The problem is that the job of policing is naturally attractive to bullies. You get to wear a
uniform, be part of a powerful brotherhood, carry a gun and assorted other weapons, give orders to people, and beat on anyone who doesn’t jump on command. You don’t need a lot of brains, many places don’t require any college at all.
Cell phone videos are a wonderful thing. We didn’t have them when I was young. George Floyd would have died in anonymity and Derek Chauvin would be on to his next bust.
I’ve met a couple of those bullies. One pulled me (and the 14-year-old boy I was giving a ride home on my motorcycle) over and held us up against a wall at gunpoint while she called backup. Would not tell me a thing about why. Every time I asked why, there was a barrage of obscenities, essentially saying, “Shut the F*** up!”
Burbank PD is institutionally brutal. I’ve read other accounts.
Eventually, other police showed up and said a liquor store had been robbed and we were suspects. After what felt like a long period of time they let us go. No search, no questions, no apology. (“Sorry for the inconvenience” would have been nice.) She did write me a bogus ticket for speeding and running a red light, probably as a justification for the stop.
I got the impression she was trying to prove she could be as dominating as the male cops. Or maybe she really was frightened by the two very polite guys she’d stopped. Either way, she did not belong on the force.
Damn! Just run my plates, look at my license, and let us go!
A loaded gun is a very frightening thing to have pointed at you. Especially by a cop who didn’t seem to have herself under very good control. One shaky trigger finger away from being dead. I wonder how the young boy felt about the police after that?
Another time I was in a car with some friends at a McDonalds. One of the 3 guys in the back seat got out and took a leak against the car next to us. I was sitting there wondering why in hell the guy in the back did that instead of just going inside for the restroom. Next thing I know, 4 people come charging out of the restaurant. Turns out it was an unmarked cop car and they were plainclothes police.
The first cop there grabbed me thru my open car window, pulled me out thru it (My seat belt wasn’t on.) and then bounced me on the hood a couple times demanding to know who pissed on his car. I was too shocked to say anything and so he kept bouncing me. Finally, I got out that it was someone in the back seat but I didn’t know who and the bouncing stopped.
It is a fact that someone with Asperger’s vapor locks in highly emotional situations. Even if I wanted to tell that cop what he wanted to know, I couldn’t have. Aggressive people interpret that as an intentional refusal.
The poor guy in the back was arrested and charged with indecent exposure, public urination, and destruction of city property. We pooled our money so he could make bail. That was the last I ever heard of it.
That was Indianapolis.
I may be white but I understand completely why blacks or Hispanics (who probably have more bad experiences than I did) or a bunch of kids in a junk car or anyone riding a motorcycle might develop an intense distrust of the police. They overreact, some are ordinary bullies and some are genuine racists.
The paramilitarization of police is a horrifying trend. Even the ordinary cop carries a 
semiauto pistol with a high capacity magazine with a hair-trigger. And that is why poor Amadou Diallo was shot 19 times with 41 shots fired because he reached for his wallet too quickly when asked for ID.
I’ve fired a lot of guns. Any kind of surprise, the adrenaline in your veins, and the light touch it takes to set most semiautos off makes it easy to send rounds downrange even if you don’t intend to. And then cops are trained to shoot until the target no longer moves, not to keep their finger off the trigger.
A century of movies and novels and TV series convinced the general public that these things don’t happen – and if they did the victim probably had it coming. The better quality of treatment in middle-class and affluent areas prevents those people from ever experiencing such abuse.
Watch some Adam-12 reruns if you get a chance. That was what the popular image of policing was back then. Cops never assault an innocent person, right? You had to be a scumbag to attract their attention, right?
The truth is that cops are taught to physically dominate a situation – even when it isn’t needed – and get a pass on most instances of excessive force. Black cops as well as white. Even female cops. This gives bullies a license to do what they love doing and trains good people to behave abusively instead of defusing a situation.
They have a higher proportion of bullies than almost any other job description. They are a part of a brotherhood that sets them apart from the people they protect and this encourages an “us vs. them” attitude. A union that has their backs when it comes to protecting them from the consequences of their actions. A culture that encourages them to look the other way when a fellow cop misbehaves.
But before we start defunding things, better have plan B up and running before you do. We need policing of some sort. Sometimes they will need guns.
All those local businesses – mom and pop shops, pharmacies, shoe & clothing stores, grocery stores – weren’t looted and burned because of black rage. A lot of it was highly organized.
It happened because the police weren’t there and wouldn’t be there quickly. They were busy chasing around peaceful protestors because that’s where they were told to go. City and police department leadership have some explaining to do on this.
And some of those cops went overboard either because of bad training or a naturally aggressive personality and made things worse.
Looters behaving badly
What I would do:
- Give the police revolvers again. Or at least a heavier trigger pull on semi-automatic handguns with small-cap magazines.
- Better firearms training. Much, much better. Emphasis on not shooting people who don’t need to be shot.
- Body cams on all officers on at all times.
- Lose the military-style armored vehicles.
- A prohibition on “no-knock” warrants.
- A prohibition on physical restraints that easily turn deadly.
- A prohibition on asset forfeiture without a guilty verdict.
- Better filtration to keep bullies, racists, etc. from entering the force to begin with. Then apply the same filter to those already on the force or consulting for it.
- College degree to be a cop. An AA in a related field as a minimum.
- Recruit harder in minority communities. If a good prospect lacks a degree, prepare to send them to school.
- Train the police to de-escalate and defuse, to attempt conflict resolution before going all dominant.
- Train the police to understand what might be going thru the arrested person’s mind. People get hysterical and irrational without it being a threat requiring violence to subdue.
- Training on implicit and explicit bias.
- Send the police where they are needed, not where it is politically expedient.
- Make police misconduct records public. Do not hire police from other organizations with bad records.
- Strengthen our interpretation of the Posse Comitatus Act. The regular military has no business on American streets.
I don’t expect that all of these will be enacted. The more of them we can bring online, the better. Probably one reform at a time at a rate they can be absorbed. You can transfer money from the police to social services but defunding them or disbanding them without a replacement is a nonstarter. The people who live in impoverished areas want more police. After all, that is where most crime happens. But they want police who are their friends and not a subjugating force.
October 9, 2020 at 12:10
Following a hip replacement, on the advice of my therapist, I began going barefooted when I had the opportunity. One day I was hiking through my quiet neighborhood and saw a couple of police cars a a house. A police officer, talking sideways into his radio, strode toward me, and I asked him, “What’s going on here?”
He explained, “I need to see some identification.” I gave him my driver’s license and another officer came out of the house and stayed with me while my license was taken inside. This officer wanted to know, “Why are you tiptoeing around the neighborhood?”
I explained my therapy and she told me, “Well. You know — you could be charged with Disorderly Conduct.”
This was my first uncomfortable encounter with the new police practice. I am now ultra-careful around cars that have a sign on them, “To Protect and to Serve.”
October 9, 2020 at 12:22
“Disorderly conduct” is one of those charges they use if you aren’t breaking a law but they just want you out of their way. The definition is vague and subjective enough to be anything the cop doesn’t like..Unless you really are doing something stupid, the judge will throw the case out but you’ve got the inconvenience of a court appearance.
They will also throw it at you if they suspect you of a crime but want more time to investigate because you could actually be arrested for it and not just ticketed.
June 28, 2020 at 16:20
We need a return to the neighborhood cop on the corner who rescues kittens, escorts old ladies across the street, and knows his neighbors, not some paramilitary force that sweep in and attacks before assessing the situation. Police should be trained in deescalating potentially dangerous situations. They should have adequate oversight and should be held accountable for their actions. Get rid of the old boy/girl network that protects their fellow officers when they commit crimes.
I am all for providing the support of social workers and paramedics to assist police. Police should not be expected to be marriage counselors or mental health professionals. That is not their area of expertise.
June 27, 2020 at 19:38
I’m sorry you had to have those experiences. I’ve been bullied by police several times – and here I am a 5 foot tall white girl. One of the bullies, it turned out later, was the nephew of a local Judge – but in spite of that he did finally get charged for the RAPES he was committing as a regular part of his “patroling”. I was just lucky, I think, because he didn’t realize until after he pulled me over that the person in the passenger seat was a man with long hair rather than another woman. My husband and I were frequently pulled over because as a Native American he is often taken as a Hispanic with a little blond white girl – and that’s damn suspicious! One cop actually said he pulled us over because (this was his entire reason) we were driving a Cutlass and they are a frequently stolen model of car… yeah, and my husband is brown and I’m blond/white so… Sigh. No racial profiling there. Another male officer pulled me over for no reason except that I pulled out of a bar parking lot late at night. Yes. I was the bartender. I closed the bar and went to drive home. He yanked me out of the car and made me do the soberiety tests. I passed them all. I tried to politely explain that I was the bartender, and therefore, in that place and time, it was illegal for me to drink while I worked – so I had not had a single drink. This man who would make three of me towered over me, bent me backwards against the hood of my car, screaming and spitting in my face – while his rookie trainee watched. So, yeah, I get what that was about. Look what power I have and what I can do – and someday you can do it, too! I can scare small women. He literally yelled at me non-stop for like an hour. Long enough that by the time I did get home my husband was in a panic and …. calling the police. (before everyone had a cell phone days)
I have to say I think the major issue is the over militarization of the police. When the military gets new toys now – they give the old toys to the police. Now stack that on top of the frequent hiring of veterans who were trained in urban warfare and who may have varying degrees of PTSD or prejudice against anyone non-white or non-American appearing. Personally, I’d really like to see our police disarmed altogether, left with stun guns perhaps (although they can kill if misused). Guns are available but only with permission for raids or such like things. We’ve got to get rid of the whole confiscation of property – which is sold or then used by the police. If it is confiscated improperly – you better have a few thousand laying around to hire a lawyer to fight to get it back – if it hasn’t been sold already. It makes it literally profitable for the police to abuse people that “may” have some link to crime. And we have to make it a firing penalty to mistreat an innocent citizen, or kill someone who wasn’t literally shooting at cops or citizens. No ifs, ands, buts or explanation – bam – you are no longer a cop. And now we look at criminal charges for you. And yes – non-stop body cams, and if you turn that off, you’re fired. There’s no reason unless you are doing something criminal.
I was an Animal Control Officer many years ago – to do that I was actually a commissioned officer. I took all the exams the police take, and attended a partial police academy. My point being – I’ve seen those mental health exams. Anyone can see what the “right” answers are to the questions and make themselves sound “right” pretty easily. Bullies will certainly skim right through. I mean really, they actually ask you if you think you’re parents were good people…and do you think there is someone following you. I was raised by a child molestor and abuser and I said “Oh my parents were good people”, because I wanted the job. The psychological testing is a joke.
I also know, from that experience and others, that the cops themselves most certainly know who the bullies and abusers are among them – but are discouraged from turning anyone in from fear they’ll be the ones punished. But yeah, everyone in the station knows who is abusing. I’m pretty sure that several of those cops watching knew damn good and well the killer cop was going to kill that victim and did not step in. We need to find a way to fix that.
Defunding is a politicians way to look like they’re doing something – something that is only going to make things worse and make the cops – the good cops – feel like they are the victims here. Fueling more resentment and anger and abuse. I don’t have the answer, but I don’t kid myself that any politician does either. This has been going for a good sixty years that I know of. All this rhetoric of “cleaning up the police” is just talk – nothing gets done – or what has been done obviously hasn’t worked.
My best thought is we need to give credit to good cops, and stop tolerating bad ones, even marginally sort of grey area bad, out with them. Full time body cams and maybe a citizen crew that sits and watches that footage over the next day or two and has the power to question and fire. And if a cop blows the whistle on another cop – GOOD FOR HIM/HER rather than ostracizing them or punishing them. And disarm those fuckers. Maybe have a small, elite crew of sharpshooters for special situations such as stand offs with hostages. And we need to look at our laws and get rid of the ones that exist largely to harass people of color or any “disliked” sort of minority. We could make all drugs totally legal and get rid of the DEA and all the stupid drug busts altogether. If drugs are legal, then corporations will gladly take over selling and eliminate the criminal – gun toting – element altogether.
That’s a whole nother thing and I’ve written a freaking novel here. Sorry. LOL. Good post. Thanks for tackling a difficult subject.
June 15, 2020 at 11:33
I’m so sorry all of those things happened to you and I can kind of relate in a way. As a trans person on the spectrum, I’ve seen how the police tend to treat people they perceive as different or mentally ill, and it’s not pretty. It reminds me a lot of the bullies who used to beat me up in high school. And then to think, what I went through is just a fraction of what the average black or latinx person has to think about every day. It’s royally fucked up.
I honestly think we need to defund the police, and start putting that money towards resources that can better serve our community. We shouldn’t have cops patrolling middle school hallways or arresting people for having a mental health crisis. We can use that funding to have more/better teachers, doctors, social workers, artists and musicians. These are all fields that are constantly strapped for cash, but don’t get help because it’s seen as politically untenable to take money away from the police and military.
June 15, 2020 at 00:22
As a non American and from a country with a much softer approach police force (maybe at times even negatively so) all I can say is that I feel you are right about fake cops on tv. It seems like cops are actually more like how gym coaches are depicted on tv.
Power corrupts, so I’d suggest a psychologicsl test that screens out inferiority complexes or feelings of grandeur.. people who feel powerless suddenly basking in their new found respect or people intending to get such a job for such power will always be the wrong one.
I’d suggest that police partner always represent some form of oposite, be it in etnicity , gender or maybe a great age gap. Do anything you can to make sure each duo on the streets is NOT of one mind. Let them be each others anchors. Two views are always better than one. It would mean restructuring yes but by now I feel it might be needed for your system ( as looked as from the outside)
June 15, 2020 at 11:15
People on the inside are often so wrapped up in fighting alligators it takes an outsider to remind them their job was really to drain the swamp. They should listen.
June 14, 2020 at 20:13
EXELLENT!
I’d repost on my blog but I don’t know how so I’m going to provide a link.
Well said – all of it.