[Note: I recently ran across a number of columns that I wrote for USA Today from 2016-2017 during the Trump presidency. As we approach the November election, I am worried. I am worried that I will spend another four years trying to counter an administration that is committed to, as the old saying goes, to “take the handcuffs off the police!” Working to improve our system of policing this great nation does not involve loosening the legal restraints and controlling governmental uses of force, but rather improving the selection, training, and supervision of the men and women who police us. I hope you find the following columns helpful in your thinking. You can find more recent articles at USA Today’s online column “Policing the USA.”]
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Mr. President, Roughing Up Suspects Is Never OK – August, 2017
Trump’s message to officers condoning unnecessary use of force is both dangerous and misinformed.
“If there is one thing that gets the goat of smart police officers, it’s someone trying to be helpful by telling them to ‘get tough!’ It’s such a simple but not well thought out statement. In fact, it’s one that is terribly misinformed. I still remember one of my instructors during my first days as a police recruit saying that if we start ‘getting tough’ —punishing persons in our custody, forcing confessions and taking what’s not ours — we become part of the problem; we become no better than the bad guys we seek to catch. He gave another cautionary note that I never forgot during my three decades as a cop: ‘Everything that was wrong and illegal before you pinned on that badge, still is! The badge is not a license; it’s the public’s trust in you…’”
Read the full article HERE.
What Will Policing Look Like in Trump’s America? — December, 2016
Progress under Obama may be lost as White House transitions to out-of-touch administration
“I am worried about the future of people of color in America, especially when it comes to policing.No, I didn’t vote for President-elect Donald Trump. But that fact no longer matters. What does matter is whether the incoming administration sees the need for improvements in the way law enforcement and our justice system treat and view black and brown people. By all indications, it does not.Trump’s campaign promises and Twitter posts show a lack of understanding about the influence that racism, implicit bias and poor training can have on cops when making decisions on our streets, judges when handing down sentences in our courtrooms and guards when interacting with criminals in our prison system…”
Read the full article HERE.
Why It’s Worth It: Change, Unrest Offer Opportunity For New Cops – March, 2016
An argument for giving citizens free rein to hire, discipline and train police in their neighborhoods.
“When I joined the police over 50 years ago, I was a newly discharged Marine in search of a night job so I could attend college, get my degree and go back into the Marines as an officer. With few exceptions, the Marines wanted college graduates as their leaders. I soon found myself in the midst of the civil rights movement and protests against the Vietnam War. There was racism, violence on the streets and a great dislike of protesters. One might say that not much has changed. I remember thinking, I needed to stay in law enforcement and carry out what I believed police should do in a free society: Guard and protect people and their rights…”
Read the full article HERE.
To Address Shootings, Start by Diminishing the Power of Unions
Dealing with bad actors just one step in fixing police crisis.
“We have a crisis in our nation’s police departments.”The recent shooting deaths of Alton Sterling, 37, in Louisiana and Philando Castile, 32, in Minnesota, both at the hands of police, show that even amid calls for better police training and more accountability, little is being done to resolve it. As a former police chief, I know that whether our police departments get out of this crisis will depend on the quality of leadership and, in large part, on leadership’s ability to break free from the grips of police unions in order to eliminate bad actors…”
Read the full article HERE,
Is Community Control of Cop’s the Answer? – September, 2016
An argument for giving citizens free rein to hire, discipline and train police in their neighborhoods.
“In the police world, there are two viewpoints that drive just about everything that happens: There’s the police view and the even more internal police view. Traditionally, everyone else’s is secondary. When I was considering retirement from the force, my police officer wife knew what was ahead. She said, ‘David, if you still want to be a change agent and want police to listen to what you have to say, don’t retire. Once you’re out the door, you’re out. No one listens to consultants.’ She was right…”
Read the full article HERE.
Top Cop’s Aplogy to Blacks Falls Short – October. 2016
Admitting sins of the past is a good first step. But model a full reconciliation after South Africa.
“Midway through my law enforcement career, I learned about the power of a sincere apology and the necessity of seeking forgiveness. I was the chief of police in Madison, Wis., when one of my sergeants made an insensitive, stupid and damaging remark about a low-income housing unit that was the scene of continuous police activity. She heard from our dispatcher that the units were on fire. Callously, she sang Scotland’s Burning to the dispatcher. She later learned that five black children had died in the incident. When I first heard about what she had done, I knew trouble was ahead. The mayor was angry and wanted me to fire her. I thought another approach was in order…”
Read the full article HERE.
What will policing look like in Trump’s America? – December, 2016
Progress under Obama may be lost as White House transitions to out-of-touch administration.
“I am worried about the future of people of color in America, especially when it comes to policing. No, I didn’t vote for President-elect Donald Trump. But that fact no longer matters. What does matter is whether the incoming administration sees the need for improvements in the way law enforcement and our justice system treat and view black and brown people. By all indications, it does not…”
Read the full article HERE.
Policing Must Not Return to a Bygone Era — May, 2017
Jeff Sessions, officers must serve Constitution over upbringing and culture.
Developments in three major cases involving police shootings this week have left some folks shocked, others angry. On Tuesday, a former South Carolina cop who fatally shot Walter Scott pleaded guilty to civil rights charges (two years after the fatal encounter). A day later, the Department of Justice announced that it will not charge the Louisiana officers who last year shot and killed Alton Sterling, a black man who was selling CDs in a parking lot. And a Texas cop was fired after fatally shooting a black 15-year-old boy; the officer has not been charged… Race relations have improved. But the treatment of blacks at the hands of police sometimes feels like a throwback to that bygone era.
Read the full article HERE.
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 