If I am a person who harbors true hatred for people who do not look like me. If I have been taught by my family and friends that these people do not have the same feelings even when a bullet is sent through their bodies as I would have because my skin is white , you can put me in all the community/police groups you want, I will still hate these people and I will definitely expect the union to protect my interest and beliefs. I never expect to lose my job because I killed someone who was worthless!
2
A reluctance not only to report crimes, but also to call on the police in any circumstances. A quote from another Times article of Sept. 29th:
'An officer in El Cajon fatally shot a man identified as Alfred Olango on Tuesday, after Mr. Olango’s sister called 911 for help because he was acting erratically... “I called for help; I didn’t call you guys to kill him,” the sister wailed on a Facebook video recorded by a bystander.'
'An officer in El Cajon fatally shot a man identified as Alfred Olango on Tuesday, after Mr. Olango’s sister called 911 for help because he was acting erratically... “I called for help; I didn’t call you guys to kill him,” the sister wailed on a Facebook video recorded by a bystander.'
4
I'm a well-educated white woman in my 50s with zero criminal proclivities, not even speeding. And somehow, starting around 2001 I've had several direct and incidental police encounters that have been nothing but negative. They're a bunch of thugs who appear to answer to no one. Call 911? Only as a last ditch scenario with no expectation of anything good coming out of it.
9
After more than 40 years of living in NYC as a college-educated white male, I'm truly struggling to recall any positive interactions I have had with police. There was that time I was jumped by the son of a police sargeant and his neanderthal friends and ended up in jail for a weekend and charged with two felonies. Oh, and that time I lived in Bushwick, and had two officers pull up alongside me in their patrol car, point a gun directly at me, and tell me to go the f*ck back where I came from, despite my being 20 yards from my front door (racial profiling can break both ways). Or that time I asked a policeman in front of MSG if it was okay to give away an extra ticket to a concert that evening, was told no problem, then was cited for scalping by a second officer while the first officer refused to come to my defense. And I can think of several more.
Honestly, I always hear about a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but in my mind the whole bushel is wormy, with very few exceptions. I honestly can only imagine what the average black American goes through in his/her lifetime, but knowing that I will never call police unless absolutely necessary, it's very easy to imagine why black residents of our cities feel the same. 911? A joke, indeed.
Honestly, I always hear about a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but in my mind the whole bushel is wormy, with very few exceptions. I honestly can only imagine what the average black American goes through in his/her lifetime, but knowing that I will never call police unless absolutely necessary, it's very easy to imagine why black residents of our cities feel the same. 911? A joke, indeed.
7
You should add to this statistic how many people don't call the police because they have someone in their family who has mental illness. Cops shoot so many people suffering from mental illness. They should never the be first responders to a situation in which the person called on has a history of or actions of someone suffering from this disease. Can you imagine if the police responded to any other disease with the same deadly responses witnessed for a long time now??? No,, you can't. It's long past time we addressed this issue. Far too many innocent people are dying because the cops are not properly trained to deal with people suffering from mental illness.
7
There was a little six year old boy shot by two policemen of color. The policemen will go to jail. And, perhaps after the facts are out, they should go to jail. There was a white man shot by police, video just came out. The police will be found guilty and at least be removed from duty. There were three young white boys who came into Detroit to purchase illegal drugs. They were committing a crime. During that same time, there was a young African-American mother who had been kidnapped. Her empty car was found. The three young boys were killed and tortured by the drug people they found to purchase illegal drugs. The men who killed the boys are now in jail. No one is even looking for the African-American mother who was kidnapped and probably killed. A young boy killed because he had a BB gun. Please name one white child who has been killed with a BB gun, in any state in America. No, we are not going to call the white police to come to our community. We are not calling the killers of our children to come into our neighborhoods. We want our tax money back that has been used to hire these policemen. They should be paid by the people they actually protect and serve. Not us!
4
A six-year-old boy, Jeremy Mardis, was shot to death by two cops in Marksville, LA last December. You can read the story here -- http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2015/12/marksville_officers_indict...
Police body cam video of the encounter was just released yesterday by the judge presiding over the former officers' trial. http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/09/body_camera_footage_marksvil...
When it seems that cops today are trained -- TRAINED -- to indulge in gun-play first thing, right out of the box, why call them in the first place?
Police body cam video of the encounter was just released yesterday by the judge presiding over the former officers' trial. http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/09/body_camera_footage_marksvil...
When it seems that cops today are trained -- TRAINED -- to indulge in gun-play first thing, right out of the box, why call them in the first place?
The blue lives matter folks won't care because they're racist
Rational people realize that police and the people they police can't have an adversarial relationship
We need real progress
Policing needs some structural reforms
Rational people realize that police and the people they police can't have an adversarial relationship
We need real progress
Policing needs some structural reforms
4
I'm a 60 year old white man who is worried that if I get pulled over for a traffic violation, some knucklehead cop will misinterpret my reaching for proof of car insurance and registration in the glove compartment and shoot me.
If I were a young black man, I'd be terrified.
If I were a young black man, I'd be terrified.
14
I am a 71 year old white woman and I'm worried too. Even more so, I have a mentally ill son. If he experiences some kind of psychotic break, and I call the police for help (my son is a much bigger person than I am physically) are they going to shout some order at him which he may not comprehend, and then shoot him? Or me by mistake, like the therapist who got shot trying to protect the autistic patient in North Miami?
2
I think this is intuitively true but there are other explanations as well. I had an African American neighbor once who called the police to report a dumped, stolen car in front of his house. When they arrived, for some reason, they thought it appropriate to run an warrant check on this gentleman. Low and behold, he had a old warrant for failure to appear on a traffic stop. They cuffed him on his front porch and took him to jail. He told me that he, and all of his friends and family (many of whom lived on the block), would never call the police again. Want to betray trust, arrest people on small stuff when they are trying to help out the community.
10
This is fine with me. Let them handle their own abundant criminals and let the police protect law-abiding citizens.
5
Sven: Truly racist comment. So, in your view, all black people are criminals? I really feel like unloading on you right here, but I think I'll just let your words do that for me.
4
Why would anyone think to call their own executioner ?
9
The headline "Police Violence" is inciting the ignorant narrative that police are inherently racist and violent. Dangerous and divisive.
9
But They Are.
9
I am Caucasian. For as long as I can remember those blacks that I have known have (1) been afraid of the police even when the blacks are highly successful and affluent, and (2) don't expect the police to arrive when called to certain neighborhoods. A friend's father had a heart attack, after several calls did not bring EMS, the friend called the police and said a policeman had been wounded. EMS showed up and he got his father to the hospital The blacks I know drive old cars and stay fairly dressed up all the time as a protection against being stopped by the police. The stories go on ....
7
BLM says they want to police their own communities, so this is a good start. Don't need the police anymore in Black communities
1
who knew police violence was a cost saving device????
3
[[Adrian Spencer, who at one point lived in a predominately black neighborhood in central Milwaukee across the street from a tavern that had become a magnet for fights, drag races and shootings.
To Ms. Spencer’s surprise, she and her mother seemed to be the only ones calling 911 to report crime connected with the tavern. When she asked other people in the neighborhood, some of whom had lived there longer than she had, the usual response was: What were the police going to do?]]
OK, in two seconds I was able to find Milwaukee's "public nuisance" laws. http://city.milwaukee.gov/ChronicNuisance#.V-2muIY8LYU
To Ms. Spencer’s surprise, she and her mother seemed to be the only ones calling 911 to report crime connected with the tavern. When she asked other people in the neighborhood, some of whom had lived there longer than she had, the usual response was: What were the police going to do?]]
OK, in two seconds I was able to find Milwaukee's "public nuisance" laws. http://city.milwaukee.gov/ChronicNuisance#.V-2muIY8LYU
1
I'm sorry- but we have to bite the bullet on this one and start opening more police substations in lower income areas. Call it community policing- call it an occupying force- call it whatever you want- but a police presence prevents crime. In Japan, they have small offices scattered throughout metropolitan areas staffed with 3 to 4 police officers. I always viewed them as a friendly Triple AAA office- because it's a place for community updates and general information. The officers walk a small route but always in earshot of the community. Obviously this will cost money, perhaps hundreds of millions- but we have already spent $6 Trillion fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan so no question the money is there- I think we are just missing the political will.
9
Japanese police also face a largely gun-free population. There were a mere twelve deaths from gunfire in the entire country in 2013. Gun ownership is not illegal, but there are many restrictions on who can possess a firearm, and gun-owing citizens must register their weapons with the police and even describe where and how they will be stored.
Japanese police officers do carry guns, but they leave them in the office when they go home at night. How many American police officers do that?
https://mic.com/articles/126573/japan-has-shown-the-rest-of-the-world-ho...
Japanese police officers do carry guns, but they leave them in the office when they go home at night. How many American police officers do that?
https://mic.com/articles/126573/japan-has-shown-the-rest-of-the-world-ho...
1
An inevitable result and a worsening of the spiral downwards, seems to me.
Starting with the police brutality, stopping more black people and shooting them more often (although there were things that led to that), this distrust in police by black neighborhoods was predictable.
The result of this decrease in calls to police will result, of course, in more crime. More crime will make police more distrusting of these neighborhoods, more trigger-happy, and more unwilling to walk the streets.
This will lead to more shootings, more distrust, less 911 calls, more crime, and repeat.
I'm not sure what can break the cycle at this point. I know that if Trump gets elected, the situation will worsen incredibly fast.
Starting with the police brutality, stopping more black people and shooting them more often (although there were things that led to that), this distrust in police by black neighborhoods was predictable.
The result of this decrease in calls to police will result, of course, in more crime. More crime will make police more distrusting of these neighborhoods, more trigger-happy, and more unwilling to walk the streets.
This will lead to more shootings, more distrust, less 911 calls, more crime, and repeat.
I'm not sure what can break the cycle at this point. I know that if Trump gets elected, the situation will worsen incredibly fast.
6
Earlier this year, a Cleveland resident was shot and killed by police. She was mentally ill, and her family had called 911 to try to get her the treatment she needed.
When you kill the family members of people who call 911, people stop calling 911. Why would this surprise anybody?
When you kill the family members of people who call 911, people stop calling 911. Why would this surprise anybody?
24
I'm white and 60, and even I no longer want to call the police, unless it is absolutely necessary. I can only imagine what it is like to have to call them and be black or brown. The militarization of our police is more than a matter of military surplus equipment and tactics. It is also attitude. My experiences are merely anecdotal, but my few encounters with police over the years have increasingly come feel like I am dealing with those who regard themselves as an army of occupation and everyone they encounter as a potential "hostile," including citizens who call them. Someone evidently got them to cease the practice, but a few years ago, the police routinely used to fly their helicopter loud and low over our neighborhood (a less affluent but not a high crime area) late a night as if we were Fallujah, barking unintelligible orders over their loudspeaker and shining their searchlight everywhere to no evident end. To interact with the police, increasingly, is to feel under suspicion, eyed and interrogated cagily as if one, too, were a suspect. Don't make any sudden movements, I always remind myself, these people are visibly ready to draw their weapons, shoot, and not have to answer questions later. I'm sorry if what I say hurts police officers' feelings. I realize most all are just trying to do their jobs and come home safely at the end of the day. But they need to understand what it feels like on the other side of the wall of blue these days.
27
My own reluctance to call police the other night makes me wonder if isn't happening in other neighborhoods as well. It was Saturday night, huge party at rented students' house spilling out into street, parked cars blocking access, noise far into wee hours of the morning. Thought to call, and said no - there are students of color across the street. What if something happened because of our call? Not worth it. Eventually we fell asleep.
22
good choice. part of the problem is people calling the police for stuff they used to sensibly grin and bear as you did.....get along with your neighbors.
4
Thanks. It was a tough choice; we should be able to call 911 if we have to, and in this case, kids were so obviously inebriated, anything could have happened; we were nervous. Prisoners in our own home that evening. I don't know if we'd make the same call again, but we did talk to the kids the next day, their landlord too.
3
Three simply put points..............
Please stop harming each other. There are enough foreign dangers trying to hurt us. It's just stupid for Americans to hurt Americans.
Try not to call the police because you may be ultimately responsible for causing a situation in which a cop kills someone, then you have to live with yourself knowing that.
If we stop calling the police for every stupid little thing like we do, then there will be less for Police to justify their massive forces leading to fewer predatory arrests of people for stupid reasons which ultimately ruin their lives and make them meaner and worse.
Thank you fellow Americans.
Please stop harming each other. There are enough foreign dangers trying to hurt us. It's just stupid for Americans to hurt Americans.
Try not to call the police because you may be ultimately responsible for causing a situation in which a cop kills someone, then you have to live with yourself knowing that.
If we stop calling the police for every stupid little thing like we do, then there will be less for Police to justify their massive forces leading to fewer predatory arrests of people for stupid reasons which ultimately ruin their lives and make them meaner and worse.
Thank you fellow Americans.
9
So you consider the systematic murder of minorities "every stupid little thing"? Words have power and I am sure you did not mean to disparage the concerns of the black communities in the US. These "stupid little things" however are people's lives and the fear of being the next "stupid little thing" aka murdered person of color is very real for millions of people in this country. Greater steps must be taken to change the patterns of police brutality beyond accusing minorities, even obliquely of overreacting.
2
Gloria, you must be black and you are paranoid, and rightly so. I was referring to stupid little things like barking dogs, parked cars, and excess noise among many others.
3
As evidenced by Adrian Spencer's story, Safe & Sound works to break down barriers between community and police leading to positive community-police partnerships. To learn more, watch this video: www.safesound.org/about-us/#ss1
2
I can't think of a circumstance where I would EVER call the police. Even in a home invasion situation, as an African American, the likelihood that the police would shoot me instead of the intruder (especially if he or she is white) might be higher than if I just take my chances with the criminal. I know what they're after and when they take it, they'd probably leave unless I got in their way. In the case of the police, it seems to be don't ask any questions, just shoot at the darkest one in the room. In the case of a heart attack, I'd just call 911 and ask for an ambulance and NOT the police. This is what it has come down to for us.
18
Dear Elpee,
Sorry but I think your fear is misplaced. Cops do have a proclivity to shoot black men first and ask questions later. But they don't shoot black women, hardly at all. Women get the benefit of the doubt in any violent situation, regardless of race, so I think you'd still be safer to call the police than to rely on the mercy of a violent criminal. If you were male though, I'd figure the worry was reasonable.
Sorry but I think your fear is misplaced. Cops do have a proclivity to shoot black men first and ask questions later. But they don't shoot black women, hardly at all. Women get the benefit of the doubt in any violent situation, regardless of race, so I think you'd still be safer to call the police than to rely on the mercy of a violent criminal. If you were male though, I'd figure the worry was reasonable.
1
"Even in a home invasion situation, as an African American, the likelihood that the police would shoot me instead of the intruder (especially if he or she is white)"
I would think that the probability of a hone invasion by a white invader against a black home would be insignificant to none.
I would think that the probability of a hone invasion by a white invader against a black home would be insignificant to none.
1
The last line of the article, says it all. "For most people [of African descent], the type of interactions they've had with the police have been negative interactions. For the most part, my interactions with the police have been positive. However, the bad interactions have made me reticent about my interactions with law enforcement and I am a employed, law abiding, well educated, well spoken and polite individual. If I feel that way, how would other people feel?
6
Imagine a African American family being unwilling to call the police in an emergency. I wonder why that would be. Maybe they believe these "pubic servants" are more interested in ending lives than in saving them. I would have to agree with them.
12
If every time a police officer was summoned presented a reasonable risk that someone- a neighbor, a family member- would be shot, I think most people would stop calling 911 unless it is a home invasion by a stranger (even in that case a black male homeowner would be taking some risk). The only question I have for law enforcement is: why are so many cops have to use deadly force? Are they so afraid? Or do they do know they could do so with impunity?
17
My heart is breaking for the future of my biracial baby boy. He won't have my immediate privilege, and even his black dad wishes that the baby had benefited more from me and been born even lighter-skinned. That's how low we've fallen as a society. What gives me hope is that along with the possibility of being beaten or shot to death by the police, now he could also be president, and will forever have a role model to show him how far we've come and how much is now possible! Please, let's focus on that!
8
Please! The 'law of the street' has never recognized cooperation with police as a positive. The consequences of American history towards minorities, but especially blacks, have left too many broken people in it's tracks and cops are paying the price of the sins of the past. To blame an isolated incident which might occur hundreds or even thousands of miles away, publicized in a stereotypical critism of all police is nothing more than an unfortunate excuse that only serves to demoralize those we expect to protect us all and costs too many of our most vulnerable people their lives.
11
I have lived in New York City full or part time my entire life. My contacts with the police - from asking directions, asking why there are so many police present at a particular moment, being told to stay away from a crime scene (most recently the Chelsea bombing), or when they helped my husband after a serious fall last year - have all been civil and helpful. The present canpaign against the police, in spite of FBI data and the results of investigations such as that in Ferguson, undermines the fabric of our society, slanders the hundreds of thousands of men and women who choose to serve, and endangers the residents of crime-probe neighborhoods by encouraging distrust of the police and passive acceptance of criminality and violence .
27
The actions of a few devalue the merits of the many. This is common; one Black guy does something and folks will think that all Blacks do that. Same with law enforcement.
It is not disparaging to expect civil servants to act fairly, humanely and with respect to all citizens. We all pay taxes yet we are all not treated the same. to deny that their is a problem speaks volumes of how much some sections of America are absolutely unwilling to see what is going on right under their noses.
No one should be giving a pass for the bad apples. We hold people who serve the public in a higher regard because of the power the have over us. However, that power should not be abused. Their actions do taint public opinion, good officers will suffer as a result. When your on a team you win or lose as that team. It would behoove many state and local jurisdictions outside of the NYC tri-state to learn some of the practices we implement here.
We still have problems but not nearly as many now that stop and frisk is illegal.
It is not disparaging to expect civil servants to act fairly, humanely and with respect to all citizens. We all pay taxes yet we are all not treated the same. to deny that their is a problem speaks volumes of how much some sections of America are absolutely unwilling to see what is going on right under their noses.
No one should be giving a pass for the bad apples. We hold people who serve the public in a higher regard because of the power the have over us. However, that power should not be abused. Their actions do taint public opinion, good officers will suffer as a result. When your on a team you win or lose as that team. It would behoove many state and local jurisdictions outside of the NYC tri-state to learn some of the practices we implement here.
We still have problems but not nearly as many now that stop and frisk is illegal.
17
One of the ironies of Ferguson was that while the individual officer was not indicted, the subsequent investigation revealed such an institutionalized practice of unconstitutional practices that the federal government essentially demanded that Ferguson adopt different policies. Judges, local politicians and prosecutors colluding to make up for budget shortfalls on the backs of the poorest citizens? No need to take the political risk of raising taxes on wealthier neighborhoods, right? Just maximize the number of petty fines and citations by establishing ridiculous quotas and then send out police officers like mob enforcers to lock people away for the crime of not being able to come up with the money being extorted from them.
Even as a black man, I never felt the facts were sufficient to bring a murder case against the Officer Wilson for shooting Michael Brown. That said, no one could have convinced me of the corruption in Ferguson until I read the Justice Department's report on the racket they had going there. I was actually embarrassed about how I initially dismissed what sounded like wild conspiracy-theories from people interviewed at the time. I literally couldn't conceive of it until a tidy report from the federal government spoon fed me the truth so many others had already seen. It's disheartening to feel like an idiot for giving elected officials the benefit of the doubt.
Even as a black man, I never felt the facts were sufficient to bring a murder case against the Officer Wilson for shooting Michael Brown. That said, no one could have convinced me of the corruption in Ferguson until I read the Justice Department's report on the racket they had going there. I was actually embarrassed about how I initially dismissed what sounded like wild conspiracy-theories from people interviewed at the time. I literally couldn't conceive of it until a tidy report from the federal government spoon fed me the truth so many others had already seen. It's disheartening to feel like an idiot for giving elected officials the benefit of the doubt.
5
Of course there are many, many good police officers. But what keeps things from changing is the idea that police cannot report their "own," must stick up for them at whatever cost. Sure, a police officer understands what another officer might have faced in a situation better than a civilian does, but nobody can deny there are bad, brutal officers that other officers know about. Non-criminal behavior has to apply inside the police department as well as out, and officers have to know they will be held accountable by their peers and co-workers. The courts can do a lot, but the real change has to be in the hearts and minds of these "good" officers. When they speak up and refuse to serve with bad police, things will change.
Fascinating data. My anecdotal evidence is this. I pondered in my mind police interactions I had perhaps through my last twenty years or so, a dozen perhaps. Simple interactions from being shoed away from a place of interest, to being fined for traffic violations, to asking questions to a random police officer.
Result: More than half of these interactions lacked a basic civility and had an air of condescension by the police officers. In short, they were unpleasant. I do not mean threatening per se; although the armament the police wears gives you pause, but just a lack of respect you would expect in a interaction between people, even if I had violated a traffic law.
This breeds lack of trust.
Result: More than half of these interactions lacked a basic civility and had an air of condescension by the police officers. In short, they were unpleasant. I do not mean threatening per se; although the armament the police wears gives you pause, but just a lack of respect you would expect in a interaction between people, even if I had violated a traffic law.
This breeds lack of trust.
34
Oh, I don't have any ties to the police and I am Muslim so I've seen my share of racism/islamophobia. I still believe that if we want peace then We have to work together, after all, no person who puts on the badge for the first or even last time 'let's kill some blacks today'. Let's make our neighborhoods safer today by working together!