We need a path through this but so far many of our leaders are bouncing back on their heels with similar worn out solutions to problems many of them don't understand. The black and white, this or that, type thinking that now makes its way into our decision making process based on party line blind button pressing isn't going to solve this issue (That does not take away from the many good leaders we do have. This is about those who are not focused on solving problems). So we may need to think beyond our current capacity to understand and move into the root importance and respect for life and our fundamental American values.
We as a developing society need to push for a peaceful transition to a higher platform of democracy where we can improve on making police more effective at catching bad guys as well as follow standards of excellence that lead to humane and peaceful public servants. There are cultural issues in some departments and few ways to break that dysfunctional culture in a way that leads to higher total group performance (New ways of measuring that culture and other feedback information that is becoming increasingly common are exposing prior dysfunctions and in turn will help us find solutions. This is not a new problem, this is just a problem we became more aware of because technology forced us to face it. i.e. body cams, video surveillance, etc.. Time to solve it. A Digital Era benefit. )
Let us not say that all police are bad. That IS NOT true at all! I know and have worked with many great police officers in one form or another throughout my life (That is why I always encourage peaceful protest because we are one community even though there are some that are trying to separate us. Police are part of the people and people are part of the police. It has been the separation that has caused many of the problems. Think about it for a second before you judge.). Its the bad apples and the inability of removing them, no matter their race or religion, that are causing the majority of the problems for everyone else (This is why we must remove bad apples and reform departments when they have repeated community complaints.💁)
The culture is to stay silent and not intercede when justice demands a respect for life and would warrant intercession. The personalities we attract, the diversity of our police force, de-escalation methods and tactics training all lead to higher performance. No idea why this is so very complicated. If our individual officers don't feel empowered to act on behalf of life (their ultimate duty and honor when crimes are occurring), it means these departments are highly influenced by bullies/bigots and the misuse of power as a day-to-day tool.
The sad reality is that they don't step forward because they are afraid of being ostracized, called names, pushed out of their departments, stonewalled, rejected, unprotected, etc.. etc.. because they broke the silence and acted in the best interest of society and human life (Ask yourself this question, "What consideration stopped them from stepping forward to stop their fellow officers? Most of the officers at this incident watching are likely normal people so they have been socialized to stay silent and not act. That is what needs to be fixed.).
The politics got to get out of practical solutions.....
The saddest thing about the video you can see where the victim is afraid and so stressed isn't sure what to do. At that point the narrative could have changed and a peaceful arrest might have occurred (You can't always say 100% but that is where one might have shifted to a softer more directive approach. It could have turned out differently and guilt or innocents can be determined by a court and not by street vigilantes. It is important to keep in mind that the police ultimately work for society and as we develop as a people we will put pressure as a collective whole on the justice institution to change to meet that development. This is how systems change. It is possible to do that peacefully and through dialogue and appropriate best use of pressure through our political process. That is democracy! Let us not step outside that lane with violence!)
What I can say is that I hope and pray everyone stays peaceful and our leaders start doing what we elected them for and solve problems....that's it....just solve problems.....the rest is useless drama and ideological immaturity. For related reading see Thoughtful Policing, Police Appreciation, MLK Universal Democracy The sad thing about this is, we know better, we knew better, we are better than this. Apparently, some of us are not and the rest of us stand around and watch (It says a lot about us doesn't it. If we fix this problem it also says something about us. To be honest, its not a guarantee people will do the right thing and that is why we are in this situation now. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Would we be benefit from a little more purposefulness in our thoughts and actions. Its a proof in pudding argument.).
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