Mai Nowlin
Not a day goes by without news
of another case of police brutality or the abuse of power by officers, which
begs the question: is this the new norm? There was a time when it was not so
common to hear about abuse by the police, let alone see actual footage of the
abuse taking place. But now in this age of technology, camera phones, video
cameras and even squad car dash cams have made it possible for the general
public to have access to the rampant abuse of power by law enforcement. As
police brutality becomes more commonplace one is left to wonder if the public
can ever really feel safe and protected by the very ones supposedly charged
with that duty.
It has been said that the
supreme court indicated it was not an officers job to protect the public but
only to enforce the laws. If this is in fact the case, then those false “To
Protect and Serve” logos need to be immediately removed from every surface they
exist on. If citizens cannot depend on those who are charged with the
responsibility of peace keeping, who then will keep the peace? How scary is it
that often times in situations that are initially harmless, if the police show
up, that situation has an increased chance of possibly getting much worse by
them becoming involved. An innocent person is more likely to end up with
something life changing happening to them that will definitely be painful in
one way or another. It is no secret that this scenario is especially true for
minorities and has been for a very long time. When viewed from the point of
view of minorities, police brutality and the abuse of power by the justice
system is not a new norm at all, but has always been the case.
Presently, there has been a
noticeable shift in the nature of this long standing abuse. There are now more
cases of the police abusing any and everybody be they young, old, black, white,
human or animal. They are bursting into homes (often the wrong ones) shooting
and killing residents, but then claiming somebody had a weapon or made a sudden
move causing them to fear for their lives. They are shooting people in the back
then claiming the person again had a weapon or came at them threateningly. In
many of these cases the police have been found to have falsified reports, planted
evidence and flat out been the aggressor. There was a time when they could and
did easily get away with this behavior. Even with incriminating video evidence
they still are known to get off without so much as a reprimand. Why is this,
and what can both the public and honest law enforcement personnel do about it?
The answers may not be easy but the current vibe between average citizens and
the police are troubling to say the least.
The rampant and heinous abuse
of those officers who operate outside the perimeters of their sworn duties has
become much more than just troubling. The problem is heating to a rapid boil as
the recent events surrounding the homeless man who was killed by police in
Albuquerque have shown. It is sadly not far fetched or extreme to think that it
will come down to hand to hand combat in the event of say, marshal law. It is
already happening all over the globe. When you can kill with impunity the
balance becomes lopsided making a very dangerous recipe for disaster. It seems
that with all the gun violence going on, both the police and the public have
become jumpy and nervous and much more likely to shoot first and sort out the
details later. Trust is rapidly dwindling and the “us” versus “them” syndrome
is becoming ever more pronounced and noticeable. Interestingly, when officers
are not actively on duty, they tend to lead normal lives just like the rest of
us which makes it difficult to understand the animosity and division between
them and the public when the uniform goes back on. It has been said that the
police are a “gang” unto themselves and that many of them over time develop a
genuine sense of superiority over citizens and view them as disposal collateral
in the so called war against crime.
These days, people are just
downright afraid and distrustful of the police. Even senior citizens are at
risk of being killed by a nervous cop, as in the recent case of the elderly
gentleman who was tragically shot after exiting his car as he reached over to
retrieve his walking stick, which the officer mistook as a shotgun. There were
two victims in that situation because the officer who mistakenly shot the man
is said to have broken down with abject remorse soon after the shooting. It
really shows that things are spiraling out of control when an armed officer has
to feel that he can’t even trust the intentions of an elder. Yet it would seem
that neither can the general public trust the intentions of an officer. You
just never know if you’re going to have the awful luck of coming into contact with
a cop who has an evil agenda. If police contact does occur even under mundane
circumstances, the immediate reaction might be to panic and start thinking
things like “maybe if I act this way or that way, or say this or say that I can
avoid an altercation and not end up getting a bs ticket, going to jail or even
worse, getting killed!” What an awful way to have to feel when dealing with the
police in minor situations. The threat of police brutality and the abuse of
power becoming the new norm is proving to be a deadly combination for both
citizens and those charged with policing them.
Someone once shared a theory
that the reason so many officers have abusive personalities is because
frequently, the types of people who are attracted to law enforcement are usually
types who were bullies to begin with. They went on to state that many of them
harbor borderline psychotic and deviant personalities and are somehow able to
get past the vetting process. It stands to reason that the promise of power and
the lack of oversight is appealing to these types. Maybe the vetting process
should be vetted! It appears that all too often many officers go well beyond
what is required as far as violence is concerned. What ever happened to aiming
for non lethal targets when firing on citizens? And why is it so common to see
a large number of officers swarm on just one person? Understandably situations
can and often do escalate quickly, which is why it is important for officers to
get thorough and effective training in how to deal with the public. Because
clearly there is a vital component lacking in the process.
It must also be said that
obviously all officers are not corrupt or out to kill. Certainly the actions of
bad police make it even harder on those who genuinely wish to do an honest job
and be upstanding in their privileged positions. In all honesty, the actions of
officers who are either corrupt, badly trained, trigger happy or just scared
and or inept are making things bad for decent officers and everyone else as
well. Something has to give and more dialogue has to start happening or we will
simply be doomed to more of the same. If things ever get so bad that this
country finds its citizens facing off against any branch of law enforcement,
hopefully those in uniform will realize in time that, they are us, just as we
are them. Here’s to hoping that true healing can begin and that the abuse and
brutality will rapidly become a thing of the past.
