Decided to consolidate my blogs, so this was one of my posts from July 2016.
I’ve seen/heard a lot of commentary in the last 24 hours, and I have a few thoughts on the #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastile shootings - I also think that President Obama commented on it perfectly.
I think we have to be realistic and recognize that abuse of power by police is always going to happen to some extent. Whether it’s prompted by racial bias or not, nothing is going to change the existence of it. What can change is #1, the legal system, #2 the mindset of other cops, and #3 building trust between the police and their community. Everyone needs to be objective and stop “protecting their own at all costs” while at the same time fostering positive interactions in their local community. That creates an environment of trust and accountability, and will make the next cop think twice about using excessive force (or maybe not even think about it at all). The system as it is now (especially in certain areas) is biased towards a scenario where you can shoot first and be bailed out later by the people that hire you and sign your paycheck.
The LAPD is actually one of the best examples of where the culture legitimately changed after Rodney King and the 92 riots. I’ve talked to a bunch of cops in LA, and while they’re not perfect, certain critical changes were made (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-17878180). Subsequently there’s much more accountability now than there has ever been - all my interactions (more than I’d like to admit) were positive. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and some other places (My town in South Florida has proven to be better than expected). Here’s to hoping we can fix this and it doesn’t take more violence/riots to change things. #solvetheproblem
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