F*** THE POLICE…UNIONS

I have had a very long and complicated relationship with the police in America. I have been stopped, harassed and handcuffed for being Black in “high crime “ areas. Driving while Black was a precarious situation myself and friends talked about regularly and the fear police displayed as I grew older, stronger, and looked more like Rakim than Will Smith, made me understand that my life was often in the balance depending on my reaction (or lack thereof) to directives given by cops quick to pull guns on me.

I have never been arrested, largely because I was educated enough (and could prove it with the use of various prep, college and law school ID’s) to make police hesitate to put me thru the system without really significant probable cause. Prior to 9/11 anyone of color in NYC that lived uptown, Brooklyn or the Bronx could tell you that NYC was already a police state under Giuliani. Crime was high and statistically it did go down under his administration, but at the cost of regularly violating people’s rights. I can’t count the amount of times I was stopped, frisked, thrown to the ground, cuffed, because I fit a profile. The profile of young brown and living in the hood was all the probable cause the police needed to trample every right I had under the guise of the ends justifying the means.

For years I was extremely angry toward law enforcement. It was hard to feel and display respect toward an institution that so regularly disrespected me. The threat to shoot me had been so pervasive (and I am talking real verbal commands not just perceived) that against all better judgment my future interactions with the police were, at best, combative. We moved my youngest brother out of the city for fear that his increased aggressions, based on the frustrations from being arrested 3 separate times, solely, for seat belt violations, would lead to a tragic ending… Yes, I did say seat belt violations.

Time, growth and upward mobility have largely changed my narrative. I am not as angry and frankly the police rarely harass and stop me any more. My confidence and knowledge of the law automatically changes the interaction, as well as my ability to disarm fears quickly.

I refuse to kiss ass or capitulate to any disrespect, from perceived authority or not yet, with some growth and maturity comes renewed perspective. Law enforcement is an absolute necessity in our communities throughout America. That is especially true in the “high crimes” areas which, unfortunately all too often are inhabited by people of color.

Law enforcement is an inherently noble profession, with most really dedicated to protecting and serving. However, like any profession there are some bad apples. People not mentally equipped for the job and others not adequately trained. These are facts yet the various Police Unions across the country refuse to ever acknowledge these facts.

It is of course the job of Police Unions to vigorously defend its members, but I argue that they need to stop doing so blindly. For decades the Catholic Church was complicit in its denial and protection of priests who preyed upon children. Refusing to publicly acknowledge the existence of the problem, and shielding the priests from criminal prosecution still came at a cost. In November 2015 the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) reported that between 1950 and August of 2015, the Catholic Church had paid out nearly $4 Billion Dollars in settlements related to priests misconduct. “In Addition, separate research recently published calculates that other scandal-related consequences such as lost membership and diverted giving has cost the church more than $2.3 billion annually for the past 30 years.”

The Catholic Church has had to close many schools and churches around the world as well as divest itself of much of its real estate assets as a means of paying off these many settlements and sustaining itself. However, I would argue the true cost the Church suffered was in the loss of faith that so many (constituents and non-constituents) had in its leadership.

The present Pope Francis has worked to restore faith in the Church (with work still to do). Much of what he has done is first taking ownership of the problems the Church has had and recognition that they could not continue to shield offending priest(s) and deny the plight of their victims.

The tangent was meant to provide an analogy. Failure of leadership for any organization has potentially far reaching and catastrophic effects. The mayors of individual jurisdictions and the appointed/elected police chief are the true leaders of our cities’ police forces. However the de facto leaders, particularly in the larger cities are the unions that represent the membership.

Leaders because all of the members belong and they are the face, voice and in many cases legal representation whenever a law enforcement officer’s actions are called into question. Their ability to control how their members may be disciplined is indicative of their control. They often contractually set up how officers may be disciplined.

No matter the wrong. No matter the facts. No matter the evidence caught on tape: i.e. Choke Eric Garner out on film while he clearly has his hands in the air and is not resisting arrest while repeatedly pleading he can’t breathe. The Police Unions defend the wrongs of their members. They victim blame and deny fault at all turns no matter how ludicrous the plausibility.

Again, I understand the need of the unions and higher ups and even politicians feeling the need to have an unshakeable, universal support for the men on the force. No one misunderstands the need for solidarity and moral within our military and law enforcement ranks, however, even the military has accountability measures for its rank that local law enforcement conveniently choose to ignore.

I have no idea how many police settlements have been paid out over the last 50 years related to police misconduct, but lets put this statement in perspective. The Chicago Sun Times reported that from 2004-2014 the City of Chicago had paid out $521 Million Dollars related to police brutality. As shocking as those numbers are consider that is only one geographic region and the totals paid out for various police misconduct are directly paid by the taxpayers.

If these funds for police misconduct were taken directly from the police union’s coffers or even from their member’s retirement funds I bet we would see an entirely different narrative on individual’s accountability and directives for increased training. The “blue wall of silence” would be dismantled under the directive of self-preservation for those not doing wrong.

Of course the unions are never going to let this affect their pockets directly. We have empowered them too much for that to happen. However, the fact is that law enforcement is embattled across our country and much of it is a credibility problem.

The vast majority of Americans, Black, White or other support law enforcement or at the very least grudgingly understand their importance. What many of us have difficulty accepting is the general refusal for top brass and especially the unions to acknowledge there is a problem with some of their officers. Bad apples, rouge cops, or just a small minority of the overall force, however you want to categorize the issue it has to first be accepted and identified.

If one of its members is CLEARLY wrong stop defending the wrong. The credibility of the police, their unions and politicians would immeasurably improve with accountability. It is not going to fully solve the problem and it will continue to take time, but it is a first step in regaining a community’s trust; notice that it is being heard and respected.

Police shootings will continue, however once trust and credibility are regained, then at the least there will not be the rush to judgment that presently exists. A rush from longstanding policies to deny, deflect and refuse to accept responsibility. It has to start with the unions. Push for more training. Push for the bad seeds to be removed and punished. Only when people see that overture will law enforcement be able to be looked upon with the universal respect they presently demand but fail to return.

Until we see the same indignation from the politicians, police hierarchy and their respective unions for police shooting unarmed men, on the ground pleading for the life of an autistic youth he was caring for playing with a truck on the ground. When that happens then healing can truly begin.