might still be alive if they were allowed to use a carotid choke. To put it in context, it's one of the first things they teach us in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it is done on hundreds of students of all ages on a daily basis all across the country, and I don't remember ever reading about a single injury. I've had it done to me plenty. The difference is in the training. All all of these officers that train in BJJ on their own time so they can de-escalate effectively just lost a key tool. The knee that killed Floyd is effective when done correctly, it pins them down, but I can't imagine doing it on someone's neck. Or continuing to pin them down after they're under control. Though I just saw the whole video and he fought hard with 4 cops for a solid 5 minutes before they finally got him down. So, there's that. In Ferguson, the overweight and out-of-shape cop shot an unarmed black man because the cop was physically unable to defend himself against a bigger person. There is almost no reason to ever shoot an unarmed person, if you can't at least keep them occupied until help arrives you should probably be working somewhere else. Teach the best techniques, and train the best techniques - we can't keep lowering the bar for optics. Training standards need to be reinforced and tested regularly.
Second, police the culture. Similar to the Peter principle, I have the Mark Principal - a government agency will degrade from its highest level of mismanagement. An effective sergeant will have an effective unit; show me a corrupt or racist or inept sergeant and the unit will follow. People gravitate towards like-minded people. If there is one problem, there are probably allot of problems. You can't stop with one bad officer, keep going up the chain. The guy that killed Floyd was the training officer for the other two present. And his mgmt knew his issues, they were well-documented, yet gave him two rookies. Hold them accountantable also. Enough said.
Third is simple, apply the Golden Rule to police; I have said before that communities get the cops they deserve. I have worked in communities where they were kind and respectful to police, and the police were kind and respectful to them. I have worked in communities that hated the police, and every contact was a confrontation. Ethnicity and economics weren't the issue. If you are consistently confrontational with them, they will become consistently confrontational with you. I've never met a cop that came out of the academy hating a particular ethnicity, but I've seen plenty that learned to. If you're out on a walk and get bit by a pitbull, the next pitbull you see you'll react differently, even though it may be sweet as pumpkin pie. You may even decide you don't like pitbulls. I'm not saying it's right, but I am saying it's simple human nature. Goes both ways. Improve relations, bridge the gap. Break the stereotypes. The police need to have positive interactions with the public, and the public needs to have positive interactions with the police. It's the key to moving forward.
Finally, officers need to be held to a higher standard. Period. Put an end to arbitrary protections, have a zero tolerance for intentional misconduct. That doesn't mean getting rid of qualified immunity, which is absolutely necessary. Get rid of that and no one who is competent is going to want to be a cop.
But all of the cops that I have seen shooting pepper balls at the press and intentionally assaulting peaceful protesters should be out the door, no further conversation. I watched a YouTube video of a black army lieutenant in uniform dragged out of his car after a felony vehicle stop for an expired registration. And DWB. I know what was really happening, you can side chat me if you need it explained. Their supervisors should be held accountable because they're responsible for that culture. In the old days, we policed our own. I can say in my career I've worked with hundreds, maybe thousands, of local police ... And I can count the a-holes on one hand. The ones in my agency we got rid of or put out in the weeds before something bad happened. If an officer is alt-right, to put it charitably, handle it and get rid of them. I don't for a minute believe in second-guessing decisions made in the heat of the moment, but if it was a poor one made by a good cop have an honest assessment of what can be done to make that officer better. Don't just clear it and put them back on the street.
Last thing, and most important.
I think we are living in a time that has been intentionally made more divisive, us v. them. Cops are being crucified today for shooting a 16yo black girl who WAS TRYING TO STAB two other girls. The commentator literally said "why didn't they fire a warning shot in the air or tase her or something?" FFS. See above about opinions. FL just passed a law that makes it OK to run down protesters, and in FL we all know they really mean only black protesters. It seems on one side, racist, fascist and authoritarian behavior have been given a voice and encouraged and supported by the right. On the other side, verbally and physically provoking and assaulting police officers has become acceptable, resisting police is considered a civil right, and liberal politicians are trying to regulate something they know nothing about.
Let me end with the hardest thing for civilians to understand, and the first thing I drilled into my trainees. IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A FAIR FIGHT. If a bad guy comes at you with a 3, you don't have to respond at a 4. You give 100% as soon as you have to put hands on them. The good guys have to win every time. Every. Time.
So... Be kind. Support your local police (and Feds). And keep Voting.
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