I am a Kennedy child. I became aware of life while living in Georgetown in the early 60's. I was in Washington, D.C. when Martin Luther King went to the Lincoln Memorial and gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. I was there. My sister in a stroller. John F. Kennedy was shot on my fifth birthday, November 22, 1963. I remember watching it on television. My father and my little sister watched his funeral procession...the horse with boots in the stirrups backwards, indicating that his rider was dead.
My sister and I went with my parents to "Whites Only" restaurants in Maryland and Virginia in integrated groups where we were refused service by frightenend, shaking white waitresses. My sister was held in my father's arms on protests, crying while a cop tried to make her laugh, while another policeman was beating on him with a billy club.
Today, billboards proclaim "Blue Lives Matter", while only 25 officers have died by gunfire in 2015, two of those, self-inflicted. 776 citizens of the U.S. have been killed by police this year, 745 of them men, 161 of them unarmed (The Guardian, The Counted, no U.S. government agency tracks police killings). 5 per million blacks are killed by police as opposed to 2 per million whites and hispanics.
In 2014, police officers didn't even place in the top 10 most dangerous occupations in the U.S. The top ten most dangerous occupations are:
1.Loggers
2. Fishing and related fishing occupations.
3. Pilots and Flight Engineer
4. Roofers
5. Refuse and Recyclables Collectors
6. Mining Machine Operators
7. Truck Drivers
8. Farmers/Ranchers
9. Power Line Workers
10. Construction Workers/Laborers
Just as there no governmental statistics on police deaths, there are no statistics on use of deadly or excessive force. The Department of Justice 2014 report on the use of Excessive Force within the Cleveland, Ohio Police Department found that: "the Cleveland Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using unconstitutional force in violation of the 4th Amendment. Our review revealed that Cleveland police officers use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constituational Amendment at a significant rate and in a manner that is extrememly dangerous to officers, victims of crimes, and innocent bystanders. This pattern of unreasonable force manifests itself in Cleveland Police Department's use of Deadly Force, use of less than lethal force including tasers and use of force against restrained people and people in crisis."
Reading of the Department of Justice's Report on the Cleveland Police Department is like watching a Who's Who of bad Cops Shows or smart phone captures of police violence against unarmed or restrained suspects.
There is no database on Department of Justice investigation of Excessive Use of Force against police departments. However, therehave been findings of Excessive Use of Force by the DOJ against : Portland, 2013, Miami 2013, Albuquerque 2014. There are multiple reports or charges of excessive use of force against police departments in which rewards have been made: Freddie Grey, $100,001 to Christina Gardilcic for a blindside attack by Sgt. Joel Mann in full riot gear on March 29, 2014.
In the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, deadly Force was found to be justified if "the Officer reasonably believes at that moment that he or others were in imminent danger and it doesn't matter whether any danger actually existed."
I believe that the perception by police and the public that police are in imminent danger leads to inappropiate use of force. This leads to excessive use of tasers (accounting for 39 deaths so far in 2015), shooting fleeing unarmed suspects over minor traffice violations, and the militarization of police forces. I have seen videos of policemen ordering persons to "stop resisting" when they have been tazed multiple times (tazing robs the victim of all muscle movement), when the officer is restraining the victims on their lower back with their hands trapped under their bodies (you can't move remove your arms from under your body without moving your body), which is misinterpreted as resistance. At the very least police should be educated in body mechanics.
Police should be able to de-escalate rather than escalate situations. The Mentally Ill are especially at risk for death and injury at the hands of the police. They are 4 times more likely to be killed by police than the average citizen.
I acknowledge that policing is a tough and dangerous job. I know that not all cops use excessive force or inappropriately escalate already tense situations. I also feel that this line of work can often attract personalities that like to use force rather than negotiation and use of interpersonal skills. I feel that we have not just a crisis of disproportionate numbers of blacks being killed by police, but a perception that police lives are in danger at all times, justifying excessive use of force and over-militarization. This perception has been enhanced and reinforced since 9/11. I think that we have always been at risk for excessive use of force by police.. The presence of cell phones with their cameras now means that the average citizen can capture when that force is misused, providing documentation of violations that most likely have always occurred but were hidden from the general public. I think this is an opportunity for a new era in law enforcement. Police Departments have the opportunity to either engage the community in self- policing and inclusion of law enforcement, or to perceive those that they are to protect and serve, as the enemy. Training needs to be undertaken on how to recognize and handle the mentally ill, how to de-escalate tense situatios, when use of deadly force is inappropriate, use of non-lethal force, appropriate use of Tazers. Police departments need to become more vigilant in application of Department Policies and in identification and prosecution of individuals who violate or misapply those policies. Departments need to reward rather than harass whistle blowers.
Furthermore, I think that there is a conflict of interest in that ticketing for violation of municipal and state laws and regulations have become major money makers for communities and states. Instead of protecting and serving, police departments and highway patrols look not only for law breakers but are encouraged to increase municipal and state coffers. Policemen are rewarded for numerous arrests encouraging these individuals not necessarily to seek alternative resolutions, but to arrest as many "law-breaking" individuals as possible which may result in an officer choosing to escalate a situation rather than resolve it. In these scenarios, it places the officers in a position of confrontation rather than protection and creative conflict resolution. Personal biases, prejudices and human flaws become instituionalized and systemic; an us and them situation counter to community policing and protection.
This conflict is personified in the phrase "Fear unites us. Fear divides us." Sandra Cisneros
Namaste
Kismet
In 2014, police officers didn't even place in the top 10 most dangerous occupations in the U.S. The top ten most dangerous occupations are:
1.Loggers
2. Fishing and related fishing occupations.
3. Pilots and Flight Engineer
4. Roofers
5. Refuse and Recyclables Collectors
6. Mining Machine Operators
7. Truck Drivers
8. Farmers/Ranchers
9. Power Line Workers
10. Construction Workers/Laborers
Just as there no governmental statistics on police deaths, there are no statistics on use of deadly or excessive force. The Department of Justice 2014 report on the use of Excessive Force within the Cleveland, Ohio Police Department found that: "the Cleveland Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using unconstitutional force in violation of the 4th Amendment. Our review revealed that Cleveland police officers use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constituational Amendment at a significant rate and in a manner that is extrememly dangerous to officers, victims of crimes, and innocent bystanders. This pattern of unreasonable force manifests itself in Cleveland Police Department's use of Deadly Force, use of less than lethal force including tasers and use of force against restrained people and people in crisis."
Reading of the Department of Justice's Report on the Cleveland Police Department is like watching a Who's Who of bad Cops Shows or smart phone captures of police violence against unarmed or restrained suspects.
There is no database on Department of Justice investigation of Excessive Use of Force against police departments. However, therehave been findings of Excessive Use of Force by the DOJ against : Portland, 2013, Miami 2013, Albuquerque 2014. There are multiple reports or charges of excessive use of force against police departments in which rewards have been made: Freddie Grey, $100,001 to Christina Gardilcic for a blindside attack by Sgt. Joel Mann in full riot gear on March 29, 2014.
In the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, deadly Force was found to be justified if "the Officer reasonably believes at that moment that he or others were in imminent danger and it doesn't matter whether any danger actually existed."
I believe that the perception by police and the public that police are in imminent danger leads to inappropiate use of force. This leads to excessive use of tasers (accounting for 39 deaths so far in 2015), shooting fleeing unarmed suspects over minor traffice violations, and the militarization of police forces. I have seen videos of policemen ordering persons to "stop resisting" when they have been tazed multiple times (tazing robs the victim of all muscle movement), when the officer is restraining the victims on their lower back with their hands trapped under their bodies (you can't move remove your arms from under your body without moving your body), which is misinterpreted as resistance. At the very least police should be educated in body mechanics.
Police should be able to de-escalate rather than escalate situations. The Mentally Ill are especially at risk for death and injury at the hands of the police. They are 4 times more likely to be killed by police than the average citizen.
I acknowledge that policing is a tough and dangerous job. I know that not all cops use excessive force or inappropriately escalate already tense situations. I also feel that this line of work can often attract personalities that like to use force rather than negotiation and use of interpersonal skills. I feel that we have not just a crisis of disproportionate numbers of blacks being killed by police, but a perception that police lives are in danger at all times, justifying excessive use of force and over-militarization. This perception has been enhanced and reinforced since 9/11. I think that we have always been at risk for excessive use of force by police.. The presence of cell phones with their cameras now means that the average citizen can capture when that force is misused, providing documentation of violations that most likely have always occurred but were hidden from the general public. I think this is an opportunity for a new era in law enforcement. Police Departments have the opportunity to either engage the community in self- policing and inclusion of law enforcement, or to perceive those that they are to protect and serve, as the enemy. Training needs to be undertaken on how to recognize and handle the mentally ill, how to de-escalate tense situatios, when use of deadly force is inappropriate, use of non-lethal force, appropriate use of Tazers. Police departments need to become more vigilant in application of Department Policies and in identification and prosecution of individuals who violate or misapply those policies. Departments need to reward rather than harass whistle blowers.
Furthermore, I think that there is a conflict of interest in that ticketing for violation of municipal and state laws and regulations have become major money makers for communities and states. Instead of protecting and serving, police departments and highway patrols look not only for law breakers but are encouraged to increase municipal and state coffers. Policemen are rewarded for numerous arrests encouraging these individuals not necessarily to seek alternative resolutions, but to arrest as many "law-breaking" individuals as possible which may result in an officer choosing to escalate a situation rather than resolve it. In these scenarios, it places the officers in a position of confrontation rather than protection and creative conflict resolution. Personal biases, prejudices and human flaws become instituionalized and systemic; an us and them situation counter to community policing and protection.
This conflict is personified in the phrase "Fear unites us. Fear divides us." Sandra Cisneros
Namaste
Kismet
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