Capital Punishment
For Rogue Cops
Who Kill? © 2016
Our rational minds tell us that most police officers are decent and professional. However, thanks to a flood of cellphone videos, Americans have had front-row seats to trigger-happy and abusive police officers who have been shooting, killing, and brutalizing black people often under very questionable circumstances.
Recently, CBS News reported there were 975 police shootings in 2015. Yet, only 18 officers were charged and none were convicted. That’s unacceptable.
Most of the people on the wrong end of rogue cops have been black. However, Whites, Hispanics, females, and others have also been on the wrong end of poorly trained police officers.
This is a broader issue than some may think, and left unchecked, all Americans could, on any given day, be a target of rogue cops, who are not psychologically or temperamentally equipped to handle the job. And some of them may have traded in their KKK robes for police uniforms.
Only a pathetic cynic or a bigoted mind can deny there’s a problem. We’re not saying all police officers are rogues, we’re saying there’s a problem with too many rogue cops on police forces.
After these highly publicized abusive and deadly police shootings, it can be tempting to jump on the outrage bandwagon. It also can be tempting to be disruptive, to riot, or to loot. But that’s not the best way, or the smartest way to deal with rogue cops.
In situations involving rogue cops, our goal should be to make fundamental changes; not short-term changes that are tied to what happened to a Tamir, Eric, Freddie, or whomever. Rogue cop behavior can be changed by lawsuits, federal oversight, and perhaps more importantly, voting.
When we vote, we can put people in positions who are sensitive to our concerns. When we vote, that also means we will be in the pool of people who are selected to serve on Grand Juries. Grand Juries are chosen from lists of people who vote. Grand Juries and criminal juries often decide the fate of rogue police officers.
When we don't vote, we don't appear on active voter lists of available people who can serve on juries. When we don’t vote we cannot elect the right prosecutors, who have the authority to bring charges against rogue police officers. When we don’t vote, we won’t be eligible to serve on the juries that decide the fate of rogue cops.
When we vote, we can put in place Civilian Police Review Boards. These boards can monitor the training and behavior of police officers as well as implement new training. The review boards would have citizen representation. In Detroit, the late Ron Scott, a friend and mentor, made it his mission to monitor police behavior. Citizen Review Board also could implement more psychological testing for police officers.
Voting may not be sexy, and it is no panacea, but that's how we change the justice system and the justice system is managed.
By voting, we can push our representatives to fashion legal laws in support of capital punishment for rogue police officers who act as if their uniform, badge and gun gives them some special right to kill black people. Rogue cops, who kill people without legal justification, should not be entitled to a free murder or a slap on the wrist. Like any other criminal who commits a heinous crime, they should be subject to capital punishment.
Until the people most often subjected to rogue police behavior can see police officers held accountable for their crimes, they will never have faith in the police or the justice system. We can change the voting system by voting. There’s a reason Blacks were denied the right to vote. Now you know why.
Finally, we must walk a fine line here and not make the entire police the enemy; just the rogue cops.
For Rogue Cops
Who Kill? © 2016
Our rational minds tell us that most police officers are decent and professional. However, thanks to a flood of cellphone videos, Americans have had front-row seats to trigger-happy and abusive police officers who have been shooting, killing, and brutalizing black people often under very questionable circumstances.
Recently, CBS News reported there were 975 police shootings in 2015. Yet, only 18 officers were charged and none were convicted. That’s unacceptable.
Most of the people on the wrong end of rogue cops have been black. However, Whites, Hispanics, females, and others have also been on the wrong end of poorly trained police officers.
This is a broader issue than some may think, and left unchecked, all Americans could, on any given day, be a target of rogue cops, who are not psychologically or temperamentally equipped to handle the job. And some of them may have traded in their KKK robes for police uniforms.
Only a pathetic cynic or a bigoted mind can deny there’s a problem. We’re not saying all police officers are rogues, we’re saying there’s a problem with too many rogue cops on police forces.
After these highly publicized abusive and deadly police shootings, it can be tempting to jump on the outrage bandwagon. It also can be tempting to be disruptive, to riot, or to loot. But that’s not the best way, or the smartest way to deal with rogue cops.
In situations involving rogue cops, our goal should be to make fundamental changes; not short-term changes that are tied to what happened to a Tamir, Eric, Freddie, or whomever. Rogue cop behavior can be changed by lawsuits, federal oversight, and perhaps more importantly, voting.
When we vote, we can put people in positions who are sensitive to our concerns. When we vote, that also means we will be in the pool of people who are selected to serve on Grand Juries. Grand Juries are chosen from lists of people who vote. Grand Juries and criminal juries often decide the fate of rogue police officers.
When we don't vote, we don't appear on active voter lists of available people who can serve on juries. When we don’t vote we cannot elect the right prosecutors, who have the authority to bring charges against rogue police officers. When we don’t vote, we won’t be eligible to serve on the juries that decide the fate of rogue cops.
When we vote, we can put in place Civilian Police Review Boards. These boards can monitor the training and behavior of police officers as well as implement new training. The review boards would have citizen representation. In Detroit, the late Ron Scott, a friend and mentor, made it his mission to monitor police behavior. Citizen Review Board also could implement more psychological testing for police officers.
Voting may not be sexy, and it is no panacea, but that's how we change the justice system and the justice system is managed.
By voting, we can push our representatives to fashion legal laws in support of capital punishment for rogue police officers who act as if their uniform, badge and gun gives them some special right to kill black people. Rogue cops, who kill people without legal justification, should not be entitled to a free murder or a slap on the wrist. Like any other criminal who commits a heinous crime, they should be subject to capital punishment.
Until the people most often subjected to rogue police behavior can see police officers held accountable for their crimes, they will never have faith in the police or the justice system. We can change the voting system by voting. There’s a reason Blacks were denied the right to vote. Now you know why.
Finally, we must walk a fine line here and not make the entire police the enemy; just the rogue cops.