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So I am going to get back to this tonight.
Protesting is well and good, but ultimately the vast majority of the US agrees that this was a murder of an innocent civilian by a state officer of the law.
Until that protesting changes to useful public policy, it is all hot air. https://twitter.com/Neoavatara/status/1266532705572925450
Protesting is well and good, but ultimately the vast majority of the US agrees that this was a murder of an innocent civilian by a state officer of the law.
Until that protesting changes to useful public policy, it is all hot air. https://twitter.com/Neoavatara/status/1266532705572925450
So here are my thoughts, even though I readily admit I am no expert on justice reform and police reform. As a normal Citizen that has watched the country lurch from murder to murder for decades, I have some opinions on the matter.
Lets stipulate on what the problems are:
Systemic racism.
That's it. That is really the fundamental problem. There are side issues involved, but systemic racism is why George Floyd was more likely to die than a similar white man. Sure, it does happen to whites, but much rarer.
Systemic racism.
That's it. That is really the fundamental problem. There are side issues involved, but systemic racism is why George Floyd was more likely to die than a similar white man. Sure, it does happen to whites, but much rarer.
Now, we aren't going to solve systemic racism. Not in a day, week, year. We are slowly getting better, and the last half century has seen significant improvements.
But outside of that, we should be doing far more on a more specific level.
But outside of that, we should be doing far more on a more specific level.
People keep talking about police reform. And I fully support that.
Unfortunately...I have been supporting that for over 25 years. Since Rodney King. And its hard to get statistics, but it doesn't appear to have worked.
Anyone disagree?
Unfortunately...I have been supporting that for over 25 years. Since Rodney King. And its hard to get statistics, but it doesn't appear to have worked.
Anyone disagree?
So, police reforms seem to be, at best, a marginal solution. It helps, we should keep doing it, but it is no magic bullet, and like the progress with systemic racism, is glacial speed at best.
Now, with the Floyd case...this cop was cited numerous times...even a few times in killings. He was either exonerated or let off each time.
So the question is this: after there are enough 'close calls'...shouldn't such police officers be fired?
So the question is this: after there are enough 'close calls'...shouldn't such police officers be fired?
A pattern of egregious behavior that doesn't result in a death should be enough to end the career of a police officer, right?
Do we always have to way for a murder to happen?
Do we always have to way for a murder to happen?
Last year, USA Today published an account documenting 85,000 police officers with history of some sort of misconduct.
EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND.
There are approximately 800,000 police in the US. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2019/04/24/usa-today-revealing-misconduct-records-police-cops/3223984002/
EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND.
There are approximately 800,000 police in the US. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2019/04/24/usa-today-revealing-misconduct-records-police-cops/3223984002/
"Officers have beaten members of the public, planted evidence and used their badges to harass women. They have lied, stolen, dealt drugs...the men and women who swear an oath to keep communities safe can generally avoid public scrutiny for their misdeeds."
"The records of their misconduct are filed away, rarely seen by anyone outside their departments. Police unions and their political allies have worked to put special protections in place ensuring some records are shielded from public view, or even destroyed."
"Most misconduct involves routine infractions, but the records reveal tens of thousands of cases of serious misconduct...include 23k investigations of officers using excessive force, 3 allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct and 2k cases of domestic violence by officers."
"Dishonesty is a frequent problem. The records document at least 2,227 instances of perjury, tampering with evidence or witnesses or falsifying reports. There were 418 reports of officers obstructing investigations, most often when they or someone they knew were targets."
"Less than 10% of officers in most police forces get investigated for misconduct. Yet some officers are consistently under investigation. Nearly 2,500 have been investigated on 10 or more charges. Twenty faced 100 or more allegations yet kept their badge for years."
Records on how many police are fired every years is a little difficult, but the numbers usually are estimated at 1-3% of all cops.
And disqualifying conduct rarely if ever means they won't get rehired somewhere. https://crosscut.com/2016/04/fired-officers-can-become-hired-officers
And disqualifying conduct rarely if ever means they won't get rehired somewhere. https://crosscut.com/2016/04/fired-officers-can-become-hired-officers
The fact that the vast, vast majority of cops are honorable, above board, not corrupt and want to do their job well is irrelevant when even 1% of them are bad seeds that literally can kill a citizen, and likely get away with it.
The ACLU isn't my favorite organization, but on this I largely agree with them.
Good piece here. https://www.aclu.org/other/fighting-police-abuse-community-action-manual#some
Good piece here. https://www.aclu.org/other/fighting-police-abuse-community-action-manual#some
"The problem is national: no police department in the country is known to be completely free of misconduct. Yet it must be fought locally: the nation's 19,000 law enforcement agencies are essentially independent."
"While some federal statutes specify criminal penalties for willful violations of civil rights and conspiracies to violate civil rights, DOJ has been insufficiently aggressive in prosecuting cases of police abuse."
"There are shortcomings, too, in federal law itself, which does not permit "pattern and practice" lawsuits. The battle against police abuse must, therefore, be fought primarily on the local level."
"To fight police abuse effectively, you must have realistic expectations. You must not expect too much of any one remedy because no single remedy will cure the problem. A "mix" of reforms is required."
"You've got to address specific problems. The first step, then, is to identify exactly what the police problems are in your city. What's wrong with your police department is not necessarily the same as what's wrong in that of another city."
And herein lies my biggest problem with the protests right now. Yes, they are right that this was a state sponsored killing. Yes, they are right that racism is involved. They are right the police abused their power.
But, they aren't dealing with ANY of the specifics.
But, they aren't dealing with ANY of the specifics.
I do not deny systemic racism is real. I never have. And people get angry at me when I want to focus like a laser beam on specific problems.
But you can't fix 'systemic racism' until you focus on fix those specific problems! Even the ACLU says so!
But you can't fix 'systemic racism' until you focus on fix those specific problems! Even the ACLU says so!
So, what can we do?
Well, ACLU starts with the 'Civilian Review Board', which many/most big cities have.
But in a larger sense, what is key is that citizens must be intimately involved and knowledgeable about how their police are run, and the issues and deficiencies they have.
Well, ACLU starts with the 'Civilian Review Board', which many/most big cities have.
But in a larger sense, what is key is that citizens must be intimately involved and knowledgeable about how their police are run, and the issues and deficiencies they have.
As for killings:
"Considerable progress has been made in the area of police use of deadly force. Although rate of deadly force abuse is still intolerably high, data reveal reductions in shot and killed by police since the mid-1970s — as much as 35-40% in our 50 largest cities."
"Considerable progress has been made in the area of police use of deadly force. Although rate of deadly force abuse is still intolerably high, data reveal reductions in shot and killed by police since the mid-1970s — as much as 35-40% in our 50 largest cities."
"This has been accompanied by a significant reduction in the racial disparities among persons shot and killed: since the 1970s, from about six people of color to one white person, down to three people of color to one white."
So we have made progress. Not enough. But some.
So we have made progress. Not enough. But some.
We can go on and on.
ACLU talks about training, organizational regulation, etc. All very important on a local level.
ACLU talks about training, organizational regulation, etc. All very important on a local level.
Nice piece by @conor64 who just made me aware of this... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/campaign-zero-scorecard/590581/
From the above article.
Couple concluding points.
Judicial reform is critical to this process. We need to decriminalize much of the penal code. The fact that Mr. Floyd was killed for a $20 fake bill (or accused of such) is just horrible...like Eric Garner dying for cigarettes in NYC.
Judicial reform is critical to this process. We need to decriminalize much of the penal code. The fact that Mr. Floyd was killed for a $20 fake bill (or accused of such) is just horrible...like Eric Garner dying for cigarettes in NYC.
Police are trying to enforce too many laws that simply don't matter on the street. Sure, we can go after people for such white collar stuff, but that should be calmly and after the fact.
Also, like the above article from USA Today implied, there has to be reform around public sector unions.
Police unions have far too much power preventing officers from being dismissed, and for their dismissals to be made public.
We should be able to get rid of bad officers.
Police unions have far too much power preventing officers from being dismissed, and for their dismissals to be made public.
We should be able to get rid of bad officers.
It seems like the vast majority of these cases are from officers that are repeat offenders; maybe they've never killed anyone, but abusing their power is a pattern that cannot and should not be tolerated.
In Minneapolis, this officer should have never been on the street. He should have been dismissed years ago. But the rules prohibited that from happening, and that is one reason George Floyd isn't alive today.
So couple of political points. This recent case is the first one in a long time where I have seen almost NOBODY on the other side. From any political affiliation. I have not seen anyone stand up for that officer in any significant way.
When is the last time we had that happen?
When is the last time we had that happen?
And considering that, shouldn't this have been a time of unity?
I think it would have been beneficial.
But maybe it wasn't possible. The anger in the African American community is palpable, and real, and must also be acknowledged. This expression of disgust was unavoidable.
I think it would have been beneficial.
But maybe it wasn't possible. The anger in the African American community is palpable, and real, and must also be acknowledged. This expression of disgust was unavoidable.
The violence on the other hand is counterproductive. But that is neither here nor there for the issue at hand.
Ultimately, we have to come together. Liberals and conservatives and everyone in between. Anything short of that will be a failure, like so many events in the past.
Ultimately, we have to come together. Liberals and conservatives and everyone in between. Anything short of that will be a failure, like so many events in the past.
So as I finish my rant, I just hope people understand that most of us think this is horrible, gut wrenching, horrific, nauseating...and if we can't come together when we all agree on that, when can we come together?
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