Officer Higher Ground: More Firearm Misuse than Good Use
As the count of Murders by Police increases and a large portion are by way of Firearm discharge; It begs the question: Are Police Officers adept at Situation Diffusion / Conflict Resolution?
Too many stories have surfaced since 2012 speaking on the use of firearms against calm patrons during traffic stops and conflicts in public. It is popular to see multiple videos that follow the template of an Officer addressing the Civilian, the Civilian [calmly and rightfully] questions the purpose of the stop; Finally, Police draws a firearm to end the conversation.
“[Police] Officers acting like Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, and Soldiers is wrong!” ~ Local community elder, Largo, MD.
Since 2017, 755 Black Citizens have been shot to death by American Police Officers. In comparison, the combined death toll between White, Hispanic, and Black communities is 2,705. Approximately 27% of police killings since 2017 have been Black. This number is amplified however due to the Black community being only 13.31% of the American population compared to an outstanding 61.27% of White [non-hispanic] and a near 18% grouping of Hispanics (Source via Statista). If we take a recent estimate of the American population being above 312 Million (Source via Statista) accounted for; that would mean Whites account for 191 Million people; Blacks account for 41 Million, and Hispanics account for 55 Million. Proportionately speaking this means that the White population is 4.6 times larger than the Black community.
[Based on the four-year spread provided] The rate at which the Black community should die to be proportionate to the White population is approximately 311 deaths per 4 years or approximately 78 per year. With the information provided, the rate at which the Black community is gunned down by the Police is an outstanding 2.5 times greater than the White population. In a scenario where a precinct has to fulfill a quota of ticketing 100 people and each team was assigned to an ethnicity; it could be said that the Black Team were overachievers and worked almost 3 times as hard or they had nearly triple the team size. What does this have to do with situation diffusion? What does this have to do with improved firearm training?
1960s Sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show, featured star Andy Griffith as Father and Sheriff Andy Taylor of a small fictional town located in North Carolina. Though highly entertaining, much can be taken from the show for the wits of Sheriff Taylor. No matter if it was a dangerous criminal crossing state lines or a con-man causing trouble in the town, the Sheriff never comes out of his character and never uses a firearm unless terribly necessary. He understood his surroundings and the mannerisms of the town. In contrast, his deputy, Barnie Fife, can be a comical comparison to modern Police officers that find themselves approaching citizens violently.
While Sheriff Taylor will think through situations, talks through conflicts, and finds the solution; the Deputy finds himself quick to act and lacking skills to handle his firearm; State Police and other forces carry rifles, shotguns, and pistols ready to address issues, Sheriff Taylor is prepared to smile and handled the situation as a peacekeeper of the law. Fact or Fiction, it is a need for Police officers to be community members; everybody wants to go home to their family, so the better the authority can handle situations, the better the community can handle situations. When an outfit within our community sacrifices their time to uphold the popular phrase, “to protect and serve” but murders a 12-year-old boy for holding a toy gun in his yard, or murders their Sister-in-Arms that serves as an EMT, or murders a man trying to sell CDs on the block; They are not looked as protectors of peace, their image soon matriculates into a terrorist.
According to The Academy, California’s South Bay Regional Public Safety Training organization focused on training Fire/EMS service and Police forces, “This full-time, 888-hour intensive course satisfies the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) minimum training requirements for California entry-level peace officers. The course typically meets Monday — Friday, 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m, is approximately six months in duration” (Source via Basic Police Academy). To become a Police Officer you go through nearly 900 hours of training which includes Criminal Law, Patrol Procedures, Cultural Diversity, Investigative Procedures, Report Writing, Defensive Tactics, Firearms, Leadership, Ethics, Community Policing, Police Vehicle Operations, Traffic Enforcement, Accident Investigation, Handling Emotional Situations and First Aid/CPR (Police Academy). However, the training of a Barber requires a minimum of 1,650 (Limited Apprentice) and normally 2,250 hours [for an Apprentice Barber] to make someone look beautiful (Source via Maryland Dept. of Labor).
Why do Barbers spend more than double the amount of time training to give an Officer a haircut, and that same Officer can wrongfully draw and possibly use their weapon to take control of a situation that was peaceful.
Simply put, Officers should constantly be changing and reforming for the community they serve.
Do not get rid of your firearms, they are still needed to protect; just do not simply use it to protect yourself in a conversation.
If you want to shoot first, turn on your Playstation. Let’s build a better national community.
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