Cartoon by Michelle Phillips
Recent events indicate a faltering relationship between police departments and the people they are responsible to protect. Every week it seems we hear of an incident that leads to a dead citizen and a police officer in the crosshairs.
Criticizing the wrongdoings of police officers is not undermining the work and role of police departments in America. Police provide a critical role in society, so one must examine the state of the police and evaluate whether or not they meet their obligation to protect and serve.
Police misconduct sparks public debate over incidents like that in South Carolina where a teenager was thrown out of her seat by a police officer who was called to escort her out of class for disruptive behavior as well as stories such as those of Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and others. Many argue that if the subjects in the stories had only been more compliant then the incidents could have been avoided. True, but simply resisting orders does not justify aggression by police. Some police do not feel they are subject to the same laws they enforce and behave badly because they think their badge will protect them.
Police sometimes have to react to dangerous situations, but this cannot justify the violence that we see in too many of these videos. People were killed because they had a bad attitude or committed a minor offense. Attitude is not a crime and a minor offense should not be punishable by death. Hard to handle should not mean easy to kill.
Some local departments have violent histories, trouble with sexual harassment and theft. A report released in 2015 by the Police Executive Research Forum investigating misconduct in the San Diego Police Department found 17 cases of police misconduct. One case involved an employee with 19 counts of shoplifting, while four other cases involved four different officers who were accused of criminal sexual assault or battery while on duty.
It is doubtful parents would enroll their child in a school where teachers were criminals. Yet the public unknowingly allows some criminals to carry guns and exercise great power.
Southwestern College has suffered from police misconduct. Our police chief fired his weapon inside an office, narrowly missing three employees. Two are on long-term stress leave at great cost to the taxpayers. He has created a hostile work environment and recklessly endangered employees’ lives. That the chief also has a documented history of excessive use of force and poor judgment brings to question what other sorts of things are kept from the public and students.
Recent incidents outline the lack of sophistication by SWCPD. One involving a female student ended with six male officers on the scene, one of whom handcuffed her. A recent sexual assault against a female student concluded with the escorting SWC officer saying in essence, “Well of course that happened to you, look at what you are wearing.”
When incidents like these are swept under the carpet and officers are allowed to remain on campus without repercussions, it demonstrates a lack of self-policing by our officers.
A step in the right direction would be to make SWCPD more diverse. A recent magazine described the lack of female police officers in America. National statistics show that women cops are less likely to overreact, behave violently or commit crimes. Fewer complaints are brought against female officers.
Sensitivity training should be required, especially in light of the snide comments made SWCPD the officer toward the sexual harassment victim. Chief of Police Michael Cash has asked sexual harassment activist Jeffrey Bucholtz for help training campus police officers. It is a move in the right direction, but as usual, late. In a recent letter to The Sun, Cash said he wants students to feel comfortable calling campus police, but his actions do not match his rhetoric. His officers in the recent sexual assault incidents do not exactly foster that kind of confidence. SWCPD has a history of punishing sexual assault victims but sloughing them off, ignoring them or insulting them.
Incidents like that affects our community. Just last year the city of San Diego announced it would pay $5.9 million to a woman victimized by former police officer Anthony Arevalos who had been on the force for 18 years.
Citizens need to demand that the police officers in the community are serving a good purpose. It is a reasonable expectation.
