I'm the son of a retired Philadelphia police officer turned detective, a nephew of another retired Philadelphia police officer, and a close friend of another. I have a deep connection to law enforcement ever since I was a kid, and true crime and criminal justice have long been passions of mine. I have learned an incredible amount just reading over the last 15 years of my life, but I have a lifetime of discussions with my dad, uncle, and now friend which has given me invaluable insight into the life as a cop, and the inner-workings of our justice system.
First, I will say flat out that our society does have racial injustice. There is no question about it. Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is delusional. It has existed for a long long time, and while society has improved much in this regard, we are a long ways from getting where we need to be, and dare I say may never get there at all. At least in our lifetimes. However, the notion that police officers are just out there like the wild west killing unarmed black people, or anyone else for that matter, whenever they want to is a misguided and disingenuous narrative that is making the jobs of police officers much more difficult than they already are.
Gun fatalities by police officer are actually quite rare. Less than 1% of gun deaths in this country come via police officers on unarmed civilians. The far majority of gun fatalities by police are what are officially deemed "justifiable homicides" which generally means the person was considered a danger to the officer or to other civilians and lethal force was necessary. The numbers get tricky, but statistically, a US citizen is probably more likely to get struck by lightning in a single year than for an unarmed person to be shot dead by a police officer. Further, depending on where the information is coming from, on average, the total gun fatalities via cop(all instances included) in our country every year is anywhere from less than a percent to about 2%. Still an extremely small number. Even further, if you spread out those small percentages between each race, you lower the numbers even more. Not that any killing of an unarmed person is okay and not completely tragic, but everything must be kept in the proper perspective. Statistically, roughly double the white people are killed annually, but you are more likely to be killed by an officer(per capita) if you are black than white. So it isn't just African Americans being killed by policemen, though they are indeed more likely to be killed by officer-related shootings than white Americans. I would be naive to say that none of it happens because of racial bias, because that simply would not be true. Whether it be racism, or racial biases with no hatred, some deaths will be related to the cop's perception of that individual because of their race. It goes much deeper than that though, as unfortunately, most of those shootings come from our state's major cities, where both the African American population and crime are much higher than that of small towns. So just by pure math, if a cop is working in a predominantly black city or neighborhood, and crime is high, there will be more gun deaths. For example, take Chicago, which currently is our most dangerous and violent city in the country.
The most dangerous part of Chicago is easily the south side, but with it having an extremely high African American population, the odds that the majority of gun deaths in that part of town, by cop or otherwise, are going to be African American is significantly higher than it would be in smaller towns with a smaller African American population and less overall crime. It's a very complex subject with a lot of layers, and goes a lot deeper than racial biases and prejudices. You can technically go as far as even blaming poverty and decades of social inequalities, which contribute to the drugs, gangs, and violence, which in turn makes it more likely to have an encounter with policemen.
There simply is not an "epidemic" of police shootings going on across the country like many claim and the data clearly supports this. The incidents have actually lessened and were more common in the 80's and 90's when crime was at its highest in the United States. The big issue now is with social media today, everyone knows about every incident. 20 years ago, someone in Philadelphia wouldn't know if an unarmed person in Lexington, Kentucky got shot by a cop. Now, with social media we have an influx of stories we aren't used to, so it seems like it is a far more common occurrence when the opposite is actually true. Statistically, most of gun deaths in this country of innocents or unarmed persons come from within their own race. White on white crime, black on black crime, etc.
Each situation is a case-by-case basis. All incidents happen because of different circumstances, in different cities, for different reasons, and by different officers. They cannot all be lumped into one group. So, like anything in life, to get the answer you have to ask yourself why. Why are unarmed civilians being shot by police officers? Is it really as easy as people saying "Just don't pull the trigger"? To better understand, let me delve into why it's such a complex issue.
Being a police officer is an extremely difficult job. Arguably the most difficult and trying job a person can have, up there with first responders and our military. Especially in big cities, where crime is most prevalent. Just like one has to try and put themselves in the shoes of a victim or their families to understand their plight, one must also try and put themselves in the shoes of a cop. Our officers deal with the worst our country has to offer on a daily basis. Murderers, rapists, child molesters, gang members, drug dealers, domestic violence offenders, bank robbers, rogue nutjobs, and everything in between. Cops see things that we wouldn't have to see in our worst nightmares. Dead bodies, severed limbs, mutilated corpses, sexually abused children, among countless other heartbreaking things. Just like with military veterans, PTSD is very common in the police force. Suicide rates are extremely high. Unless you see and experience the things a police officer does, we can't even begin to comprehend what it's like to handle certain pressure-packed situations. When you work a job where many have been shot at, every time you pull someone over or approach a suspect, you never know if that is going to be your last moment on this earth. It's very easy to play armchair quarterback and say that "I wouldn't have an itchy trigger finger!" Frankly, that is impossible for anyone who is not a police officer to say. What if an officer had previously been through an almost identical situation where they were shot at? What if an officer was in a similar situation where they didn't pull the trigger on a suspect who they were unsure if they were armed, and they ended up killing their partner? When you approach someone, you have your own life, the life of a partner, and the lives of all surrounding civilians in your hands. In the heat of the moment, there is no easy decision, especially one that has to be made in a matter of seconds. Cops make the call they think is best in that moment and have to live with the consequences of those actions. That does not necessarily mean they just brashly and carelessly used their firearm on a civilian. When the public has a mindset that the police are out to get them, right or wrong, it makes a civilian more likely to act aggressively toward an officer, and increases the likelihood for violence or injury; both for the cop and the individual.
Cops often have to trust their gut. It's a critical part of the job whether you are a street cop or a homicide detective. If a cop sees a car or civilian that looks suspicious to them, they have a decision to make. They can either trust that gut feeling, do something, and risk being labeled a racist or a bad cop if they're wrong; or ignore their gut and let that car or person go by and hope they aren't up to anything nefarious, and avoid being accused of approaching said individual for racial motivations. Lives are saved all the time by pulling over cars that look suspicious, and crimes are often prevented by stopping civilians on the streets. Many people think if a civilian is stopped on the street, especially if they're a minority, that it's automatically because that officer is a racist or is committing racial profiling. This can be the case, and has been the case, but is not always so and not as often as many people think. We don't know each officer's motivations. We simply don't know if an officer could have gotten a call over dispatch telling them to keep an eye out for a similar looking car, or a person who fits their description of someone who just robbed a convenience store. Every officer knows the potential repercussions or backlash if these instances go wrong, and they have to live that. It's a lose-lose proposition. However, more is lost from not approaching that suspicious car or person than doing so. If you do so and are wrong, it's much easier to live with being accused of racial profiling than having that person commit another crime, possibly take a life, or if that car is holding a kidnapping victim and missing that chance to save someone's life.
Does that mean cops should have carte blanche to just shoot anyone whenever they want? Of course not. And there are bad policemen out there. There are policemen who shoot unarmed civilians when they shouldn't, and commit other types of heinous crimes, and for that they need to be held accountable. But, I can promise you from speaking to people in law enforcement regularly that 99% of cops actually don't want to use their firearms at all. Especially on unarmed people. Do you think a cop wants to have to deal with being questioned by internal affairs, face possible prosecution which means potential loss of freedom and their careers, have their names being put out on social and news media so their reputations can be forever tarnished, and have the lives of their families put in danger? No officer wants any part of it. Hell, even for a cop who has racist ideals, it's much easier for them to be a closet racist than to have to deal of all the repercussions of shooting an unarmed civilian. Generally, cops use their guns not out of malice but out of fear or poor judgement.
So, what can we do to limit or prevent these shootings from happening, given all the circumstances that exist and all police have to go through? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. We can start with better training for our officers. Many aren't adequately trained, and given the necessary tools to handle the daunting tasks they are required to. We can create better funding for our departments so they can provide everything our officers need to best do their jobs. We as civilians can help too. We can have more good, quality difference-making people join our police forces, so they don't have to desperately hire officers not cut out for the job out of the necessity of needing more badges out on the streets. And as people, we can listen to offers when they tell us to do something, even if we think it's wrong or have done nothing wrong. It's much easier to get over a pat-down because of mistaken identity than it is to recover from a bullet to the abdomen. Remember, every time a cop stops a person, there is fear involved in the officers too. They have no idea who they are approaching or what, if anything, we are capable of. Most police shootings occur because of civilians not following orders. At the end of the day, when guns are involved, unfortunately there will be innocent deaths. I wish it was a perfect world where it would never happen, as no innocent person deserves to die, but far more lives are saved every year by officers than are lost. We can do a better job of holding bad officers accountable, as that could potentially deter other unfit officers from doing the wrong things. However, in the court of law, defense teams are going to touch on everything I have stated in this blog post thus far, which makes it hard to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and convict unless the act is overly blatant. The good news is 99% of cops are good people. They get involved in law enforcement by choice because they want to make a difference and save lives. Putting your life on the line comes with the territory, and generally, only the most serious about the job pursue this career path. There are no more bad cops in this country than there are bad plumbers, bad contractors, bad businessmen, bad technicians, etc. The difference is, only one of those jobs require you to carry a firearm around with you, and subject you to a lifetime of danger that require you to use it.
One thing that still saddens me is the stigma that has long been attached to police officers, which still exists today. Over time, people have come to single out cops as "pigs" and other cheap nicknames, and unfairly, you only really get this attitude with cops. You don't hear any of it about our military, who are essentially tasked with similar objectives. Generally our country doesn't have the same pride or honor for our men and women in blue in the same frequency or passion as they honor our armed forces. That's one thing I have never understood. Our military protects us overseas and our officers protect us right here at home, day to day on a very personal basis. Cops are eviscerated for the killings of unarmed people, but you rarely hear a peep about all the innocents that die or face unspeakable acts at the hands of our military. And if you think that is untrue, do yourself a favor and google Abu Ghraib and read about the horrific torture certain members of our military put Iraqi prisoners through. Thousands of innocents die from drone strikes, innocents can be gunned down because soldiers they aren't sure if they are carrying a suicide vest or not, so many shoot and ask questions later.
This is not intended to be a knock on our military. It's just a reality that I felt I needed touch upon to point out the inconsistencies in the minds of people today, many of whom buy into groupthink and instigating rhetoric. I love our military and everything they do for us. Even thinking about the state our country is in as I type this, I'll never not be proud to be an American. Regardless of who our president is, or how many riots there are, or how divided we are. This is my home, it has given me freedoms I'll always appreciate, and our military veterans are a major part of that and will always hold a special place in my heart. In a dangerous imperfect world, split second decisions have to be made in war zones. Extremely difficult calls are made everyday and there is so much grey area. Just like with our military, cops make mistakes. Some neighborhoods in this country are practically war zones themselves, like the city of Chicago. Whenever you are charged to protect an entire nation of people, including your own comrades and yourself, there isn't a more difficult task one could envision. The pressures are unimaginable. This is the cruel, unfortunate reality of the world we live in today. It's a vicious cycle. Preconceptions, biases, violence, danger, and fear all create an unstable environment and an impossible situation. I simply think it is unfair to single out cops, when both our armed forces and police forces charged to protect our country have innocent deaths on their watch.
I hope I did not come off as unsympathetic in this piece, because that is certainly not my intent. I feel for every innocent victim, and I feel for every minority who deals with injustices more commonly than I ever have, and I wish no one would ever have to go through it. I can't imagine what it's like to be African American in this country. I'm a white guy and I have no business pretending to know what it's like to live through the difficulties minorities face. I'm just trying to give some insight as I spent a lot of time in my life picking the brains of police officers and trying to understand the complex nature of criminal justice, and why I believe others should give it some extra thought before tearing into our policemen whenever someone gets shot. Learn about the situation, try to read all the facts, understand what our officers deal with, and form an objective unbiased opinion. I never try to participate in groupthink, and I always try to form an opinion by looking at all the facts, understanding as much as I can from all angles, and going with the opinion that makes the most sense to me. That doesn't mean that I am right or anyone else is wrong, as strongly as I do believe in it. I'm always open to hearing and learning more, as I don't have all the answers, and I don't believe anyone on this planet does. I've always believed that you learn more in life from listening to differing opinions than you do from those that jive with your own. You can always learn from debate, and I'm always open to it. I just wanted to give a different point of view on a very debated subject matter. And I hope one day there won't even be the need for debate, and no unarmed innocents have to be buried by their loved ones.
