about the recent incidents of White cops shooting black males
I had a conversation recently with a police officer I know who works in a surburban department in a community that borders a major city.
We talked about four of the recent incidents: Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, Brooklyn
Some of what he said he volunteered.
Some was in response either to remarks I made, or to questions I posed.
Below the squiggle I will share what he said.
Sorry to be a tease, but trust me - it will be worth your while to go below the squiggle.
About Ferguson. He noted that Darren Wilson fired 12 shots, and that there is evidence of only 6 hitting Michael Brown. He wanted to know where the other 6 rounds went, and to what kind of risk did that expose bystanders.
He then told me a story. While serving in a narcotics unit and responding to a credible tip, he and his partner went to a site expecting to find drugs, and the suspects saw them coming and fled. The police drove around to the back of the building, whereupon one of the suspects fired multiple rounds, smashing the windshield and otherwise damaging the car.
There were no injuries. So he got out of his car with his gun drawn, and the suspect began running away. As he noted, at that point he had every right to fire upon the suspect, even though the suspect was fleeing: because of firing at the car and because he was fleeing with a gun, the suspect represented more than a credible threat. And yet, even though he aimed in on the suspect with his safety off, he did not fire. Why?
He had been trained to check his background. The suspect was more thn 25 yards away, running uphill towards an apartment building. He remembered that in artificial or moon light, one tends to fire higher than expected, and he was worried about hitting a window in the apartment window. He judged that he could probably identify the suspect and where he lived, so he did not fire.
About Staten Island. He has seen the video. His immediate reaction is that the officer applying the choke hold will probably face federal indictments, and he should, for excessive force.
But my friend went further. He noted there was a sergeant on the scene who did not stop it, and questioned whether the sergeant should be brought up on charges. He also noted that the EMTs who arrived apparently made no attempt to revive Eric Garner. He pointed out that Garner's crime, which was a misdemeanor, did not even require an arrest - an officer could simply give him a criminal citation. He described what the police were doing, including how they pressed Garner to the ground while handcuffing him, as appalling and unnecessary.
About Cleveland - he wondered why an officer is getting out of his car with a drawn gun perform ascertaining the nature of the possible threat. He described how the cop fired so quickly as demonstrating why it is dangerous to draw one's gun, because then one is inclined to use it. By the way, he has drawn his gun - see what I said about Staten Island, but even then had the good sense not to fire it. He remarked that to draw one's gun is often to escalate tensions in a situation that can be addressed just with words.
About Brooklyn - he had heard about it, but not the details. When I told him about the Daily News report that the officer neither called an ambulance nor notified their superiors, but instead first tried to contact their union rep, he responded "that's nuts."
Yes, he is one policeman. But he suggested that he was far from alone in his thinking within his department.
He is also concerned about the screening of candidates for being "on the job.: he told me of bad policemen who had gotten through the vetting process. He worries that the actions of bad cops, like those involved in the aforemention shooting, were making things more dangerous for cops everywhere.
The Eric Garner case seems like a slam dunk because of the video. But he reminded me of another case of police brutality that was on video - Rodney King - where the end result was that the cops walked free of the original state charges, even as they were later convicted of federal violations.
In our visceral response to non-indictment, to rationalization by police union officials and right-wing figures, perhaps we should remember that there are a hell of a lot of GOOD cops out there, and not to tar them with the offenses, however egregious they may be, of a few.
I thought this worth sharing.
Make of it what you will.
Peace.