Police Accountability

I like policemen. I like their dedication to law and order. I respect their training and their judgment. I rely on them to maintain order and peace in my community, and yours, and the county, region, state and nation.

I also know police are human beings. Their job is often difficult. Working conditions are often in crummy places and outdoors in all kinds of weather. They are spit upon, shot at, sniped and cussed. Their judgment in the field is made more difficult. Timeliness is a factor, split seconds, really. And emotion. And fear, too.

I basically trust police. I support them. Until I see a fault.

For many years police have failed to police their own colleagues. Bad apples do exist. If they are allowed and protected by colleagues, the entire police force becomes suspect. Policing the force from within is the only effective means to keep all police honest and worthy of community respect.

Bad apples shake community trust to the core. Good cops are lumped with the bad. As unfair as that may be, the public has no choice. They are not part of the force. Only the police are. They have to protect their profession by keeping their house clean. Period.

The Breonna Taylor case in Louisville is a case in point. The police were not in uniform. The police made a middle of the night raid. The facts surrounding the warrant were in question. Turned out to be a bad warrant and raid. The residents of the apartment were asleep and innocent. The boyfriend thought their home was under attack by unknown persons. He protected his castle. And Breonna was shot when police responded to the boyfriend’s gunshots. Chaos followed with the assumption that the police had the right to do what they did. Accordingly the grand jury found in favor of the police.

Justice was not done for Breonna. Justice was not done for the boyfriend. Justice was not done for the police, either. The case is a mess and a clarion example of systemic malfeasance in the justice system, community policing and racism. If you don’t see this as fact, then you must be white, uninvolved, and/or privileged.

This is why Black Lives Matter matters.

Police professionals – behind desks or on the streets – have the power and motivation to get this right. They are the only ones who can. Meanwhile, the public will continue to lower their respect and trust in the very people entrusted with the mission to serve and protect.

Police unions are part of the problem and need to be defanged. Police administration must lead and support the rank and file when right. Rank and file must police their own to maintain trust and honor of the profession.

No more excuses.

September 26, 2020