Law Enforcement’s Black Eye
One bad apple spoils the bushel. In this case, five bad apples have spoiled a profession!
I’m going to start off saying that I’m probably going to really piss people off with this post. All I can say is “suck it up, buttercup. It’s my thoughts and my feelings on this sick matter!” I’ll also say, for those that don’t know, or remember, I’m a retired 29+ year veteran law enforcement officer, firefighter and correctional officer sergeant for the state of Florida Department of Corrections. I instructed law enforcement at the Community College (now State College) in Avon Park, FL for over eight years before my medically forced retirement in 1995. So, what I have to say about this I’m basing it on the times back then. Not now. Bit I’m also basing it on my instruction to the cadets.
I have been following this case in Memphis, TN all week, since it was first reported. To begin with, this makes me sick! Here’s my questions I had right off the bat:
A. This is a “Special squad” the Memphis P.D. has set up specifically to fight high crimes such as burglaries, auto thefts, etc. Why are they even messing with a traffic stop?
B. After jerking this man from his vehicle and had him on the ground, that’s the end of the struggle. You have the ‘perp’ on the ground. Secure him in handcuffs the way you were trained and end this thing. Why did all the pulling, etc. have to go on after they had him on the ground?
C. Why did they allow him to get up and run off? You have five (5) officers there all above 200 pounds and one ‘perp’ less than 170. Are you kidding me? Five officers couldn’t restrain one ‘perp’? Who the hell trained these guys?
D. When the ‘perp’ “escaped”, and ran away, they couldn’t catch him on foot. Okay. I’ll go back to my original question. What the hell did they stop him for?
E. Now I’m jumping to when they did catch him. Had him on the ground and literally beat him, kicked him, continually. Not one of the five officers offered any, ANY, first aid to the man, who was handcuffed and secured I might add while this beating took place! Seriously, are you kidding me? One of the officers was walking around, totally winded, exhausted. Really, and he’s on this ‘special squad’?
On top of all this, it took over 22 minutes for medics to arrive and render first aid/medical attention to the man. WHY? Twenty-two minute response!!! Completely unacceptable, in anyone’s book!
I want to commend the Memphis Chief of Police. She fired the five officers within 24 hours of the incident. I’m also going to commend the District Attorney. They charged, and arrested, the five officers within 24 hours after they were terminated. System can’t work much faster than that.
Now, I come to where, in my opinion, they screwed the pooch.
The judge ordered the video taken of the incident, dash cam and body cam videos, be released to the news media for the public to see. Why?
Everyone knew this was a horrendous beating this young man took at the hands, and feet, of these five officers. The police chief said it, the family screamed it, and the folks gaining their five minutes of free tv time preached it, loudly, for several days. So, why did we HAVE to see the video?
Now, the video is being shown “live for the first time” on the news. I’ll go ahead and say I was watching it on MSNBC, and it was on “REIDOUT” with host Joy Reid. She had three guest on there giving their professional opinion on the incident, and video. Then she started asking questions of the guest. And this is where I about lost it. Not only was she asking questions, in my opinion, trying to provoke some reaction from the guest, but she damn near provoked one out of me. She was asking some of the dumbest questions I’ve ever heard. She kept reintegrating the beating. Kept pushing the issue as to provoke someone, maybe the audience, or something. She was successful at pissing me off. But I was mad as hell at her because she was directing her questions as it was all law enforcement officers had beat this man and killed him.
Then she goes off on a line of questioning about the traffic stop. Her question was simple. Stupid but simple. “Why do you need armed police officers conducting traffic stops?”
Now, just let this sink in for a minute. Why do armed police officers need to conduct traffic stops? I haven’t looked up the National Police statistics on law enforcement officers line of duty deaths caused by being shot, and killed, conducting a traffic stop, but at one point I know it was the number one cause of law enforcement officers being killed in the line of duty. Second was officers responding to domestic complaints. I imagine the both of those are still pretty close to the top of the list for line of duty deaths.
Now, I have something I want to say to the news reporters, and everyone else that sits back and complains, gripes, bitches, and ask stupid questions.
Prepare yourself a little better. Ms. Reid acted like an amateur newscaster that was ‘winging it’ and totally unprepared. She made a complete ass of herself.
Second, if you are going to question procedures of law enforcement officers, make damn sure you know all your facts before questioning. And, try putting on their shoes and uniform for about six months. Then you might, just might, earn the right to question police tactics and why things are done the way they are done. On top of this, go through their full training course. You might understand more about traffic stops, domestic responses, and most of all the ‘shoot-don’t shoot’ scenarios. With their less than split second decisions these officers face day in, day out.
Next, we have the news outlets parading the parents of this young man on camera all week, every day, asking stupid questions of them as well.
They had been updated every step of the way of the incident, the termination, charging, and arrest of the officers. And the district attorney had talked to them, explaining why the charges were filed on each officer. The parents said they fully understood the reasoning for the charges.
Then the news reporters questioned them, allowing them to vent frustration at police, which in turn, in my opinion, was done in such a manner to stir the public. Gain more public sympathy, and cause ‘protest’. They went as far to say “I know you will protest, but we ask you to protest peacefully.” Really? ‘Peaceful protest’ against law enforcement officers actions killing a young black man. Peaceful?
These five officers have been released/terminated by the department. They have been charged, and arrested. Now, it’s up to a COURT OF LAW to convict them, or find them innocent. Not the COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION!
And as usual, the news reporters and broadcasters are trying them in the court of public opinion. But they aren’t trying these five. They are trying all law enforcement officers. And that’s not right!
This need for adoration and the fact that chiefs and sheriffs have entered the political arena supporting candidates they believe are pro cop, is problem number one. Since when did LEO leadership become media darlings and social media influencers? Just like the Christian evangelical community that insists on putting their support to trump appointed officials and their own interests ahead of what is best for all citizens. Separation of church and state? The same should apply to cops. Just do the job you were hired to do. Nobody wants to hear a cops version of his/her version of what our society should be. When a crime is committed, I think it's safe to say, that citizens want cops to show up, arrest the perpetrators and leave. Spare us your tribalism, nationalism and political patriotism please. And the blue wall of silence that infests every department nationwide is the reason good cops are lumped in with bad. Want law enforcement officers to receive the respect and support they deserve? Mandate they open their mouths when they know they're fellow officers are dirty or are violating their oath. Until that wall comes down, ordinary citizens will fear the very people paid to protect them.
I, too, am a retired cop. Spent most of my career 28 years as a deputy; 26.5 of that as a patrol deputy in a county the size of Connecticut with an unincorporated urban population of about 40,000. I was a use of force instructor for 13 years, wrote policy, delivered training in everything from force documentation and justification, physical control measures to intermediate weapons use (pepper spray, taser, ASP and Monadnock batons) and scenario-based training involving deadly force decision making. I agree with everything you've written here. I feel that the release of video in these cases is both essential for documentation and not appropriate for public consumption without proper guidance.
The media, now. Damn. They have no freaking clue.
I had the opportunity to do a "media day" for training. It was very eye-opening for the newsies that attended, and I made a couple of good friends following that training day.