The aftermath of Michael Brown’s death in 2014 (and an ensuing presidential task force) was tried to raise the standard for police use of deadly force. Which now in 2020 has led to approximately 1,000 persons each year being killed by police in our nation.
Separate counts by journalists (not our government) has revealed that the number remains basically unchanged over the past six years .
How is this possible? A national outrage and the numbers remain static?
Concerned citizen groups have pressed police and struggled with their resistance. They have implored police leaders to raise the standard outlined in the USSC decision in Graham v. Connor, of “objective reasonableness” to a one that recognizes the sanctity of human life in which members of the European Union require of their police — one of “absolute necessity.” There has been few successes.
Why is it so difficult for us to acknowledge the importance of government actors to protect the sanctity of our lives and demand them to do so?
Michael Brown’s body lying in the street (2014).George FLoyd dying in the street (2020).
I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader calling for police improvement (for example, How To Rate Your Local Police, and with my wife, Sabine, Quality Policing: The Madison Experience). After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After 25 years leading two Episcopal Churches in Portage and North Lake, Wisconsin, I now serve as Associate Pastor in a growing, dynamic, and Spirit-filled Lutheran congregation in nearby Black Earth. After losing Sabine, my wife of 40 years to cancer, I met Christine, a retired nurse and widow. We were blessed to find love again and married in 2021.
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4 Comments
“Why is it so difficult for us to acknowledge the importance of government actors to protect the sanctity of our lives and demand them to do so?”
I agree, Chief. Here’s a thought from my most recent meditations: It is not enough to say you are not that cop. You must stop that cop. You must reject that cop. You must purge those cops from your ranks. You must make those cops pariahs. You must rise above those cops if you are ever to release yourself from the stain of their deeds.
“Hhy is it so difficult for us to acknowledge the importance of government actors to protect the sanctity of our lives and demand them to do so?”
Because when you look at the history of our country, our government officials were also prominent business leaders who had a vested interest in protecting their businesses at all costs and never gave a care about the lives of their workers, slaves, and their fellow citizens.
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 
“Why is it so difficult for us to acknowledge the importance of government actors to protect the sanctity of our lives and demand them to do so?”
I agree, Chief. Here’s a thought from my most recent meditations: It is not enough to say you are not that cop. You must stop that cop. You must reject that cop. You must purge those cops from your ranks. You must make those cops pariahs. You must rise above those cops if you are ever to release yourself from the stain of their deeds.
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Well said, Sarge, you got it, you know!!
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I truly believe reforms can save lives. Police and citizens.
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“Hhy is it so difficult for us to acknowledge the importance of government actors to protect the sanctity of our lives and demand them to do so?”
Because when you look at the history of our country, our government officials were also prominent business leaders who had a vested interest in protecting their businesses at all costs and never gave a care about the lives of their workers, slaves, and their fellow citizens.
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