Today in cops gone feral

I realize it would be disrespectful to hold an event commemorating all those people killed in police custody or unarmed around Law Enforcement Memorial week, but surely there is a week a bit away from May where police killed an unarmed person who posed no threat. The thing in Minnesota is bad. I can't believe that "technique" is taught at academies.

 

They got fired.

 

Thousands now protesting in downtown Minneapolis. Police shooting tear gas and rubber bullets.

 

My guess was the report they filed was "incomplete" and false - about the only way you can dump a police officer that quickly without the union raising a fuss. I'd send every street cop back to the academy for a one-week "refresher" on restraining people and rules of custody - and take the expense out of their pension.
It's weird - ninety-nine times out of 100 a cop says "I feared for my life/safety/other people" and by law, the death is ruled justified. This guy was in cuffs. Not like Minnesota doesn't have a history.

 

It's not. Those are LEOs trying to look tough. To well-trained, disciplined officers with a strong moral sense of what they're doing, they look like cowardly jackasses.

There is a proper way to restrain someone from hurting themselves or someone else. I was taught to use it (SPARINGLY!) as part of my training for working at a medical model psych program. The police who sometimes brought in people who were suicide risks or worse were taught the same procedure.

I can't find a video of the method, but you restrain their arms from behind, pull them down to a sitting position, and if they're still escalated and unable or unwilling to listen to instructions, roll them to a prone position while keeping their upper arms restrained with your upper arms. Restrain the lower arms by pushing them into a "baby bird" position and hold them firmly against their upper arms with your knees pressed AGAINST them, not ON them.

Here's something to keep in mind: Restraining someone like this is a short term response. The person either calms down and cooperates or restraint tools are used. Those would be soft restraints and a quiet room in clinical settings. Law enforcement would most likely use cuffs. None of these methods...NONE should be used for long periods of time and/or with the intention to permanently incapacitate subjects.

 

I'd love to see a "deep dive" into the mentality among officers that see this kind of stuff from their colleagues and go along with it. Three non-kneelers were fired in this incident. Is it the "fear" of not having backup if you snitch? Of not being "on the team." Every department and law enforcement has a potential time-bomb in uniform and most probably know who that officer is.

 

I saw this quote from Chris Rock that resonated with me:

"I mean, here’s the thing with the cops, though, I mean, being a cop is a hard job, man. It’s a hard fucking job, man. I mean, honestly, I don’t think they pay cops enough. -I don’t think they pay police enough. And you get what you pay for.

Here’s the thing, man. Whenever the cops gun down an innocent black man… they always say the same things, man. They always say the same thing. It’s like, “Well, it’s not most cops. It’s just a few bad apples.” It’s just a few bad apples. Bad apple? That’s a lovely name for murderer. It’s like, how’d they get that one? “Bad apple?” That almost sounds nice. I mean, I’ve had a bad apple. It was tart. But it didn’t choke me out.

Here’s the thing. Here’s the thing. I know it’s hard being a cop. I know it’s hard. I know that shit’s dangerous. I know it is, ok? But some jobs can’t have bad apples. Ok? Some jobs, everybody gotta be good. Like… pilots. -You know? American Airlines can’t be like, “Most of our pilots like to land. We just got a few bad apples… that like to crash into mountains. Please bear with us.”]

 

This goes way deeper than the police. It goes back to the military, where most of these guys get their roots. We have a lot of people coming back from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are amazingly fucked up and are either hiding it well among their peers or, even worse, it's visible and being ignored by the superiors in command. Then they come home and, not only are they not getting the mental health evaluations and treatments they need, we're giving them a Goddamned advantage on civil service exams for jobs as police and firefighters. You get extra points for being former military on these tests. Although its an appropriate reward for having served, it can also be a recipe for disaster.

 

I'm not saying I disagree, but the cops' union would have a field day with that.

 

Oh I agree - but right now there is no motivation for police to "police their own." I wish they had baseball's mentality. Instead they allow the profession to be defined by the worst among them.

 

Cops should understand that the public is looking at them with regards to police reform measures as they view someone on the job. "Not exactly forthcoming?" "Are you hiding something?" "Are you resisting?"
They can be part of the solution - and by they I mean the rank and file - or people will realize they are part of the problem. Even if you like your police department - ask them what they are doing to encourage reforms - not community engagement, but real reforms in rooting out the worst of the lot, holding their fellow officers accountable.