"Us Vs. Them" Is NOT Good Policing & Hurts Everyone

Now we have another example of police misconduct -- misconduct directed at a Black male, and excused by Whites. In New York, a policeman used an illegal choke hold on a suspect believed to have committed a misdemeanor offense (re-selling cigarettes). The illegal hold resulted in the death of the Black male.

Now if anyone but a policeman had caused a death by doing something illegal, they would have been indicted and charged with felony murder -- but this policeman was not even indicted (in spite of the fact that the whole thing was captured on videotape). It is one more example of the public (mainly the White public) being unwilling to hold the police responsible for their actions.

Too often, the public (especially the White public) puts police officers on a pedestal because of the inherent danger in the job. And they are too willing to believe that when an officer breaks the rules or the law, it must be because he/she was forced to do it. What they conveniently forget is that police officers are just human beings -- and like the humans in other groups, there are both good ones and bad ones. And when the bad ones are not held responsible for their misconduct, everyone is hurt -- both the community and the police.

It contributes to a feeling that when it comes to crime and policing, it's "us against them". Far too many in the community at large and in police departments already have that view. They look on the Black community as "them", who must be kept from hurting "us" (police and Whites).

This is a ridiculous view (probably fostered by continuing racism among Whites) that is just not true. Whites have a lot more reason to fear their fellow Whites than to fear Blacks -- because the overwhelming majority of crime committed against Whites is by other Whites. But race blinds many to the facts, and to misconduct by police. They see crime as being centered in the Black community, and that leads to the "us against them" view.

"Us against them" is not good policing. In fact, it leads to terrible policing because it violates all the tenets of good policing and common sense. "Us against them" is not policing at all -- it is war, and in war both sides are put in danger. The Black community is put in danger because the "us against them" attitude causes police to consider them as something less than human. And the police are put in more danger because Blacks know they are not treated equally, but targeted as some kind of enemy -- and this leads to no cooperation with police, and the police being considered an enemy of the community.

We must get rid of this "us against them" attitude -- in the public and in our police agencies. There is no "them". There is only "us", regardless of race, color, or religion. The Constitution guarantees all of "us" equal treatment under the law. And that applies to police departments as well as everyone else.

When the police break the law, they must be punished just like anyone else would be. Having a dangerous job does not give them permission to ignore the laws that all of "us" must obey. In fact, they must be held to an even higher standard of conduct, since they have been given a gun and a badge (and the awesome authority that goes with that).

Letting the police get away with breaking the law is both stupid and unconstitutional -- and it hurts this country.