I needed to see if the protests and sit-ins, the marches and speeches, the blogs and tweets, the anguish and tears over the last couple years have had any impact on police and policing. To see whether the outcry over police brutality resulted in any measurable improvement in the culture of policing. What I found is beyond disappointing; in fact, it was downright depressing.
Quantitatively and qualitatively, things seem to be moving in the wrong direction. I looked to data to tell the story of police actions and to law enforcement blogs and tweets to tell the story of the mindset of members of the force.
I thought I’d find exactly what I found in the reactionary, knee-jerk reaction to #BLM. I thought I’d see that protesting against killer cops would be interpreted as an attack against all cops, and that’s exactly what I found. I saw the predictable #AllLivesMatter and #CopsLivesMatter which showed that LEOs have no interest in listening, much less trying to understand the concerns of protesters. But I understand the psychology behind that reaction. What I searched for and didn’t find was a counter narrative. I didn’t find the “good cops” stepping forward, fighting back and saying, “not in our names you won’t.”
Take this example from a blog talking about Dr. King and #BLM:
I am not saying that there is no racism (individually) but America is the least racist country in the world today. That can be proven but it does not matter because the media tries its hardest to keep the lie alive. 13% of the population commits about 50% of the murders but that does not make the news. BLM ignores the fact that in most major cities, black on black crime is the biggest killer of young black men because it does not support the rage.
Did you notice the “13% of the population” dig? Or the right wing talking point, “black on black crime”? Those are fighting words. I saw a lot of similar sentiments coming from our finest.
Check this entry about the response from President Obama:
Thugs and bullies who are being memorialized as heroes and those who stand in the gap to keep evil from triumphing over good people are now demonized. This same man refuses to celebrate the life of a Supreme Court Justice but uses his power to force the City of Ferguson into reforms that they themselves can’t afford to support a lie that never happened.
"My wife has 2 friends over that don't know each other the cool one says to me get me a drink nigger not knowing the other is married to one just happened right now LMFAO."
"White power."
In response to a text saying "Niggers should be spayed," Furminger wrote "I saw one an hour ago with 4 kids."
"I am leaving it like it is, painting KKK on the sides and calling it a day!"
"Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!"
In response to a text saying "All niggers must fucking hang," Furminger wrote "Ask my 6 year old what he thinks about Obama."
In response to a text saying "Just boarded train at Mission/16th," Furminger wrote "Ok, just watch out for BM's" [black males].
“We can’t do business the way we used to,” Alexander told the group in the opening session. He added, “Policing will become more convoluted and complicated as we move forward.” Police are called to a scene when there is a crime or there are issues to be resolved – therefore many encounters with police can be unpleasant or tense. Even a traffic stop can result in bad feelings toward police. But as officers learned, that feeling can be tempered by how the officer responds to the situation, both in their demeanor and their communication style. “Please leave people in a state where they will not hate the next officer they come in contact with,” says Lt. Ross, a 20-year veteran of the City of Decatur police department.
In the wake of the publicity surrounding the murders of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir and so many others, a new group of civil rights leaders pushed to the fore to join the fight on the behalf of the voiceless. Black Lives Matter, The Dream Defenders, Black Twitter, Shaun King, Deray Mckesson forced the national media to pay attention to the blood-stained streets and to demand that those responsible be held accountable.
The President gave speeches, signed into law pieces of legislation designed to protect the innocent. Democratic presidential candidates gave speeches and acknowledged that the present situation is untenable. The fight for justice on behalf of Black folks went international.
All of that and still police departments and District Attorneys appear to be caught in their own reality where it is ok to use deadly force at will.
When all is said and done, just what are we asking for?
Professionalism
Restraint
The use of force only as a very last resort, and deadly force only when ALL other alternatives have been exhausted and only when warranted.
Is that really too much to ask?
One writer on one of the for-cops websites was up in arms about the idea of reforming the use of force policy for the LAPD.
Under a plan unanimously approved Tuesday by the Police Commission, the Los Angeles Police Department will begin evaluating whether officers did all they could to defuse tense situations before they used force and rewrite policies to emphasize this behavior. This review will occur along with the usual determination about whether officers were justified in the use of force.
Our writer described the mere idea that cops should be required to employ tactics to de-escalate tense situations as “dangerous.”“The beginning of the end.” But he did say one thing with which I most heartily agree.
“The next decade in law enforcement will be the most important we have ever seen.”
It is said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The police should not have absolute power. Nobody should. Police Chiefs, District Attorneys, Mayors, Governors, and communities can and should ensure that law enforcement officers act within the laws they swear to uphold. We must work for a sophisticated police force that we can trust and respect. We cannot give up. We must not give up. The next decade will establish the relationship between cops and those they serve. Lives are at stake.
We are rapidly approaching the signature collection phase of our campaign to get the Over-Policed Rights Act on the California ballot. We will be needing your help.
This is a screengrab of the Summary and Title of the Ballot Initiative sent to us by the California Department of Justice:
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Our Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act as seen through the eyes of the California Justice Dept
We await word from the Secretary of State who will be sending us a schedule with the maximum filing deadline and the certification deadline.
More awesome news! Our law has been submitted as a Resolution to the NAACP. That august body will now discuss and then vote on whether to adopt The Michael Brown Over-Police Rights Act (MBOPRA) at the Legislative Session of the NAACP’s Annual Convention.
Authorities in San Antonio are investigating a video that surfaced Tuesday showing a uniformed police officer restraining a middle-school student from behind and slamming her to the ground. The video, recorded on a cellphoneat Rhodes Middle School, shows a scene that quickly turns tense, with one student repeatedly asking 12-year-old Janissa Valdez if she's okay as Officer Joshua Kehm handcuffs Valdez on the ground.
Authorities responded to reports that Boarts was suicidal and followed her in her car until she pulled off the road. Police said they shot Boarts when she got out with a weapon and 'charged' the officers. Boarts's family said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and they had called police because they were worried she would hurt herself with a knife.
________________________________
About Support the Dream Defenders
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.(Wordcloud composed of Support the Dream Defenders, Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act, Expand Medicaid, Freedom of Information Act Project, Combat Racism, Demand Equality.)
Members of the Daily Kos group Support the Dream Defenders launched four ongoing projects:
1. We came together to support the Dream Defenders in Florida and their mission, our first project and the origin of our name. The Dream Defendersdefend the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. by "develop[ing] the next generation of radical leaders to realize and exercise our independent collective power; building alternative systems and organizing to disrupt the structures that oppress our communities." Please donate here.
2. Our Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act, crowd-sourced at Daily Kos in the fall of 2014 after the death of Michael Brown. Our bill quickly earned endorsements from the NAACP and the ACLU. The NAACP forwarded our bill to members of Congress, and we distributed it to members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressive members of Congress. President Obama signed into a law a small piece of our bill in December 2014. The Department of Justice included parts of our law in their reports on Ferguson, Missouri, in 2015. Our state version of the MBOPRA is currently in committee in the Kansas legislature.
3. Our Freedom of Information Act project. Nineteen Republican governors chose to kill poor people by not expanding Medicaid. Ebola has killed about 9000 people in total; Republican governors kill 23,000 people PER YEAR by refusing federal support for Medicaid, a story ignored by traditional media. Our project forces those governors to out themselves, clapping them in a Catch 22. With the support of readers, we publicize our results through letters to the editor, press releases, and petitions.
You can receive all future diaries of Support the Dream Defenders in your Daily Kos Stream by clicking here. Then click "Follow," which will make all STDD diaries appear in "My Stream" of your Daily Kos page.
This is a community diary. Please Join us.
You are also welcome to join us on The Porch over at the Black Kos Community group on Friday afternoons at 4 p.m. ET."
