This may be a lengthy blog, because there are so many tentacles of this rotten octopus to deal with, so please bear with me. This blog will also be heavy with links to Internet articles to support my platform, so you’ll be able to see that this isn’t hyperbole, conjecture or misdirected blither; these are real instances. As I’ve said before, one thing I hate worse than cold grits is abject hypocrisy. You will find more than a few examples of how I counter that below.
I’m also aware, given the current climate in this country, that what I say below may upset or offend some, and you are well within your right to disagree. However, if you feel that you disagree to the point that you choose to sever all connections to me or my show on social media, I’ll miss you but feel free to do it. I will accept your charge without prejudice.
Before I get into this, allow me to preface this blog with this fact: I have friends and family in law enforcement, and I’ve interviewed TWO members of law enforcement for this show. I’ve stood with law enforcement to help solve a major crime in Baltimore City, and I support cops who honor the badge by doing their job without motive or willingness to do misdeeds under cover of impunity. Law enforcement in this country is VERY necessary and I’ll be the first to tip my hat to them as necessary. However, we’ve reached a bit of a milestone if you will, an impasse that will portend a very dangerous set of precedents, should this current behaviour be allowed to persist.
Let’s just tackle the elephant in the room head on and get it over with: race unfortunately plays a large part of everything going on in our world lately. You can tiptoe around it all you want, but again, you can’t avoid the elephant in the room. I will give you a list of examples.
There’s one quality that is lacking all across the board: consistency relative to law enforcement.
Let’s look first at the victims of police brutality, those shot and killed by police. You know the names. Michael Brown. Jordan Edwards. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. India Kager. Rekia Boyd. Terence Crutcher. Keith Scott. Walter Scott. Freddie Gray. John Crawford. Oscar Grant. LaQuan McDonald. Akai Gurley. Alton Sterling. Sam DuBose. Philando Castile. And countless others whose names you don’t know. In case you don’t know, here’s a list of minorities killed by police since 2014:
What do the names above have in common? With the notable exception of Walter Scott (and even that took some serious legal maneuvering), not one of the law enforcement agents who killed them was held accountable; in many cases, the States Attorney refused to even consider indictment. All of them also happen to be Black. No consistency in how justice is administered.
Now let’s take a look at those who have shot/killed police officers and the same lack of consistency.
In Dallas last year (2016), Micah Johnson shot and killed 5 police officers (see link). Was he wrong? Absolutely. Micah Johnson was Black. Not only was he killed by Dallas police, they used a technique they’d NEVER TRIED BEFORE: using an explosive-laden robot to get within close proximity to him and detonate.
In Baton Rouge last year (2016), Gavin Long shot and killed 3 police officers (see link), presumably in retaliation for the recent Alton Sterling shooting. Was he wrong? Absolutely. Gavin Long was Black.
In Colorado Springs in 2015, Robert Dear went to a Planned Parenthood, shot 5 police officers with an automatic rifle, killing one; murdered a pregnant woman, and an Iraq War veteran. 3 dead in total (see link). Was he wrong? Absolutely. Robert Dear is White. This is where privilege kicks in. He was treated with respect and civility. Here’s a photo of him being taken into custody alive:
And just for kicks and giggles, here are TWO videos of him talking (smack) to the lawyers AND the judge IN COURT: Video 1 Video 2
In Des Moines, Iowa in 2016, Scott Greene literally ambushed 2 Des Moines police officers, shooting them both in the head, killing them instantly (see link). Was he wrong? Absolutely. Scott Greene is White, with a history of racial issues. This is again where privilege kicks in. You’ll note in the link enclosed that later in the article, it states:
“After Greene complained about a “flare-up” with an
existing medical condition, he was taken to Mercy Medical Center
in Des Moines. Officials planned to interview
Greene after he was released from the hospital.“
So not only was he taken alive, when he had a medical issue, he was treated with respect and civility as well. Taken to the hospital and treated for his ‘flare-up’.
So the inference is, if you’re White and you kill an officer, there is good chance that you’ll be talked to with respect and reasoning. If you’re Black and you kill an officer, you won’t see nightfall.
Speaking of hospitals, let’s look at one more case.
In South Boston, Virginia (2013), Linwood Lambert was placed into custody and taken to a hospital for a medical condition (see link). Linwood Lambert was Black. Not only was he denied treatment, he died of cardiac arrest after being Tased 20 times in 30 minutes in the parking lot of the hospital! The officers in that matter were not even considered for indictment in case you’re wondering.
I will now show you how police CAN be prosecuted, when there’s sufficient inclination to do so. In all the cases of the names I listed in paragraph 5 like Michael Brown and Eric Garner, it was (for the most part) White police officer, Black victim. And the consistent narrative by the officers was:
“I FEARED FOR MY LIFE“. Let’s see if the consistency factor holds up when the converse of terms is true:
Marksville, Louisiana; November 2015. Christopher Few, a White man, has been drinking and using drugs. He’s in his truck with his 6-year-old autistic son, Jeremy Mardis. He is driving erratically and is spotted by two officers who happen to be Black, Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse, Jr. After leading police on a chase, he comes to a stop after being cornered and begins to try to escape. Fearing that Mr. Few is about to back up and ram the officers to get away, the officers fire their sidearms into the car, accidentally killing the young boy, not even knowing he was in the car. During trial, Officer Stafford said in testimony “I FEARED FOR MY LIFE“. The D.A. pretty much said “Oh, no you didn’t“. So we have a situation where a man is:
- a) on drugs (criminal offense),
- b) driving under the influence of alcohol (criminal offense),
- c) endangering the welfare of his 6 year old child (criminal offense),
- d) running from/evading law enforcement (criminal offense),
- e) endangering law enforcement by trying to ram them with his car (criminal offense)
The outcome of that trial? Officer Stafford got 40 years in the funplex with no parole (see link) with Mr. Greenhouse, Jr.’s trial pending in the next month or two.
So as you can clearly see, there isn’t even consistency for those who intentionally attempt to bring harm to law enforcement. And I won’t even go into the Bundy clan taking a federal building hostage for 41 days, threatening law enforcement with loaded rifles and being acquitted of all charges (see link) and for privilege (see video), or Dylann Roof murdering 9 Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina and after being apprehended, being taken to Burger King for a meal before being booked and processed (see link).
I think I’ve made more than a solid argument that there’s no consistency with regard to how law enforcement deals with certain people over others. Law enforcement cannot continue to live under the “even when I’m wrong, I’m right” narrative. Because bad police put good police at risk everyday. Those police I mentioned who were killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge presumably were not bad cops, but with the climate of bad cops getting away with murder, literally, and people not seeing justice prevail, it opens Pandora’s box for people with any kind of vitriol towards law enforcement to grab a gun and just start shooting cops indiscriminately. If you want the cop killing and hatred of police to stop, you have to begin with measures of good faith to people, and that begins with accountability.
Now let me deal right quick with some potential haters.
There are those who say that Black Lives Matter is a hate organization and hates police. Between diehard police supporters, and those who just generally don’t like minorities to begin with, let’s be clear: I can love you and still disagree with something you do. For example, I love my siblings with all of my heart. But If either my sister or my brother walks into a bank with a loaded gun and yells “stick ’em up”, I can’t hold with that, and shouldn’t be expected to. Analogy rendered, I can support law enforcement and at the same time be critical of the overpreponderance of killings of minorities in the street. But those who are anti-BLM presuppose (incorrectly, I might add) that “if you’re anti-police brutality, you’re anti-police” and the two arguments are not mutually exclusive.
One of the dangerous precedents I mentioned in the opening paragraph is that every time someone gets killed in the streets and the officer gets acquitted, the standard for responsibility and accountability gets lower and lower. When citizens are murdered by police on cell phone video and the D.A. says “well who are you to believe, me or your lying eyes”, CLEARLY there’s a disconnect within the halls of justice. And there really isn’t too much lower to go until it’s open sesame on innocent people in the streets and we’re back to pre-1950’s.
I stated in my last blog on President Obama leaving office that I was worried about the Department of Justice going lax on the rules on law enforcement and those fears have been more than confirmed, in that Attorney General Dick Sessions has already begun to roll back the consent decrees in Baltimore and Ferguson with police departments and has stated publicly that “he wanted to pull back on that”. Not a good look.
I will posit for consideration a message to law enforcement: by and large, you are respected. And I honestly believe as a community, African-Americans want to respect you. Yes, there are some bad eggs, but there are bad eggs in all races. Your blue wall of silence makes it difficult to do so. As you know, anytime you put a wall up, there’s a barrier between two or more people that doesn’t necessarily have to be there.
Now, all facts aside, let’s get to the crux of this blog. My mom and dad taught me never to pronounce a problem without equally investing research into pronouncement of a solution. The solution to weeding out bad law enforcement officers is so simple, it will not even be considered for adoption, much less implemented, because somebody’s got to be the bad guy, and historically, unfortunately, it’s always been people of my race.
Here’s the plan:
To practice medicine, a doctor must have insurance: business coverage, general liability, etc. If a doctor gets sued successfully for malpractice, after a number of times of the insurance company (supposedly) pays out millions in settlement claims, that doctor becomes uninsurable, meaning he/she can’t practice medicine anymore, and thus their medical license is worthless. Same options apply to practicing law; if you get sued successfully enough that your insurance company renders you uninsurable, you can’t practice law. Hell, the same thing applies to us even as regular citizens: if you think I’m kidding, go total a car every week for the next 6 weeks and see what happens: your license will undoubtedly be suspended/revoked and guess what? You become uninsurable and you can’t drive!!
I call for the same provisions for law enforcement. This pseudo-deification of police (especially the bad cops) as ‘Gods and islands unto themselves beyond reproach’ must end. For example, the ‘officer’ who murdered Eric Garner in New York, Daniel Pantaleo, had already been sued several times before he even met Eric Garner (see link), each case was settled and he kept his job. I query you all: if you do something on YOUR job that costs your company even 4-figures, do YOU think you’ll still be working at that job? I think not.
Furthermore, by instituting police insurance, it takes the tax burden off of taxpayers and puts it squarely on the people responsible: bad policing. In my show on Police Reform with Ofc. Michael A. Wood, Jr., I detail how from 2009 – 2014, the NYPD paid out over $428 million in police misconduct settlements ranging from simple misconduct to death (see link). The only problem with that is, the NYPD “did’nt” pay it. The citizens of New York did, by raising taxes.
In Inkster, Michigan, a cop named William Melendez beat a citizen, Floyd Dent, violating his civil rights. Mr. Dent sued and successfully won a lawsuit against the Inkster Police Department to the tune of over $1.3 million (see link). The only problem is, the city of Inkster (as are many cities in Michigan) is financially destitute. So as you see in the link, the PEOPLE of Inkster had to endure a tax hit to cover the cost of that settlement. Melendez and the Inkster PD are going on about their business. The citizens are left to suffer.
By instituting insurance, all it takes is one or two good settlements, and you won’t have to wait. The bad cops will be weeding themselves out, all on their own. They will become uninsurable and will no longer be able to remain as police officers.
In closing, I know there are some of you (if you read this far) that were just itching to see how I’d suggest to ‘shut down’ Black Lives Matter. Yes, I intentionally made the title of this blog as misleading. The answer for that, too, is simple.
If you REALLY want to shut down Black Lives Matter………..start calling for that magic word: accountability. If an officer breaks the law, the relationship between the D.A.’s office and the police department cannot be paramount to the rule of law. Special prosecutors must be installed and people must be able to feel that all things are aboveboard in investigations. I always say, I can handle losing a case, so long as things are transparent and out in the open, and that includes the facts. But anytime there’s collusion between the two, it more oft than not leads to ill intent, which invariably leads to injustice and that’s primarily what has people rioting in the streets.
If you REALLY want to shut down Black Lives Matter………..insist that national incentives to insure police be implemented. That will lead to the accountability where people can feel comfortable enough to see whether or not charges are warranted in any given incident.
If you REALLY want to shut down Black Lives Matter………..don’t be blind to the fact that police are human first, susceptible to the same mistakes that regular people make and as such, while we respect them, they should be equally as accountable as if it were any of us committing such acts.
When we get to that point, you won’t have to hear people chant ‘Black Lives Matter’.
By virtue of its own failsafes and enforcements…………the law in and of itself will prove it.