|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The demoralization that is taking place in
the police rank and file is not so much because
of citizen efforts demanding accountability and
fairness. It’s also because police leadership is
bent on maintaining a white supremacist militarized
force that is not beholding to anyone."
|
|
The
“Blue Alert” Law recently signed by President Obama has the FOP’s
fingerprints all over it. The Fraternal Order of Police is the world’s
largest organization of law enforcement officers and is a powerful
lobbying force for its members. It makes its group’s interests primary
– over and above the interests of the communities it is supposed to
serve.
A quick comparison of the FOP’s mission with that of the National Black Police Association is quite revealing.
NBPA pledges to “be the conscience of the Criminal Justice System” and
“to enhance the quality of life of the African-American community.”
Most people don’t know that the 1972 historic founding of the NBPA was
right here in St. Louis. Its focus is the community, whereas the FOP’s
is all about promoting and fostering “the enforcement of law and order.”
The Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015 will
issue national warnings when there are threats to police officers, with
the authority to hunt down the suspects who make or carry out the
threats. The act is named after NYPD officers who were ambushed last
December by Ismaaiyl Brinsley.
You may be thinking, “Aren’t there existing laws that cover this kind of situation?”
Of course, but the FOP never misses an opportunity to use an incident
against one of their own as justification to add another layer of
legislative authority to their security blanket.
Another recent legislative push is to make crimes against the police a
hate crime. The goal seems to always expand its power while diminishing
any efforts to hold its members accountable. It’s the reason why it is
difficult to prosecute them under federal law – the bar is deliberately
high.
The most disturbing threshold that the FOP has been able to use to
defend the actions of its members is the notion of “threat.” It’s a
very subjective concept, much like “suspicious.” Both can only be
determined through the eyes of the individual officer. It makes
district attorneys back down from charging cops, and it draws empathy
from juries convened to make judgment in cases involving cops.
Many of the hundreds of cases of police terror that have been captured
on video reveal absolutely no threat to officers. Victims were either
running away, or were restrained or unarmed. These compelling and
indefensible images are unmasking the delusion of threat that police
can hide behind when video is not available.
So, it’s not surprising that there have been rumblings within law
enforcement circles about the flagrant abuse by cops and the subsequent
unconditional support by police associations of the officers involved
in those abuses.
Jonathan M. Smith, formally with the Department of Justice and now with
the University of DC School of Law, used to investigate police
shootings for the DOJ. He says he interviewed many officers who didn’t
support the actions of some of their fellow cops and felt that the
police associations were providing unnecessary cover for the abuse,
making their jobs more difficult.
In short, the jobs of police officers are being made less safe by the
unapologetic and aggressive defensive actions by police unions. When
wrong is not acknowledged and condemned, it increases the anger and
distrust of police. It sounds like it’s time for police members to have
a serious talk with its union leadership. It’s time to make them
accountable to their members.
Whether it’s the sodomy and torture of Abner Louima by NYPD cops in
1997 or the 137 rounds fired into the bodies of Melissa Williams and
Timothy Russell by Cleveland police after a chase, there seems be no
time when the FOP addresses illegal behavior or actual violations of
police policy by its own members.
The FOP and other predominantly white law enforcement groups must come
to the realization that they play a major role in fueling an “us vs.
them” mentality. The demoralization that is taking place in the police
rank and file is not so much because of citizen efforts demanding
accountability and fairness. It’s also because police leadership is
bent on maintaining a white supremacist militarized force that is not
beholding to anyone.
With the changing U.S. demographics, especially in urban areas, that
racist philosophy can only mean more tensions within the police
departments and more clashes between police and citizens.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 is published every Thursday |
Executive Editor:
David A. Love, JD |
Managing Editor:
Nancy Littlefield, MBA |
Publisher:
Peter Gamble |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
