So far, the basis for this idea that African Americans are killed by police at a higher percentage of their population is anecdotal.  Here’s an example: almost every Black man I know has a story of being arrested by the police and being very scared.  Although I’ve been stopped by police for several traffic issues, I never felt scared and perhaps, I have not been stopped as often as my black, male friends.  I’m going to assume this is true (people of color are stopped more often than whites) —at least for now.  When you read the editorial you may change your mind.  That fact leads many of us to conclude that killings of black offenders by police is also higher than is the case in the white criminal community.

Heather MacDonald is a smart, well educated (Yale and Stanford Law School), journalist who has actually done some empirical research to investigate the truth behind our assumptions of police conduct and racism.  She concludes that maybe cops aren’t all racist.  In her book, The War on Cops  https://www.amazon.com/War-Cops-Attack-Order-Everyone/dp/1594038759/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482367510&sr=1-1&keywords=heather+macdonald+war+on+cops, she argues that the actual numbers show a very different picture.  For instance, she claims that in white/Hispanic homicides, 12% are caused by police.  In African American homicides, only 4% are caused by police.  Does this prove that cops aren’t racist?

So why are more black people stopped for traffic offenses and other petty crimes?  Is this still racism?

Many police departments now use a data-driven approach to fighting crime.  For instance, they may use a tool called ComStat in which police target high crime areas and put more patrols in those neighborhoods and, therefore, end up stopping more people.  And for whatever reasons, African American neighborhoods tend to have higher crime rates—which would trigger ComStat to direct more police onto the streets there.  Does this explain why more arrests are made in these communities?  Or do we come back to police racism again?

Of course, it’s not an easy question to answer.  At least Ms. MacDonald has attempted to clear-up some of the fog by researching and reporting her numbers.  I think it’s worth considering.

What do you think?

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1.  Police officers always pushed me to get their cases charged.  When I met with them, they summarized the evidence.  In my mind, I thought of how I was going to prove each element of the crime and if the evidence supported it.  If not, I’d decline the case or ask for more investigation.  Even if the evidence was weak, most police officers pushed me to charge it out.  Makes sense, if they’ve spent the time investigating.

2.  Because of their desire to get their cases charged, some police officers would shade the evidence or exaggerate what they had.  It took me months to learn the “art” of charging the correct crime that really fit the evidence—regardless of what the police officer wanted.

3.  Does this mean that police officers lie?  I never met any that I knew were lying directly to me.  I did assume that some of their reports “stretched” the evidence at times.  Particularly, in controversial area like the right to stop and search citizens, I found lots of stretching of evidence for the police officer’s benefit.

4.  What about the “militarization” of local police officers?  Most cities have gladly taken the federal money and military equipment.  Most of the police officers I worked with had a “we versus them” attitude.  After all the difficult work of catching criminals, they often felt the system, the judges, defense lawyers, and juries all worked against them and for the protection of the guilty criminals.  The police officers I worked with certainly didn’t want to harm anyone unnecessarily, but the fancy equipment and its use was justified by their desire to even the odds that they felt were against them.

5.  I knew many police officers who worked endlessly on serious cases—even on their own time—because they felt a duty to the victims and the community.  These are the unsung heroes that the media rarely tells us about.

6.  Where did the most violence occur with police officers?  Without a doubt, it was the SWAT teams.  They usually broke into homes in search of drugs or to serve warrants for the arrest of suspects.  When they suddenly smashed in doors and broke into people’s homes, all kinds of things went wrong and people were needlessly hurt.  The action was always justified by the need for speed and surprise, but they left a lot of wreckage in their wake.

What experiences have you had with police officers?  Good or bad?

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