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The death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers reignited the calls for police reform in cities across the nation. In Baltimore and Boston, police departments are using cognitive behavioral theory-based training to help cops “exposed to trauma in the line of duty by teaching them to be aware of their emotions.” In Saratoga Springs, NY, the city has moved on recommendations designed to “improve police culture, policies, training, transparency, and accountability.”
Pro-police columnist and Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette argues the answer to reigning in bad policing is to ensure overly aggressive officers are held accountable for their actions.
Lately, my mind has been fixed on the color blue. Maybe it’s because the divide between law enforcement and communities of color, i.e. Blacks and Latinos, is only getting wider and more dangerous. Or maybe it’s because Americans are still bombarded by video footage on the evening news of police officers — bullies with badges — disgracing their profession by hurting or killing people. Or maybe it’s because best-selling author James Patterson has a new book out, “Walk the Blue Line,” that lets cops tell their own stories. Or maybe it’s because I recently had the honor of conversing, as I do twice a year, with a roomful of cops for three hours about how to improve relations between police and media.
I’m a journalist. But you see, I’m also fluent in “cop.” I don’t speak for police officers, but I listen real good when they speak to me. At a time when the men and women of law enforcement are wildly misunderstood, I’d like to think that I get cops. I also like to think that this understanding of what it means to suit up for work every day, with a badge and a gun, is the byproduct of a lifetime spent around cops, and the experience of being raised by one.
My dad is a retired cop who was on the job for 37 years, from 1966 to 2003. I literally grew up around police officers and I’ve always been pro-cop. As a columnist, I identify with that part of the cop experience where people who’ve never done their jobs are eager to tell them how to do their jobs. Yep, that sounds familiar.
I’m still pro-cop. I want every officer to make it home safe to his or her family when the shift is over. But at the same time, ever since the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles in 1991, I’ve been a proponent of so-called “police reform.” I don’t see a contradiction. Good policing leads to safer outcomes for everybody.
