The problem requires an entire paradigm shift within all our police forces and within the systems that are supposed to hold the police accountable for all their actions. (Qualified immunity is nothing but a policy for killing without consequence.)
I live in a small (population 15k) town in Indiana. As a child here I trusted the police. I knew I could turn to a police officer for help and did not doubt that help would be forthcoming. Now, as an adult, I would not call my local police department unless I absolutely had to. I returned to this town a few years ago to help with a family situation. I was astounded to find that the local police force now fancies itself a black ops team.
Taking full advantage of Bush's disastrous decision to allow police departments to have access to all the military equipment they could desire, this small town's police department now has a massive SWAT vehicle which is pretty much used solely to show off at local parades. They traded in their normal black & white cars for completely blacked-out SUVs with push bars on the front, the decals on the sides are as faint as possible in order to add to the menacing nature. And, as far as I can tell, they no longer attend to normal policing duties. Driving in this town is now a hazardous activity as people pay little attention to stop signs, yield signs and at times, even stop lights. There is a spot in the alley near my house where people occasionally shoot up and then toss their dirty needles over the fence into my yard. I have reported this to the police - several times. Each time I'm told either "yeah?" or "So throw away the needle". They will drive right up on you - for fun I'm guessing. This is without lights or sirens so they aren't trying to get anywhere or pull you over. They act as though they are the town's overlords and not part of the community.
Not long ago I was involved in a hit & run. Someone was on their mobile phone and not paying attention to the speed they were driving at nor the red light they were approaching. They slammed into the rear of my vehicle, throwing it into the intersection, causing 4k worth of damage to my vehicle and significant medical damage to me (even with a seat belt on, if it doesn't catch immediately, you are likely to suffer at least whiplash and in my case, worse than that). I got out of my vehicle with mobile phone in hand to call the police after I spoke to the other driver. As I neared their car, the driver sped around me and through the red light. Luckily, I was able to take a photo of the license plate. I then called the local police.
The police officer who showed up was a young white man, maybe 27-29, wore what used to be known as strictly a Marine Corps high & tight haircut but is now also known as the fashy haircut, had a bottom lip full of chewing tobacco and was decidedly unpleasant. He stood with his feet wide and his thumbs hooked into his belt. He glanced at me, then my vehicle and told me to go on home because there wasn't any damage. Didn't ask me if I was okay. Paid no attention to the pieces of metal on the road. Didn't care when I said I had a severe headache that began after the impact and would need to be seen at the ER. Told me "you seem fine - this is no big deal - just go home". I repeated that it was a hit & run, that both my car & I were damaged and I wanted him to write it up or report it. He sighed, spit a large wad of chew next to my foot (splashing my shoe with it) and then put his hand on his weapon and stood there and stared at me.
I was not yelling nor acting in any way whatsoever that would have brought about that reaction. He was simply not interested in doing normal police work or in assisting me. He decided instead to try and intimidate me into going away.
I kept my arms down, holding only my mobile phone and repeated that he needed to write the accident up. I reminded him that a crime had been committed. He sighed again and said "fine!" and wrote down the license plate number of the other drive. Then he left. That was it. After taking myself to the ER, I called the police station and reported what happened to the desk sergeant. He said "Aw, I doubt he was like that. He's a good egg". I insisted on filing a report on how I was treated and I have no doubt it immediately went into the round file.
Even with the amount of disrespect and disregard I was shown, it would have been so much worse if I had not been a white woman - or if I had panicked when he deliberately placed his hand on his loaded pistol.
The police in our country have, for the most part, become a dangerous, militant group that is held almost completely unaccountable for their illegal actions. It is going to take massive changes to turn this around.
The problem requires an entire paradigm shift within all our police forces and within the systems that are supposed to hold the police accountable for all their actions. (Qualified immunity is nothing but a policy for killing without consequence.)
I live in a small (population 15k) town in Indiana. As a child here I trusted the police. I knew I could turn to a police officer for help and did not doubt that help would be forthcoming. Now, as an adult, I would not call my local police department unless I absolutely had to. I returned to this town a few years ago to help with a family situation. I was astounded to find that the local police force now fancies itself a black ops team.
Taking full advantage of Bush's disastrous decision to allow police departments to have access to all the military equipment they could desire, this small town's police department now has a massive SWAT vehicle which is pretty much used solely to show off at local parades. They traded in their normal black & white cars for completely blacked-out SUVs with push bars on the front, the decals on the sides are as faint as possible in order to add to the menacing nature. And, as far as I can tell, they no longer attend to normal policing duties. Driving in this town is now a hazardous activity as people pay little attention to stop signs, yield signs and at times, even stop lights. There is a spot in the alley near my house where people occasionally shoot up and then toss their dirty needles over the fence into my yard. I have reported this to the police - several times. Each time I'm told either "yeah?" or "So throw away the needle". They will drive right up on you - for fun I'm guessing. This is without lights or sirens so they aren't trying to get anywhere or pull you over. They act as though they are the town's overlords and not part of the community.
Not long ago I was involved in a hit & run. Someone was on their mobile phone and not paying attention to the speed they were driving at nor the red light they were approaching. They slammed into the rear of my vehicle, throwing it into the intersection, causing 4k worth of damage to my vehicle and significant medical damage to me (even with a seat belt on, if it doesn't catch immediately, you are likely to suffer at least whiplash and in my case, worse than that). I got out of my vehicle with mobile phone in hand to call the police after I spoke to the other driver. As I neared their car, the driver sped around me and through the red light. Luckily, I was able to take a photo of the license plate. I then called the local police.
The police officer who showed up was a young white man, maybe 27-29, wore what used to be known as strictly a Marine Corps high & tight haircut but is now also known as the fashy haircut, had a bottom lip full of chewing tobacco and was decidedly unpleasant. He stood with his feet wide and his thumbs hooked into his belt. He glanced at me, then my vehicle and told me to go on home because there wasn't any damage. Didn't ask me if I was okay. Paid no attention to the pieces of metal on the road. Didn't care when I said I had a severe headache that began after the impact and would need to be seen at the ER. Told me "you seem fine - this is no big deal - just go home". I repeated that it was a hit & run, that both my car & I were damaged and I wanted him to write it up or report it. He sighed, spit a large wad of chew next to my foot (splashing my shoe with it) and then put his hand on his weapon and stood there and stared at me.
I was not yelling nor acting in any way whatsoever that would have brought about that reaction. He was simply not interested in doing normal police work or in assisting me. He decided instead to try and intimidate me into going away.
I kept my arms down, holding only my mobile phone and repeated that he needed to write the accident up. I reminded him that a crime had been committed. He sighed again and said "fine!" and wrote down the license plate number of the other drive. Then he left. That was it. After taking myself to the ER, I called the police station and reported what happened to the desk sergeant. He said "Aw, I doubt he was like that. He's a good egg". I insisted on filing a report on how I was treated and I have no doubt it immediately went into the round file.
Even with the amount of disrespect and disregard I was shown, it would have been so much worse if I had not been a white woman - or if I had panicked when he deliberately placed his hand on his loaded pistol.
The police in our country have, for the most part, become a dangerous, militant group that is held almost completely unaccountable for their illegal actions. It is going to take massive changes to turn this around.