What Does It Mean to Be a "Good Cop"?
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What Does It Mean to Be a “Good Cop”?
On May 30, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson put down his weapon and walked with protesters in Flint, Michigan, vowing that the police “love” them. The next day, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo removed his mask and appeared to be on the verge of crying as he offered a police escort to the funeral home for the body of George Floyd. The Houston Police Department also updated its profile picture on social media to display Floyd’s image. Louisiana Sheriff Sid Gautreaux issued a press release after Floyd’s death saying that he was “sickened and heartbroken to see such callous disregard for another human being.” NYPD officers were filmed kneeling with community leaders to show their support for protests. Some National Guardsmen even danced the “Macarena” with protesters in Atlanta.
These images of police officials spread on social media as an antidote to the many videos of officers in body armor shooting rubber bullets, launching gas grenades, spewing pepper spray, and swinging batons at protesters and journalists. Soon after, a flood of statements flowed from liberal politicians and establishment leaders praising these officers. They called for better police community relations, more training for all cops to learn how to be like these good cops, and peaceful protests that don’t threaten white-owned property.
As a white, male civil rights lawyer working with local communities to combat mass incarceration, I have studied police practices from a position of safety and privilege for 11 years. I have seen virtually the same cycle in every major city: police militarization, surveillance, incarceration, and unconstitutional abuses leading to a particularly high profile crime by police caught on video. Politicians respond to the fallout by pledging more recruitment and training of “good cops,” better “community policing” practices, and rewritten “use of force” policies. These pledges are then followed by increases in police budgets after the unrest subsides. The police bureaucracy keeps expanding, and police keep killing Black people.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/voices/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-good-cop/ar-BB15cnOJ?ocid=spartandhp
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