Police Brutality and the Black Lives Matter Movement

 

 Post #9 - October 8, 2020

POLICE BRUTALITY - AN OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW YOU HAVEN'T HEARD

With the recent protests in Louisville Kentucky, Portland Oregon, Los Angeles California, and other big cities around the country, police brutality is still in the headlines. The recent cases that have garnered the most headlines are the police killings of Breonna Taylor and Rashard Brooks; the deaths of George Floyd, Elijah McCain, and Daniel Prude while in police custody; and the shooting of Jacob Blake that did not result in his death. The death of any individual involving the use of force by police is a tragedy. But it is clear from the mob like mentality of many of those protesting police brutality and the support and encouragement they appear to be receiving from mostly Democratic politicians and the liberal media makes it difficult to resolve this complex problem.

The issue of police brutality has been framed around the narrative that police are killing large numbers of unarmed black men. From the statistics compiled from reliable sources, this is clearly not the case. The number of unarmed black men killed by police averages about twelve (12) per year and the trend seems to show that the numbers are consistently going down. Compare this to the average number of black on black murders in this country each year which is about five thousand (5,000) to seven thousand (7,000), mostly black male victims. For me, this raises the issues of credibility and motivation of the Black Lives Matter movement that is the driving force behind the anti-police protests. Let's look even further into the statistics. There are approximately eighteen thousand (18,000) law enforcement agencies in this country employing around eight hundred thousand (800,000) officers. That makes the number of police agencies and officers that have been involved in the unarmed killing of a black man less than one (1) percent of the total number of agencies and officers in this country. What also troubles me is that BLM, Democratic politicians, high profile athletes, celebrities and the media make it appear that only unarmed black men are killed by police when the statistics clearly show that members of other races are killed as well. The issue of police brutality is not being portrayed accurately and fairly by the groups I just named for political and financial reasons. 

The narrative being pushed that only unarmed black men, and I must add women because of Breonna Taylor, are being killed is intellectually dishonest and polarizing because it does not recognize that law enforcement officers are being killed and assaulted by black men, as well as suspects of other races. This is not a one-sided issue with police being the abusers and are not also being abused. All you need to do is look at the injuries and deaths to police officers relating to protests going on around the country. It is unfortunate that Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rashard Brooks, Elijah McCain, Daniel Prude, and Jacob Blake are house hold names, whereas, the names of law enforcement officers killed and wounded by black suspects are not prominent at all. 

When looking at law enforcement officers use of force generally, several issues come into play. First it should be recognized that officers and citizens do not interact in an enforcement situation on an equal footing. By that I mean if an officer is acting in good faith in detaining someone based on reasonable suspicion or arresting someone based on probable cause they have the force of the law on their side. The citizen is obligated by law to submit to the authority of the officer. It is a crime to run from an officer, resist or fight with an officer that is making a lawful detention or arrest. An officer has the authority and obligation to use reasonable force to effect a lawful arrest. This includes deadly force if the situation warrants it, such as in self-defense or in the defense of another person. This does not relieve officers of their duty to use only the force that's reasonably necessary to effect a lawful arrest. Of course, the controversy in the suspected police brutality cases mentioned above as well as all police brutality cases is the lawfulness and reasonableness of the officer(s) actions.

The mob like mentality of the public and the inflammatory rhetoric of government officials and the media does nothing to help resolve issues surrounding the cases involving allegations of police brutality. All too often you hear police being called racist and murderers without all of the facts being known, and without an investigation being completed. No consideration is given for the fact that law enforcement officers are placed in a difficult position where they have to make split-second decisions under duress. This fact does not excuse police officers when they use excessive force, nor does it mean they should not be held accountable when they are found guilty of acts of brutality. What it means is that the society that places officers in the difficult position of enforcing its laws at great risk to their safety ought to at least wait for all of the facts to come to light before calling police officers racist and murders. This should definitely be the case when officers are claiming self defense.  

The call for police reform by activists, politicians, athletes, celebrities and the media every time a police officer uses deadly force is not always based on reality and rational thinking. Politicians at the national level, mostly Democrats, have exploited police brutality cases for far too long for political reasons. The relatively small number of cases involving the deaths of unarmed blacks and the police do not justify police reform on a national level by Congress or the President. All of this talk of police reform by members of Congress and the media is emotional feel good nonsense that will accomplish nothing at all, since the overwhelming majority of police officers and agencies do not endorse or engage in egregious cases of brutality. To try and hold all eight hundred thousand (800,000) law enforcement officers in this country accountable for a relatively few suspected cases of brutality is un-American. Personal responsibility and accountability is an American standard, and group accountability without justification has always been frowned upon. Politicians, professional athletes, celebrities and the media would be wise to put aside their political agendas and disdain for law enforcement officers and concentrate on viewing police use of force cases in a fair and objective way. Rather than cherry picking the facts and taking sides in order to push an anti-police agenda, they should look at all the facts in each case in a calm, intelligent and rational manner instead of having the hateful, irrational and knee-jerk reactions we see every time a police officer (mostly white) is involved in the death of a black person. Police reform, if it is needed, is best left up to local and state officials. What is needed more than more police reform is that black men, as well as all citizens, should be reminded that they have an obligation by law to act in a lawful and non-violent manner when engaged in interactions with the police. Doing this has a better chance of reducing police brutality cases than hindering police officers from doing their jobs with more reforms for the sake of pleasing the Black Lives Matter movement.