A friend asked me to e-mail her some links to *~ stuff ~* about problems with the police and even though I've had most of this floating around in my head for the last 15+ years, it was rough seeing it all listed out.
In addition to racist policies in legislation/law/enforcement, broad racism within many police unions and departments, and individual racist cops, there are myriad structural problems that have immunized police against consequences for bad actions and made them a hostile force.
Unions - Even if individual officers within ranks believe another officer should be held responsible for their actions, unions will almost never cut them loose / will defend to the bitter end. They exist to protect their members and do so vigorously, almost without exception.
The endorsement and fundraising of police unions is politically important. Unions generally endorse en bloc, so if you're not the candidate who is kissing the most cop ass, they're not going to endorse you.
Worse, if you actually make things "difficult" for the police (i.e. try to hold them accountable for their actions), they will actively campaign against you. This leads to politicians being extremely reluctant to try to crack down on police misconduct.
Militarization - Police continue to demand (and get) phenomenal budgets that largely go toward increased militarization. It doesn't make anyone safer (the opposite, usually), but if a politician balks at approving a higher budget, the union will likely call them soft on crime.
See also: why Irvine PD has a light armored swat vehicle and LAPD is slated to get 54% of the city's upcoming budget.
ocregister.com/2014/02/12/in-…
pbs.org/newshour/scien…
ocregister.com/2014/02/12/in-…
pbs.org/newshour/scien…
Siege Mentality - Police have been building a siege mentality, for decades. This feeds into their militarization, the blue wall of silence (see below) and their tendency to see death lurking in every shadow (see Reasonable Fear, below).
Many police will sincerely compare their everyday patrols to being in a war zone.
thecrimereport.org/2016/01/08/201…
thecrimereport.org/2016/01/08/201…
Blue Wall of Silence - An informal understanding among cops to always cover for/protect other officers, including monstrous misdeeds and habitual corruption. Punishment can range from general ostracization to setting an officer up to be ambushed/killed (see: Frank Serpico).
However, that is breaking somewhat (a little) in this specific case.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Ser…
vice.com/en_us/article/…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Ser…
vice.com/en_us/article/…
Qualified Immunity - It's been discussed a lot already. Phenomenally absurd.
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
Reasonable Fear - Though it likely will not apply in the case of George Floyd, this comes up often in cases where police kill someone with a gun. In many cases, the standard for a defensible shooting is that the officer has a "reasonable fear" that their life is in danger.
If this sounds like mind reading, it's because it is. In practice, juries are often instructed to find no fault with an officer shooting someone if they believe the officer believed they feared for their life.
Not, would *you* have feared for your life, but do you believe *they* feared for their life. If that also sounds like it rubber stamps the worst racist impulses of police in dangerous situations, that's because it does.
salon.com/2014/09/06/sho…
salon.com/2014/09/06/sho…
Residency Requirements - Police generally hate residency requirements that stipulate they have to reside in the city where they work. Many cities require this and cops/their unions fight to have the requirements overturned.
The reason cities insist on this (when they have the power to do so) is that it creates more of an investment between the police and the community they are policing. When police don't have to live where they work, it leads to resentment and a drive to simply contain problems.
Cops simply try to keep the shit in. After all, it's not their home, not their neighborhood, not their neighbors.
fivethirtyeight.com/features/reexa…
fivethirtyeight.com/features/reexa…
Poor Civilian Oversight - Classic "who watches the watchmen?" If cops police the cops, they get away with murder. If civilian oversight is poor, structurally powerless, or captive to police interests, it's not much better.
pbs.org/wgbh/frontline…
pbs.org/wgbh/frontline…
All this is before we start talking about racism at every level of law creation and enforcement (not to mention how miserable the bail system is). Even if all four officers are held responsible for what happened to George Floyd, these obstacles will remain.
The good news is those obstacles can be removed, piece by piece. Cops aren't going to do it themselves. Voting in people you think are nice and good and calling it a day sure as shit isn't going to do it because the cops are going to apply all the pressure they can to stop them.
If the structural power of police and police unions is not broken, there will be many more George Floyds, Breonna Taylors, and Tamir Rices in the years to come. And it will be a torturous, hellish uphill battle to hold anyone accountable for it.
