Jun 9, 2020 3 min read

‘More training’ for police not the solution

The terrible incident in Minneapolis has many people talking about systemic racism, but most of the discussion seems to focus on the actions of individual police. “They need more training,” etc. We need a broader focus to begin to see the system and how it works. All Americans, white, black, or other, are infected to some degree by our American history of racism. Even the “good” members of a police force know, well before an incident occurs, which members are openly racist and inclined to misuse their position. Their chief knows, too. Then, there’s the district attorneys. They are elected. Either an office holder is elected or appointed. What other way is there? But, running for office costs money. Police unions are generally major donors in those elections. If a policeman commits an action so outrageous that charges must be brought against him, the district attorney prosecutes, either personally or he chooses who will handle the case. The judge in the case at the beginning level also has to run for office. He or she will, probably proudly, also have claimed the support of the police union. And, shouldn’t police, doing a vital, dangerous job, have a union? And, isn’t it part of a union’s purpose to defend their members?

So, at the beginning level, a “bad” cop has to do something so inexcusable and public that it can’t be handled quietly, “in-house,” by a reprimand or a mark on his private record. If it goes to trial, both the prosecutor and the judge will, probably, have received financial support from the police union, and they know they might not receive that support again, if the union disapproves of the verdict. And, district attorneys and judges may know the policeman from other cases where he’s testified or duties he’s performed around the courthouse. And, if the original incident involves a white policeman and and a black victim, the victim’s family would be extremely lucky if only half the jury was white. The experience of a white person growing up in our society is totally different from that of a person growing up black. Would a half-white and half-black jury result in a fair verdict? But, it only takes one hold-out to result in a hung jury.

What if the incident is so complicated that it moves to a higher court? Eventually, it could get to a level where the judges are appointed. President Trump, guided by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, with the approval of Senate Republicans, has so far appointed around 200 far-right, sometimes openly racist and anti-gay, judges to lifetime positions. Senators also have to run for office, so, they need massive amounts of money. People with massive amounts of money are generally … you fill in the blank, but, they’re generally not black.

Are you beginning to get the idea of how the system works? “More training” won’t have any effect if there is practically no chance of any consequence for bad actors.

Rev. Gerard Weiss

Washington