https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-by-police-yes-but-no/?utm_term=.ae4ac7d5d984
We do have a problem with police violence against the general population and against blacks in particular.
Closing our eyes will not make this problem go away.
I want police officers to be safe and to go home, but I also want my family and others to make it home safely.
A family friend's brother was killed in the line of duty and I see the a glimpse into the pain that family goes through. I'm not against cops. I work with the police on a regular basis and depend on them to keep me safe when I do - not to mention the job they do to keep me safe on a daily basis.
But there are too many that are just downright dirty, a number of which are also racist. (see cops planting evidence and the like). Too often those evil-doers are protected by other cops instead of being ostracized.
Then there are some that are afraid seemingly of their shadow. Take the case of an autistic man escorted by a black man. The black man got shot. The officer's excuse? He missed the autistic man, who was holding a toy truck. Both men were a non-threat.
Sometimes there is no video evidence. Other times it is inconclusive. And there are times where it shows improper conduct.
I grew up with the chief of police of my home town. Great guy and good cop. Also grew up with his predecessor - not a good man or cop.
Bottom line: Their motto is to protect and serve. Too often the object of those verbs is "cops" instead of "the people". They deserve our respect but their position of trust requires we treat them not with deference or indifference but with careful scrutiny using the highest standards.
Criminal justice reform should include deescalation training and be geared toward reduced adverse interactions with the public at large and blacks in particular given that there has been a concerted effort to increase adverse interactions - particularly in minority neighborhoods. We give police military gear and tactics - what results do we expect from them?! To a degree those things are necessary, but there is not an equal emphasis on discerning non or limited threats so that everyone lives through the interaction.
And there have been multiple overt efforts and laws in my lifetime that focused attention from police on minority areas. They were often called high crime or low income or inner city or high drug traffic areas or other euphemisms, but everyone knew what was being discussed. Those increased adverse interactions naturally lead to more adverse events and outcomes.
We can nitpick Kaepernick like people did Martin Luther King, Jr during his life in order to discredit him or we can listen to the message from many black people that they live in fear and their communities and families are being devastated by policies and policy enforcers that intentionally and/or inadvertently target them. We can change our country for the better or we can turn our backs on them. Either way, we live with the consequences.
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