The death of George Floyd has left Americans stunned and confused. Since his death countless police departments across the country have changed police policies and tactics, and several cities have gone so far as to say they will defund their police departments. The way we look at the police and how the police does their job will never be the same.
There is no question that George Floyd was murdered, that is pretty clear and obvious. That should have never have happened and is a clear example of police brutality. Not all cases are like such as in the case of Rayshard Brooks in which picture is far less clear. If that same situation happened a few months ago it probably wouldn’t have garnered any press or attention. Not only did Brooks give any officer a concussion he also tried to taze another officer. If that doesn’t meet the criteria of force then I don’t know what will. Officers need to feel protected in order to do their jobs effectively and if they don’t feel protected and safe, then we will mass resignations and retirements of officers, which might happen in DC. This clip from the HBO show Watchman is a pretty realistic idea of what policing may become in the future. Officers having to ask permission from a superior to use their weapon, maybe? Spoiler alert the officer featured in this clip gets shot.
Hindsight is 20/20. It is easy for us to judge someone from their mistakes after the fact. As civilians it is easy to judge and reprimand the officers involved in the Rayshard Brooks case. But we are not the ones putting our lives on the line. I love all these celebrities who criticize these cops yet have private security details which handle all their dirty work for them. How many bodyguards do you think Kim Kardashian has or Justin Timberlake? They will never be put into a situation similar to that of those officers involved in that case. Celebrities live a fragile existence. They are often not familiar with the dangers everyday people face so they stay in their lane. Rayshard Brooks death was sad and tragic. But if we start punishing officers for the force they use when they are in danger then the future of law enforcement looks bleak.
What is happening now in the mainstream media is that police are becoming villianised for the actions of a few officers. As a result law enforcement officers are no longer respected in their communities. So the real question is why would someone want to become a cop? With the defunding the police movement in full swing officers are probably gonna get paid less with fewer benefits. Less hiring will mean that they would have to work more, and if they can’t defend themselves when they are in danger why join? Police departments will have a much harder time recruiting officers and because of that they will be forced to accept the bottom of the barrel recruits. These are people who normally couldn’t become cops but now will because police departments are so desperate for recruits. And these scrub recruits are the dangerous ones because they are not qualified or able to complete the job as a police officer. So the cycle of bad police officers continues.
Violence is already up in New York City after they disbanded their plainclothes unit. Minneapolis which is actively trying to abolish their police department just had a shooting in which 11 people got shot. The Seattle Autonomous Zone which has 0 police presence had a shooting in which 2 people got shot with 1 getting killed. Cops in Atlanta are refusing to go into work. In an atmosphere in which there is no police naturally crime will flourish. The way we police in America needs to change, there is no denying that. But if we let our emotions get the best of us and we act before we think then we are looking straight into a future in which the world is like New York in the 1970s where crime runs rampant. And trust me we don’t want that. We need to work with the police and help them change not abolish them. Look at Camden if you want an example for how the police should change.
Vincero News 