#The current controversy over reining in law enforcement for its excessive use of force; its law-and-order-breaking tendencies; and the special privileges it enjoys in the judicial system, the reforms that have been offered face the considerable risk of being defeated by the Blue Shield, the Blue Wall, or any of the other names used to describe an organization in which law enforcement officers won't speak ill of their misbehaving fellow officers, or jeopardize them in any way.
One of the remedies proposed is to diversify police forces. Whether the officers be African American, Hispanic, Asian American, or Native American, they are constrained by the Blue Shield, as are white officers. A second contention is that most of the officers are good, and any problems of misconduct are caused by a relatively small number of "bad apples." There is little evidence of instances in which the so-called "good apples" have intervened to stop serious misconduct from taking place.
Following are a few instances to illustrate how common it is for the officers present to either participate in the use of excessive force, or fail to stop it: 1.) Officers from three police agencies participated in the beating of Rodney King, and none tried to stop the beating. 2.) Several New York City police officers were constraining Eric Garner while he was being choked to death. 3.) While a hovering helicopter video-taped the action, seven Orange County, California sheriffs' deputies beat a dehorsed rider. 4.) None of the other officers present stopped George Floyd from being pressed to death by a knee to his neck -- although one officer did suggest that Floyd could be held in a more comfortable position.
Police officers in a number of jurisdiction have contracts which: 1.) Permit indicted officers to testify before grand juries; and 2.) Require charged officers to be furnished with a written description of the charges against them. These and other privileges of police officers ae not given to ordinary citizens.
There is a Supreme Court decision that forbids officers from shooing at fleeing suspects unless there is credible evidence of loss of life to others caught in a danger zone. There are frequent instances of fleeing suspects being shot at when they were not visibly holding a firearm. In New Mexico, at least two state police officers were firing at a fleeing car in which they knew there were several children inside.
There have been other instances in which police officers have shown confidence that the Blue Shield will protect them. When Walter Davis was fatally shot in the back in Charlottesville, South Carolina, the shooting officer took the part of the Taser they had struggled over, and walked over to place it near Davis's body. The shooting officer had confidence that the other police officer who had arrived would not report this act of "planting" incriminating evidence. When Baltimore police planted illicit drugs to entrap a suspect, at least seven other officers knew of the action and did not report it.
"Reaching for" is a widely used gambit to justify a shooting. Standing alone it is too vague a rationale to justify a shooting. The often used assumption is that the detained person might be reaching for a weapon; however, she/he might be reaching for a requested document.
When a law enforcement officer testifies in a court trial of a fellow officer, lying is so common that there is even a word for it. The word is "testilying" and it circulates even in law enforcement circles.
Lastly, grand juries rarely indict law enforcement officers, and juries in court trials even more rarely convict these indicted officers. Instead of charging first or second degree murder, prosecutors often use manslaughter as the maximum charge in order to increase the chance of getting a conviction.
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