Police brutality: too much militarization or a lack of education?

[HerrKarlMarx]

Many of us are concerned about the increased militarization of law enforcement, and some would even argue that this increased militarization is also responsible for the police brutality - particularly toward persons of color - that we have seen in recent years.

However, I would argue otherwise. Let's look at Europe. There's no shortage of law enforcement that is very militarized. They wear body armor and other tactical gear, cover their faces with balaclava masks, and carry with them fully-automatic weapons.

Here is an example of the German SEK, the Sondereinsatzkommandos, the equivalent of our SWAT teams.





If it were a simple problem of too much militarization, these units would easily have a higher body count than their American counterparts.

Yet the reality is, you are far more likely to be shot and killed by law enforcement during an encounter with American police than while dealing with this kind of 'military police.'

They may be armed to the teeth, yet they also pride themselves in not using their weapons, in defusing situations in a way that let's the suspects go unharmed rather in a body bag. Compare that to the American approach of 'shoot first and ask questions later.'

I bring this up because I often hear friends lament the increased militarization of American police. Black lives would matter more if more police departments wouldn't be running around with personal armor and sub-machine guns, correct?

Again, I would argue that the level of militarization plays little role; education is the only thing that matters. If a person doesn't know how to conduct themselves, how to diffuse a situation, how to subdue a suspect without lethal force, they'll still kill many more carrying nothing but a revolver than the militarized police that is also highly educated.

[SecularMotion]

1. Steroids

Are Cops on Steroids a Contributing Factor in Excessive Force Cases?

It kind of makes sense, in a twisted sort of way. If your life was on the line every time you stepped foot into your office, and if there was a regimen of drugs you could take to intimidate or perhaps overpower those who were trying to kill you, wouldn't you be tempted to take those drugs? Honestly, I'd probably have to think about it for a second before quitting the job altogether. Either way, this appears to be the rationale behind a troubling upswing in the use of anabolic steroids in American police departments. Unlike professional sports and bodybuilding where steroids are commonly used to enhance performance in pursuit of more entertainment-oriented endeavors, police officers have been turning to testosterone, human growth hormone and other steroids in order to appear more physically imposing, and also, more importantly, to have a better shot at subduing a criminal suspect.

Back in 2008, Police Chief Magazine, published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, wrote:

Although the traditional reason for the use of AASs [anabolic-androgenic steroids] is to improve athletic performance, AASs also appeal to officers wanting a tactical edge or an intimidating appearance. Unlike with other forms of drug abuse, steroid users do not take their drug recreationally; on the contrary, some state they need these drugs in order to do their job effectively or improve their “job performance.” From street officers who consider themselves vulnerable to bigger, more aggressive criminals to special-assignment officers who are regularly tested for their physical abilities, officers are turning to performance-enhancing drugs such as AASs and HGH as a shortcut to improved performance.

Of course, there are not insignificant problems here, beginning with the fact that steroids are controlled substances (HGH isn't a controlled substance, but it often included in the chemical cocktail) and, since the passage of the Steroid Control Act of 1990, the possession of such drugs is a felony. That's probably the most clearly defined problem with illegal steroid possession -- the law. While there are legitimate and beneficial medical uses for testosterone replacement and steroid use, they're notoriously acquired abused in order to enhance physical strength far beyond mortal men.

http://thedailybanter.com/2016/02/members-ferguson-staten-island-maybe-pay-attention-cops-steroids/

[closeupready]

2. There's very little accountability when police behave badly.

If power corrupts, then the power to snuff out the life of some scary civilian who's bothering you leads inevitably to unjustified murders. Which is precisely what we've been seeing occur, as a larger trend.

[jmg257]

3. I would think its related to the perception of lethal threats.

Little room for error if you think EVERY confrontation may be life or death (yours).

That may be education, or reality based...not sure.

[Calculating]

4. Do the police hire a lot of ex-military and veterans?

Particularly those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan? If so, that might explain things. Potential PTSD issues and nervous trigger fingers along with the feeling that everyone is out to get them.

[treestar]

5. Good point

I think there is a problem of Us vs Them in police departments too.

[Lee-Lee]

6. It's also a matter of far fewer people who fight the police in Europe

People in the US are far more likely to be belligerent or fight an officer in the US than in most of Europe. That leads to escalation.

De-escalation training is good- and it's needed on both sides of the equation.

I dealt with several officers in exchange programs when I was a deputy, and a friend of mine spent 3 weeks in Spain as an exchange officer. The officers from Europe all were amazed at how much more disrespectful, violent and willing to escalate calls people in the USA were. The first time an officer from Germany saw someone on a shoplifting call at Wal-Mart break loose and run when being handcuffed and then assault two officers when they caught her he was almost in shock, he said they just don't see behavior like that on a call like that.

Interestingly the exchange officers I dealt with from developing countries all seemed to be unsurprised by it, as did ones from Eastern Europe.

[Lurks Often]

18. Stop trying to bring facts into an argument mostly driven by emotion!

I give your credit for trying although I doubt most here will believe you or change their minds.

[Lee-Lee]

19. No, the anti-cop bias and bigotry is strong here

Facts and real world experience doing the job are only attacked and vilified. Just like racists pick out the worst examples of the groups they hate and then claim they represent the whole the majority of the people here do the same with cops because that kind of bigotry and stereotyping is in.

I'll keep fighting it though. I want cops who come across this site to at least see that there are voices and people on the liberal side who don't just hate them because of the job and who don't stereotype and hate them all. I have to, I don't want to see law enforcement become only the territory of the right where no liberals even dare apply and apolitical young people just getting into the job find their political identity can only go one way because one side hates them just for doing the job- and that's what the kind of rhetoric found here does.

And of course any idea that maybe the cops are not 100% to blame for anything and everything is not welcome among the anti-cop bigots. If the person getting arrested on a minor shoplifting charge chooses to kick and spit on an officer and breaks a window in the store that's all the officer fault that she elevated her problems from a simple shoplifting charge that would be a fine to a felony that he's her jail time- for whatever twisted logic they can come up with.

[Lurks Often]

20. I agree with you

I just don't have the patience to deal with those who won't listen even when verified facts were are presented.

[backscatter712]

7. Bad screening of cops. Bad incentives. Bad training. Corruption. No accountability.

There's the "good ol' boy" police departments, like say Maricopa County run by Joe Arpaio, where the new hires are anything from the sheriff's poker buddies to whoever he feels like grabbing - they get a quick run through the academy where they learn how to shoot a gun, beat people up, and use the police radio, then they're put on the street where they don't really know what they're doing.

Then there's the Fergusons, along with places like Baltimore, Chicago, New York, etc. where the cops are crooked, and the department has become a Mafia-esque shakedown operation. Quotas (official or not) are set, cops are expected to target minorities, make lots of arrests, write lots of citations/summonses, and rake in those bucks for the city, on the back of poor and minorities. The incentive is not to enforce the law, but to rake in the bucks. There's the little towns with the speeding ticket rackets and the perpetual cop car with the radar gun looking to write tickets along the main drag, and there's the minority cities with the cops kicking down doors and stopping-and-frisking anyone with dark skin in hopes of writing them up for smoking pot or jaywalking, so the city makes more money.

There's bad screening - the worst cops seem to get through psych screening, in fact, are encouraged by the screens, which in some cases are deliberately rigged to screen out applicants with too much empathy, and that don't screen applicants that have too much of a fear reaction and get jumpy at the slightest provocation, or at the sight of brown skin. Cops need to be fair, and they need to be cool-headed, even when they're in a fight. This may be a physiological thing - some people can stay cool even in the middle of a pitched firefight, some wig out. When a cop is wigging out because a black man starts struggling or running, that's when kids get shot in the back.

And as the Freddie Grey case, and so many other cases show, there's nobody policing the police. Every police department in the country needs to be under the authority of an independent oversight board. That is not connected with the police, or with the prosecutors/DA. Who have the authority to discipline bad officers, up to and including termination, suspensions, heavy fines, and criminal prosecutions. And yes, the independent oversight boards should have their own prosecutors that are separate from the DA.

[brush]

8. They're trained that POCs, especially black guys, are the "bad guys".

Which is why they are so quick to shoot instead of deescalate.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. There have been cases of police recruits in the USA who were denied jobs...

... because their IQ scores were too high.

[GeorgeGist]

10. Both plus a penchant for hiring sociopaths.

[LanternWaste]

11. Are these para-military law reinforcements organizations a standard and typical reponse

Are these para-military law reinforcements organizations in Europe you refer, compare and contrast to a standard and typical reponse to a shoplifter (Greenwood Village, CO 2016) or eavesdropping (Sean Bell, NYC)?

Is there a compelling reason why landlocked Boone county, Indiana's police department owns an amphibious assault vehicle, or Jasper, FL police department (a three-stop light town) owning seven M-16's?


"Again, I would argue that the level of militarization plays little role"
An allegation,. or do you have objective and peer-reviewed evidence to support your premise?

[WestIndianArchie]

12. Elephant in the room

This isn't a mystery. The real issue in policing is good ole american racism, white supremacy......

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/402521/doc-26-white-supremacist-infiltration.pdf

[meow2u3]

13. A combination of factors

Steroid use; racism and bigotry, especially among white male cops; and lack of accountability, making some cops think they're above the law they're sworn to enforce, not to mention a police culture with a rampant tribalistic "us vs. them" mentality.

[Philly-Union-Man]

14. The police have been like this forever.

Always. It's nothing new. Go back to the beginning of the very idea of security forces and you will find wanton abuse of power up to and including murder. Those in power will always abuse their "subordinates". Many times the only difference between the cop and the criminal or the jailer and the prisoner is a badge and official authority.

Many times but not all the time. Sometimes the cop is the guy who enjoys the violence as much as the criminal but only uses it righteously. He's the guy who kicks the bully's ass to defend those who can't defend themselves.

It's not militarization or lack of education that cause police brutality. It's people who have a proclivity for violence being able to kick ass (mostly) without repercussions. The big pushback you see is because people are catching on to just how widespread and common it is.

[Kingofalldems]

15. All that +steroids as mentioned above.

And lastly seeing the citizenry as the enemy.

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. Read or get an audio copy of Radley Balko's "Rise of the Warrior Cop"

https://books.google.com/books/about/Rise_of_the_Warrior_Cop.html?id=M3KSMQEACAAJ&hl=en


That'll open your eyes.

[AgadorSparticus]

17. This police brutality is a direct symptom of too much KKK in law enforcement

The lame of the KKK in law enforcement needs to be addressed. You can't "educate" or rehab this bullshit away.