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So I was talking with my mom about #DefundThePolice. And she asked me a question: how could what happened to Rayshard Brooks happen, at this moment, in this uprising? How could police keep...doing this?
So this is what I said.
So this is what I said.
My mom is not steeped in these issues (I mean, she is more now, because, like, she has to be mother to yrs truly). So this thread isn& #39;t intended for folks who are already right there with us. I& #39;m hoping this will be useful for folks who are wondering, and who share her questions.
Killings--murders--have continued, and will continue, because the police lack all accountability. It& #39;s not just qualified immunity, which protects them from being found liable for things that would bankrupt/jail the rest of us. It& #39;s the money.
Follow the money.
Follow the money.
Derek Chauvin, the cop who murdered George Floyd, could *still get his million dollar pension* even if he is getting those checks while serving a sentence for homicide. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/us/chauvin-minneapolis-police-pension-invs/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/1...
Police pensions are...generous. Many are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, even if they& #39;ve been dismissed for the kind of misconduct that would throw you or me into a cell. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/us/california-today-police-firefighter-pay.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/0...
So you can& #39;t get sued, you won& #39;t lose your $ no matter what you do, and, what& #39;s more, you& #39;re living in a culture where morality is upside down, bullies rule, and everyone is trained to be both extremely violent and extremely terrified all the time. https://medium.com/@OfcrACab/confessions-of-a-former-bastard-cop-bb14d17bc759">https://medium.com/@OfcrACab...
A lot of this has been said in a lot of places by a lot of people BUT what one years less about is that this insulation from consequences isn& #39;t just toxic on a macro (murder) level, but toxic every damn day.
Let& #39;s talk about overtime.
Let& #39;s talk about overtime.
As a public defender, whenever I got a case that was just especially, stupidly made-up (think someone arrested for dealing drugs who was at home with no drugs, money, scales, paraphernalia, or baggies on them) the first thing I checked was the cop& #39;s schedule.
Inevitably--seriously, ask, like, any defense attorney about this--when you got a really stupid arrest, it would be within an hour or so of the end of the cop& #39;s scheduled shift.
Shift ends at 6pm? This really bad arrest would be at, like, 5:30.
Shift ends at 6pm? This really bad arrest would be at, like, 5:30.
Why? Well, because processing an arrest takes time, but it& #39;s also really easy. So you can make time-and-a-half for sitting in the precinct typing up some papers and waiting to talk to a DA.
This REALLY adds up.
This REALLY adds up.
Examples... https://theappeal.org/defund-the-baltimore-police/">https://theappeal.org/defund-th...
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2018/03/21/detroit-police-overtime-costs/33132469/">https://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...
https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/police_vertime/">https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php...
https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/06/10/boston-police-department-budget-george-floyd-carol-rose">https://www.wbur.org/cognoscen...
Let& #39;s not forget that the end-of-shift arrest isn& #39;t just an inconvenience--arrests cost people jobs, homes, family unity, sometimes unraveling entire lives.
Some of these cops are making close to half a million dollars a year on the backs of the poor and innocent.
Some of these cops are making close to half a million dollars a year on the backs of the poor and innocent.
So when we look at police budgets that are bloated like this...it& #39;s not just military equipment and chemical weapons.
It& #39;s public officials lining their pockets with taxpayer money by doing terrible things to the people they& #39;re supposed to protect.
It& #39;s public officials lining their pockets with taxpayer money by doing terrible things to the people they& #39;re supposed to protect.
So when you hear "defund the police" and you get worried about a world where there& #39;s no one protecting the public, please remember that EVERY MODEL for doing this envisions a world where someone is on the other end of the phone when you call 911.
*it& #39;s just not someone stealing your money by enacting both violence and dishonesty against you and yours.
Also @Twitter...you should verify me. I& #39;ve been working in this stuff for over 10 years, I& #39;m the Exec Director of an access to justice project, I& #39;m a criminal defense lawyer, and my work is super relevant at present.
So consider this my first #verifiedrequest
So consider this my first #verifiedrequest
