Quote:
Originally Posted by Undertoad
Here's the Economist on it. It's in this week's edition so, tw, perhaps it is in the mail.
|
Read that article long before posting. It was part of that earlier response. Interesting especially when combined with other researchers and reporters.
Black and whites were just as likely to be shot ... when they attacked police. That is secondary. Problem occurs when blacks, et al do not attack police. For example, the kid who is waving around a toy gun. Or the man who does not resist until after being arrested. These were conditions that create controversy. These events are separate from others where the victim first attacked police.
Prof Gate did not attack police. But he suffered an 'excessive' police response only because he was trying to break into his own house. And even after properly identifying himself. We are only seeing more example of this 2009 example maybe because we are finally looking for it. Or because cameras now recored what has long been acceptable behavior among a minority.
Another reporter also spent (if I remember) most of a year riding with police in Newark. One fact remained apparent after enough observation. A major distrust exists between these police and citizens. Eventually he noticed a pattern. Police were always 'challenging' everyone. Constantly demanding an answer to "Why did you run?". Or "Come here." There was no cooperative interplay between these cops and citizens. The underlying bias of these cops was a constant "Everyone is a suspect."
Critical to cooperation between cops and citizens is the interplay where a cop and citizen can talk like friends. That program was instituted with success in Philadelphia. Among these Newark cops, everyone was distrusted. And so citizens routinely distrusted the cops. This was even observed with young kids. This would explain why some cops were more prone to use unnecessary violence and why emotions cause so much confrontation - both by police and citizens.
A man with a gun is always quick to make decisions based upon his biases - his emotions. That is why the NRA has been so quiet about tihis. That is why we want people with guns (more power) to be extra trained - to learn how to control those inevitable emotions. Still, some cops do not get it. We see that in recent videos including a lady cop in UT's Hummelstown PA video.
Some cops resort to excessive violence when not attacked. That is irrelevant to the other situation (described in the Economist) where a cop is attacked. Complaint is that some cops tend to be more (excessively) violent with a people who have a unique external characteristic when the citizen is not even violent.
The topic is not citizens who attack police. The topic is citizens who do nothing or only complain - and suffer an excessive police response. We know that is happening - apparently with a minority of officers whose training did not suppress their bias (emotions). And we know many who have these biases may even be unaware of their biases.