Dear Editor,
Whether we like it or not, police killings in the US are a race problem. African Americans as compared to other races are being killed disproportionately. According to the American Civil Liberties Union the killing of Philando Castile was the 123rd killing so far this year of a Black person by American law enforcement.
Each time a Black man has been killed, (and there have been so many), or there has been a school massacre, a gay killing, etc, there have been calls for gun reform. Bills are introduced which get immediately voted down. Let’s face it, America is just as guilty as the killers. America lacks the political will to engage in any meaningful gun control. Incidentally the NRA has always spoken out in defence of guns being used as protection, but seemingly only when it pertains to whites. They have not done so in the case of Philando Castile who was a licensed gun holder.
The latest killings serve as grim reminders that law enforcement officers across the land are in dire need of further training to make them more professional and respectful of the citizens whom they have pledged to protect and serve. Police officers are trained to view every encounter as a potential deadly force incident, and as a consequence citizens are endangered rather than having their safety preserved. Perhaps the time is ripe for rigorous scrutiny not only of police training schools, but also their applicants and the admission prerequisites. This should be conducted in conjunction with the institution of specialized tests such as the Implicit Association Test, among others, designed to measure racial bias. There should be maximum emphasis on de-escalation, conflict resolution sessions and the use of force standards.
I have arrived at the conclusion that police officers, on account of the training they receive, graduate with a warrior culture type of mentality ‒ battling with the criminal element; a good guys versus bad guys type scenario. This may be in some way contributory to many of the killings, which in the majority of cases were totally avoidable.
The legal system has also a vital part to play. Every court, prosecutor’s office and police station should send a clear and loud signal of the consequences in cases involving police brutality. Judges, juries, grand juries and prosecutors alike have failed to prosecute and convict police officers who commit homicide. This is yet another example of America’s pussyfooting attitude on crucial issues. The underlying belief is that if police officers are prosecuted, the end result would be a diminution in the number of police officers stepping up to bat as they should. The question is formulated as how do you prosecute the bad officers without lessening the motivation of the good officers? The powers that be have not figured out how to resolve this problem, hence the open season on African Americans rages on. This is a poor excuse; a murderer is a murderer no matter the colour, and should be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
In a way the justice system can also be seen as an accomplice to the crime. Blacks are incarcerated via a tight network of laws, policies and institutions that function collectively to ensure their subservient status.
In conclusion the Black community is not without blame or blemish. Police brutality towards our own will only end when we unite. We are currently divided on the approach to the problem, in utter denial about what some of us or our children are contributing to the problem, and some of us are ambivalent. In some ways Blacks have contributed to how they are perceived by the world around them.
Accepting the truth will bring about change. American society suffers the malignancy of racism which is as deeply entrenched as gun addiction. Racism and gun addiction represent a disease which will continue to get worse.
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam
