Issues Under Fire: Cops of Color
Imagine two cops, one White and one of Color, sitting in a cruiser surveilling individuals for signs of engaging in illegal activities. When a random individual comes into view, one has to wonder if both cops always see the random individual from the same perspective. What happens when there's a discrepancy between perceptions? The White Cop sees a potential "Bad Guy" and the Cop of Color just sees a "Black Guy".
Within seconds, a decision will be made to engage or not to engage "This Guy". During those seconds, one has to wonder what's going through the mind of each cop when assessing "This Guy" as a potential perp. How do they reconcile the conflict if the White Cop favors making the "Stop and Frisk" and the Cop of Color has issues with probable cause. Do they flip a coin or just wait for someone both can agree on?
As the nation's communities of Color clash with law enforcement over heavy-handed policing protocols, one has to wonder how Cops of Color are emotionally processing the conflict. Do Cops of Color feel comfortable or conflicted in their role as law enforcers. Considering being a "person of color" is the equivalent of being a "person of interest" in the minds of many, one wonders how Cops of Color feel about enforcing current policing protocols.
How does the Cop of Color feel at the end of his/her shift of Stopping and Frisking tens of individuals without finding anything illegal to substantiate making contact? How does it feel for the Cop of Color to arrest and charge a sixteen year old kid with his third offense for possessing a pocketful of weed, knowing, that charge will ruin the rest of that kid's life?
When Cops of Color find themselves witnessing fellow officers engaging in conduct in communities of Color, that wouldn't be tolerated in the general population, what do they do about it? How do they complain? Who do they complain to? Would anybody listen if they did complain? Would they be sanctioned for speaking up? Is there a whistleblowers program for cops? If not, why not?
On the other hand, perhaps some Cops of Color are part of the problem. Perhaps some Cops of Color have bought into concepts like Stop and Frisk and Broken Windows. Perhaps they've drank the Kool-Aid. Perhaps they've accepted the narrative that some communities are inherently prone to crime and anyone who hasn't found away out, is prone to engage in criminal activities.
Bottom line: Maybe some Cops of Color just don't want to rock the boat. Maybe some Cops of Color just want to be seen as team players. Maybe some Cops of Color just want to keep their careers on track. Maybe some Cops of Color have just been living in the suburbs too long. Maybe some Cops of Color can't or just choose not to remember their roots. Maybe some Cops of Color are just cowards.
By the way, if this wasn't the bottom line, we would hear of fist fights in police locker rooms more often and seen more Cops of Color filing class action lawsuits all over the country. Podcast Below!
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