We have the opportunity now to move in a new direction. However, policy bias at the highest level still occurs.
A section providing state oversight of the Voting Rights Act was struck down last year. Loretta Lynch was finally appointed Attorney General after a vote of only 56-43 in the Senate. Still almost half of the U.S. Senate, all Republicans, voted against Lynch despite not having a single objection to her capacity, skills and background.
Inner city crime is prompted by social and economic isolation. It is hard to feel empowered to follow the law in a place where the law doesn't protect you. The current Congress continues to ignore and reject expanding social programs, education and direct jobs programs--all issues that would significantly help African-Americans who face twice the national unemployment rate.
Danielle Williams, a protester in Baltimore, asked MSNBC why media wasn't there days ago when there were peaceful protests, "There were no news cameras, there were no helicopters, there was no riot gear, and nobody heard us. So now that we've burned down buildings and set businesses on fire and looted buildings, now all of the sudden everybody wants to hear us."
SOLUTIONS: Hillary Clinton said this week, "We should make sure that every police department in the country has body cameras to record interaction between offices on patrol and suspects, that will improve transparency and accountability. It will help protect good people on both sides of the lens."
Officer Michael Slager was charged in South Carolina with the murder of Walter Scott because of hard video evidence, but there are many young men who do not have the same opportunity for justice. The six Baltimore police just charged with Freddie Gray's murder could still be free without the private cameras that first showed him limp and dragged screaming in pain to the van, where he died after a lurching ride. Body cameras, and paddy-wagon cameras, will put everyone on an equal playing field, particularly those without the means to seek quality representation. Even the most expensive body camera costs less than a gun, which is $800.
Police academies need to take on the police's own culture and teach officers how to address arrests even if the officer feels offended or the suspect runs, and in particular don't do more to minorities. Don't bully if you feel dissed. Be aware of your ego and don't act on it. Don't shoot a fleeing suspect is in the law and the Constitution, confirmed 30 years ago. Don't twist an arrestee into a pretzel and bang him around in the back of a van.
Being a police officer is more of a responsibility than carrying a gun. Police officers should be a bridge of opportunity between people and government, focusing less on quotas and paperwork. Community policing, building relationships, is key, as former Houston Mayor and many cities' police Chief Lee Brown has emphasized for decades.
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