The existence of police brutality has always been the reality of people in poor communities, and especially the black community. With the ubiquity of video cameras, this reality is laid bare to the general public.
Our community’s fear of the police officer, the very person who is paid to protect us, is a violation of the sacred trust that should exist between us (the community) and its servants (the police). Somehow through the marches and the call to action from an awoken populace, there is a false premise that the black community does not want or appreciate the police. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Like all communities, we want to be served and protected. We also understand that being a police officer can be a hard and sometimes dangerous job. We know that there are lawbreakers in our community as there are in white communities. However, our community often feels like it’s under siege and we collectively viewed as criminals who are guilty until proven innocent, and the police are often innocent even if proven guilty.
"What is often missed are the small and insidious ways in which this violence reveals itself."
Aside from the incidents caught on camera, what is often missed are the small and insidious ways in which this violence reveals itself. They are the small and recurrent indignities of plainclothes officer pulling up, pushing you against the wall and searching your pocket without any probable cause. It is the indifference of a police officer pulling you over for no other reason than driving black in the wrong (white) neighborhood. It is the humiliation of being detained without cause and released without charge.
The police know that their power has its limits. One illustration is the ways in which the police enforced the social distancing rules . The videos of how the police responded to different communities showed that they know the rules but just chose to apply different ones to our community. The police showed great restraint against armed protesters breaking into the Michigan capital statehouse and the President’s support for those demonstrators stand in sharp contrast to the response to unharmed protesters.
"As usual, the politicians will revert to two often-used strategies to deflect."
One, they propose giving more money to police departments for training. However, we already know that training is not the issue because the police are able to use great restraints when dealing with white offenders. Indeed, we are often in awe at their ability to track and apprehend white mass murderers alive.
Second, they (the politicians), they will propose the creation of new commissions. However, we have had dozens of commissions at the federal and local levels. During the Obama administration, it was called the “21st Century Task Force on Policing.” Under the current one, it’s called the Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Whether Republicans or Democrats, after every high-profile police killing, politicians promise reforms but once dust settle, they either slow-walk the recommendations that were made by their commissions or the cities and the police departments outright ignore the consent decrees. It is not difficult to see why the context has deteriorated:
- Some police officers, who may already see the community as their enemy, are then given a quota by their leadership, which translates into stops and frisks so they can make the numbers.
- Politicians who are elected by the people are often more afraid of the police unions than they are of the people who elected them.
- The courts have shown leniency to officers who have openly flaunted and clearly violated the public trust.
Despite all of this, it would be disingenuous to paint all officers with the same brush. Indeed, there are decent officers doing a difficult and stressful job. Most people understand this but as the saying goes, “One bad apple can spoil the bunch." The bad apples in police departments around the country who act with impunity, impugn the reputation of their colleagues and their entire department.
"Three actions to start change in police departments and the system."
Below are three actions proposals to affect changing in police departments and in the system in which they operate.
1. Demilitarize the police
There is a reason why police are separate and different from the military. The approach but also the mentality is different. The police are trained to capture an offender, which seems to happen when said offender is white and even after committing mass murders. Too often we see police officers looking like they are ready to enter black community as if they were about to put down an Iraqi counterinsurgency.
2. Hold the police accountable to the basic standards of right and wrong
The power and legitimacy of police officers are derived directly from the trust of the people. A police officer should have some protection in doing their jobs but it is unacceptable that they be allowed to abuse the very citizens whose taxes pay for their salaries. An officer who is found to have the broken the rules and the law should be held personally liable. The covenant between the police and the people has been broken far too often by officers who, backed by the unions, have come to believe that they are above the rules and the law. They live behind the blue wall and operate in the shadow of cover provided by police unions who yield influence over the people’s representatives.
3. Bring policing and social services closer to the people
The idea of community policing is common sense but it is neither novel nor a panacea. Diversity and bringing the police closer to the community are important but can only be part of the solution. As the Atlanta case shows, five of the six officers charged with assaulting the two young college students, are black. The strategies of defunding basic social issues like jobs, housing, education, healthcare in black communities have shown themselves to be counterproductive and therefore, must stop. The time has come to reduce NYC massive police budget in order make greater investments in community services.
"The American dream can no longer be deferred nor denied."
Once again, blacks are called upon to be the mirror that reminds America of its legacy but also to reflect the potential it still holds to be a beacon for the world. The American dream can no longer be deferred nor denied, and there is a new generation who will no longer accept that their cries for justice fall on deaf or placated by false promises.
The police and politicians must be held accountable to the people they have sworn to serve. The covenant is broken and it is now time to reassess the power, the deference but also the many responsibilities that have been given to the police. For far too long, the politicians have used the police to control black bodies and to suppress our demands for equity and justice in housing, schools, economic opportunities and access to health care. As we say their names, we are also saying that justice will no longer be delayed or denied, and that without justice there can be no peace.
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