The State of policing; Danger on all sides?
It’s no secret that tensions between the public and law enforcement are high. Both sides are keen to admit this, with seemingly record numbers of officer involved shootings AND shootings of officers the law and the public seem wary to each other. As of writing this 123 individuals have been killed in officer involved incidents and 19 Officers have been killed in the line of duty all this just this year. For both “sides” these are frightening numbers, but Law in enforcement and the public are not “sides” we are all members of the same communities, and these days it appears to many that we’re all in danger. But these numbers are not the highest yet recorded nor even abnormal compared to last year at this time per say, so why is dustrust on the rise?
The ability of social media and news media to share information allows incidents to reach the public eye rapidly, and with such scrutiny from fear of wrongful shootings our eyes are seemingly trained to spot any police incidents. Breaking down the shootings of individuals in 2018 you will find the great majority of those shot were armed with firearms or bladed weapon, far from the unwarmed shootings both the public and law enforcement fear & dread, it's not (only) wrongful deaths that solely contribute to public scrutiny, it's unfortunate outcomes to everyday situations which quickly become publicised, shared and that fear begins to build. For example just days ago in my state officers responded to call reporting an intruder in Tukwila, after arrival and while interviewing the person whom called the Police they per standard procedure entered the victims name into the National Crime Information Center database, which pulled up an outstanding warrant. The individual was detained and exchanged to the agency which the warrant from issue from. This warrant turned out to not be issued by a judge for capture of a criminal but rather was an disguised administrative ICE warrant. Now for doing their do diligence reporting a potential crime on his very household this man faces potential deportation, in a sanctuary city… This incident was quickly documented and garnered an unknown volume of views in various media forms. Distrust sews quickly when particularly unsettling stories make waves. In the Polices word similar erie events have taken root in 2018 as well.
Just in 2018 so far 19 officers have died in the line of duty, at rapid rates;
It’s events like wrongful a deportation Wilson Rodriguez Macarreno in Washington or feared wrongful shootings that shake the public, and events like the fatal shooting of Commander Paul Bauer in Chicago, and 12 police shot dead around the country in 2018 alone (including an officer here in my home state of Washington).
Tensions are undoubtedly high, that's no question. The question is how may we fix it? I have no definitive answer but in my mind an assault of compassion and understanding must be given on all fronts, by all peoples involved. As Precincts around the country begin to take strides to improve community relations and reach out the public should attempt the same. Our protectors are less effective if we fear them , & they fear us. But all hope is far from lost, the rut we may feel in now might seem severe but it will be overcome, across our country people are seeking change on the side of the public and the police. I’ll end this blog post now with a sad note but rather a fact of the coming future: Change is happening, and hardship will be overcome.https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/us/tukwila-police-ice-detain-trnd/index.html
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