So why isn't more being done to address it?
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, there's too much money at stake, for one, and too much power.
Those responsible for this policing crisis are none other than the police unions that are helping police officers evade accountability for wrongdoing; the police academies that are teaching police officers that their lives are more valuable than the lives of those they serve; a corporate military sector that is making a killing by selling military-grade weapons, equipment, technology and tactical training to domestic police agencies; a political establishment that is dependent on campaign support and funding from the powerful police unions; and a police state that is transforming police officers into extensions of the military in order to extend its reach and power.
This is no longer a debate over good cops and bad cops.
It's a tug-of-war between the constitutional republic America's founders intended and the police state we are fast becoming.
So where do we go from here?
For starters, stop with the scare tactics. In much the same way that American citizens are being cocooned in a climate of fear by a government that knows exactly which buttons to push in order to gain the public's cooperation and compliance, police officers are also being indoctrinated with the psychology of fear. Despite the propaganda being peddled by the government and police unions, police today experience fewer on-the-job fatalities than they ever have historically.
Second, level the playing field. Police are no more or less special than you or me. Their lives are no more valuable than any other citizen's. While police are entitled to every protection afforded under the law, the same as any other citizen, they should not be afforded any special privileges. Most Americans, oblivious about their own rights, aren't even aware that police officers have their own Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, which grants them special due-process rights and privileges not afforded to the average citizen.
Third, require that police officers be trained in non-lethal tactics. According to the New York Times, a survey of 281 police agencies found that the average young officer received 58 hours of firearms training and 49 hours of defensive tactical training, but only eight hours of de-escalation training. If police officers are taking classes in how to shoot, maim and kill, shouldn't they also be required to take part in annual seminars teaching de-escalation techniques and educating them about how to respect their fellow citizens' constitutional rights, especially under the First and Fourth Amendments?
Fourth, ditch the quasi-military obsession. Police forces were never intended to be standing armies. Yet with police agencies dressing like the military in camouflage and armor, training with the military, using military weapons, riding around in armored vehicles, recruiting military veterans, and even boasting military titles, one would be hard-pressed to distinguish between the two. Still, it's our job to make sure that we can distinguish between the two, and that means keeping the police in their place as civilians--non-military citizens--who are entrusted with protecting our rights.
Fifth, demilitarize. There are many examples of countries where police are not armed and dangerous, and they are no worse off for it. Indeed, their crime rates are low and their police officers are trained to view every citizen as precious. For all of the talk among politicians about gun violence and the need to enact legislation to make it more difficult for Americans to acquire weapons, little is being done to demilitarize and de-weaponize police.
Sixth, stop making taxpayers pay for police abuses. Some communities are trying to require police to carry their own professional liability insurance. The logic is that if police had to pay out of pocket for their own wrongdoing, they might be more cautious and less inclined to shoot first and ask questions later.
Seventh, stop relying on technology to fix what's wrong with the country. The body cameras haven't stopped the police shootings, and they won't as long the cameras can be turned on and off at will while the footage remains inaccessible to the public.
Eighth, stop being busybodies and snitches. Overcriminalization has partially fueled the drive to "police" everything from kids walking to the playground alone and backyard chicken coops to front-yard vegetable gardens. But let's start taking some responsibility for our own communities and stop turning every minor incident into a reason to call the police.
Finally, support due process for everyone, not just the people in your circle. Remember that you no longer have to be poor, black or guilty to be treated like a criminal in America. All that is required is that you belong to the suspect class--a.k.a. the citizenry--of the American police state. As a de facto member of this so-called criminal class, every U.S. citizen is now guilty until proven innocent.
Unfortunately, Americans have been so propagandized, politicized and polarized that many feel compelled to choose sides between defending the police at all costs or painting them as dangerously out-of-control.
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