Columns, Op-Eds, & Interviews

What It’s Going to Take to Fix Policing

WLA Guest
Written by WLA Guest

By Sunwoo Oh, Brennan Center for Justice

The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and recent police involvement in many additional deaths, shootings, and violent incidents have reignited demands for transformational change to law enforcement practices that too often result in vast racial disparities in our justice system. Not only are Black Americans greatly overrepresented in the criminal justice system, they are three times more likely to be killed by police officers than white Americans, and nearly twice as likely to be killed by police than Latino Americans.

This moment of crisis requires transformational change. Former police chief and Justice Department official Ronald Davis recently participated in a  target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">discussion, moderated by Brendan Cox, director of policing strategies for the LEAD National Support Bureau, regarding calls for “defunding the police,” what community-driven policing looks like, and how reallocation of government funds can improve community-led public safety strategies.

Davis was director of the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services from 2013 to 2017, and he was executive director of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He is also a founding member of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration (a project of the Brennan Center), which held the online discussion.

His remarks, edited for length and clarity, are presented here in an interview format.

>Millions are taking to the streets to demand change. Can we reform our current policing strategies, or does policing as we know it need to be dismantled?

After 30 years in local law enforcement trying to reform it, I would have to frankly say no, we cannot reform our current system. Reform over the past few years has mostly been tinkering around the edges — a policy change here, a trend change there. But it didn’t go far enough. Our current system of policing not only has the impact of racial disparities, but it’s still very much impacted by structural racism.

We’re going to have to dismantle this thing all the way to the ground and rebuild it. The challenge, however, is that we have to do it while we are still flying the plane — because we do not have the ability to just stop police services and rebuild.

When I hear people say they want to abolish the police, I understand it as a call to abolish the existing system that has failed us. And when people call for police defunding, I think people are really talking about is reimagining public safety — with the idea that we invest in social services. Properly funding social services is going to not just reduce crime, but also holistically promote public safety.

I think, moving forward, we should not continue the debate about words that can be taken out of context, but we need to understand what the community is saying: Quit tinkering around the edges, quit playing with policy changes, and do the uprooting changes that are necessary to remove the structural racism. When you have structural racism and institutional deficiencies, the systems are so bad that even good cops have bad outcomes and bad cops are able to hide in the system and operate with impunity. And people focus on this “bad apple” argument. But it is not a “bad apple” issue. The whole barrel is rotten, and it is causing even the good apples to rot.

That being said, I do believe wholeheartedly that the overwhelming majority of cops are good men and women trying to do a tough job. But within a flawed system, we are sending them out to do things they are not trained to do and to implement practices that we know are going to have a racial disparity. And then we are all going to have terrible outcomes.

How should police departments operate differently?

Most departments still operate like we did in the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. We are using the same programs. We are fighting crime the same way, and it is resulting in disparate outcomes.

When we talk about deconstructing draconian police practices, people bring up community policing and community involvement. But I disagree with that. Community policing should mean it is community-led, not community involved, and many in the defunding movement are seeking that: community-led public safety.

The concept of defunding must be about the reallocation of services to where they are most needed. It should not be a punitive measure to punish the police by taking funds. If communities are considering reorienting funding and do not approach it in a strategic way, even if they were to take $100 million from the police department’s budget and give to community services, it may take years for that system to absorb those funds, provide services, and get the kind of return on the investment necessary to reduce the law enforcement footprint.

A community-led public safety strategy should center around those who work most closely with the social issues that lead to criminal justice system involvement — poverty, unequal access to health care, and the like, as well as those community groups that help prevent crime, such as those working on focused violence deterrence. But many grassroots organizations may not have sufficient capacity immediately, even if we start reallocating. We are going to have to make investments in communities beyond just reallocation of funds to support the work these groups are doing on the street every day. When reallocating resources, we also need to be careful to invest in programs that work and that we are not creating new major nonprofits that undermine the efforts of people who have already been working deep in the community for years.

After a career in law enforcement, what is your view on defunding the police?

We have to be careful and make decisions according to a strategic plan on how to achieve reallocation, or targeted defunding, in a manner that does not compromise public safety. If we do this wrong and leave gaps and crime or violence goes up, not only will we not have reallocated the way we should, but we also will start refunding the police, and at higher rates, because fear will drive our actions.

Approximately 85 percent of police funding is for personnel — and if you just arbitrarily make big budget cuts in one swipe, many people will be laid off. But as a chief, I did not want the layoff process because, bottom line is, last one in is the first one out. Which means you just got rid of my diversity, my youth, and I am left with the rest of the department, who may be much more resistant to change.

How can communities actually promote the change they seek?

We can never forget that this is still a political process. That the decision-making process regarding funding is about convincing the elected officials of what to do.

Most legislation, good or bad, is usually done when the legislators believe that there is a threat or something counterproductive to the community. If we are going to reimagine public safety, we need to engage all stakeholders, including legislators, so that when you design the plan, there are measures that everyone has to do. There are measures the police need to do. There are measures that the prosecutors have to do, the county, the health system. And there are measures that the legislature can do. It may be to write new laws that close gaps that should not exist, or repeal laws that have inadvertently or intentionally undermined police accountability.

The change must be collaborative. Everything has to be connected because when society reimagines public safety, it cannot do that in isolation because the system is going to fight back.

You say the system will fight back. Is there hope for change?

After 35 years in law enforcement as an officer, chief, and working for the federal government, I am more optimistic today than I have been in the past. The amount of change people want is not going away. This is not a moment — this is a movement. But I would say this, though — as we proceed forward, we should think about the Nelson Mandela phrase, “only the truth can put the past to rest.”

Everything has to start with people sitting down and acknowledging the truth — the truth of our history, the truth of the harm our systems have done, and the truth to understand why we need to make the changes that have to be done. Then we need to be bold, courageous, and competent. And this is going to be a work in progress. It is not going to be perfect, but we still need to do it anyway, because our communities demand it.


This interview was originally published by the Brennan Center for Justice.

Photo by Backbone Campaign, Flickr – Seattle protest.

39 Comments

  • Hmm. “What’s it going to take to fix policing?” Seems simple. Tell everyone to stop committing crime. Seems illogical and unrealistic, but so does the information in the above article. There is nothing wrong with policing, truth be told society has problems. There is zero accountability! No one deserves to die before their time, not in a justified OIS or in a gang violence murder, but when has it become okay to have zero accountability.

    For instance, Dijon Kizzee. He was either committing/ not committing a violation that led to a police contact. One thing led to another and a OIS occurs. If you drive through the streets of South Los Angeles or similar you’ll see thousands of violations and shenanigans all day. Street take overs, street racing, shootings, burglaries, prostitution, loitering, illegal bicycle violations, and so on. What are these city leaders and community members actively doing to eradicate this. Well law enforcements part is to contact individuals who are committing these minor and major violations and crimes.

    Can we honestly ask without any back and forth, why did Kizzee have a gun! Does no one have a problem with this fact. Suppose the deputies told themselves, forget this let’s go find some shade and park, allow this individual to ride around on a bicycle unchecked or regulated and free to do as he pleases. Why does a person who is not suppose to have a gun, have one? Doesn’t justify being killed in a justified homicide, but this coupled with the circumstances, we’ll that’s how it unfolded for him.

    Drive through the city of Compton and you’ll see another issue I have. A male is murdered needlessly and unexpectedly, in what most likely is gang related. This isn’t my issue, what is the issue you ask? Well it’s society, it’s the person that comes out for their home in their pajamas, eating a bowl of cereal as the person lie there lifeless and watching. Numb to the normal idea of respect or life itself. Regardless of background someone passed away, but this person feels it okay to be out there eat a bowl of cereal, as if it’s live entertainment.

    I grew up in a neighborhood similar to this. City leaders pandering to the media and public, but actually doing nothing. The mayor of Compton is hell bent on police reform, while her city remains trash like. Graffiti on every block, gang violence in the regular, roads that gave craters in them, abandoned building, prostitutes walking the streets, homeless encampments every where you look, and god knows what else. Where is the accountability? You mean to tell me you fix the police and/or get rid of them will solve all problems. Snap of the fingers, reimagined law enforcement, and Compton will be good and thrive. I think not!

    The scales of justice for life have broken. I hope that communities across this nation can heal and find faith in humanity. Law enforcement could always be better but so can citizens of this world

  • I’ll tell you what it doesn’t take to fix policing – a bunch of communists hiding behind the Black Lives Matter slogan, assisted by white apologists (who did nothing wrong), running loose in the streets.

    What it will take to fix policing is to INCREASE funding and training; take decisive action against violent rioters (yeah, screw that media-created mantra “mostly peaceful protesters) and take back our streets.

    Liberals have fucked up our cities and need to be put in check.

  • “What’s it going to take to fix people?”
    2 cops shot tonight in Louisville.
    I go on shortly.
    Go fuck yourself CF, FX, Taylor, Celeste and all you excuse makers for the violent Left who don’t give a fuck about us.
    The pretense that you do fools none of us.
    The girl they’re all pissed off about was part of a dope ring, shame on her for staying in that life. Shame on all of you for making her out to being any more than the criminal she was.

  • Fife you sound like the angry bitter police that should find a new job. Sorry but police are still servants of the public . You don’t get to make your own rules.
    I hope you have some job skills where you dont have to interact with the public.

    How much have you been drinking tonight ?

    Maybe when Trump gets elected he can put a stop to the violent left soy boy leftists. I’ll be out tonight with antifa , BLM, communists, socialists, terrorizing the white Republicans.

  • The real question is NOT how to fix policing, but rather, what is the loophole you can exploit to further your leftist agenda for more power and control.
    Doesn’t that sound a little more honest?? .. Huh? anonymous coward who wrote this stupid oped.
    You people are the disease.

  • careful fx, you never know when the other side might show up to the dance.terrorizing can be a tricky business. Best you and cf stick to the comment section, you’ll be safe here, the streets aren’t as forgiving.

  • FX…..”slavery, servitude, fife and fifedom” went out a long time ago. The police are not “servents” of the people but people merely who work for Federal, State and Local Governments. The euphemism is very much plaid out. This does not mean these “servants” as you like to call them are indebted to or the door mate to their “masters” as your line of thinking likes to believe. These “servants” aren’t their to be abused, mistreated and killed as you would like to think. Everyone has civil rights if you have not forgotten. These “employees” are simply citizens who do a job for an employeer. These employees have duties and responsibilities specific to their job function just as any other employees does.

    If you want to keep believing everyone who gets paid from tax payers dollars is a servant what do you call those on public assistance, welfare, in jails and prisons or juvenile wards of the state…..”freeloaders”? Are all members of the military your “servant”. Are firearm, judges, public defenders and district attorneys your servant?

    Stop huffing on the pipe of delusion.

  • This article, like all others discussing “reform” of the police and the criminal justice system, always use the fancy words like “Black Americans are overrepresented (BTW spellcheck says that is a misspelling) in the criminal justice system.” Well, that is because they “over represent” the persons who commit crimes. Seems simple enough; If they commit more crimes (per capita) than others then they will be in the criminal justice system (per capita) more than others. Does that earn me my long-awaited Phd?

    But all this talk (and the talk about how many blacks are shot by the police) is like talking about a serious illness where you are trying to treat the symptoms of the illness instead of the illness itself. In this case, the illness is a society in which there is a certain segment which commits a disproportionate number of crimes.

    Our society wants to ignore the factors that lead to those disproportionate numbers and focus instead on what happens to the individuals as they commit their crimes or how they are treated once in criminal justice system – often acting like it is the criminal justice system’s fault that the individual committed the crime in the first place. That is like treating someone’s cough when they have lung cancer. Why all the hand wringing that there are too many blacks in the criminal justice system when there are underlying causes that no one wants to talk about? Why are there so many black Americans committing crimes in the first place? Why is there not a major discussion about that? Where is the discussion about fatherless children and it’s impact on kids and young adults? Where is the discussion about the importance of the nuclear family (I see BLM removed a page from their website discussing the importance of the nuclear family)? Where are black celebrities touting education and self-help? Why are not there huge discussions regarding role models outside of the entertainment and sports world – black people from humble beginnings who have pulled themselves up to become leaders in industry and government? Why are there not wealthy whites and blacks building private magnet schools in impoverished communities for the many disadvantaged kids who’s parents want their children to exceed away from the undisciplined climate of public schools? Don’t get me started on public schools in those areas, but I can go on and on (without once mentioning government getting their grimy hands involved), but bottom line these things, if they exist, don’t exist in the quantity that will make much difference. That is because “society” wants to blame the police for all the ills befalling this community.

    Yes, you can reorganize police departments so that they no longer handle “non-criminal” issues (most of that is good) and make new rules on what cops can and can’t do, but the bottom line is; the same people will be committing the same crimes. That will not change and the “over representation” will continue and society will continue to ignore the underlying causes like they don’t exist and all the studies being conducted by these so-called “Centers for Justice” will not change a damn thing.

  • Lots of no bid contracts to community organizations headed by friends of Sheila Kuehl will no doubt be part of the equation. Will WLA do an investigative article regarding the no bid contract by LAMetro to the Sheriff Oversight Committee Member Patti Giggans for a sexual harassment hot line that cost the tax payers $8k per call. Giggans is Kuehl’s best buddy. A whistleblower filed a lawsuit and it appears credible. Will Max Huntsman investigate.

    This really stinks. Perhaps the Sheriffs allegations against the BOS has some truth to them. At the very least Patti Giggans should step down from the Sheriffs Oversight Committee. This allegation is at the very least a distraction.

  • “That is like treating someone’s cough when they have lung cancer.” I see your point Publius. Treat the disease not the symptoms like you stated before this. But imagine this, instead of just treating the cancer (which we should do aggressively) how about treating the environmental factors that caused the cancer so no one gets the cancer again.

    There are no doubt many fine LEO that care about the communities they police. However, there are just as many that see there job as policing an enemy (i.e. the citizens) as their job. We need to end this pervasive attitude and really look at some of the factors that contribute to it. I think you did an excellent job diagnosing some of the major issues that people in lower socioeconomic communities face. However, you left one thing off the list – a police force that the citizens are afraid of and don’t trust.

  • The BOS is manipulative. MRT has been scheming for years now! Heard he has a plan in motion in play now. His pawn, chief of police for lax police. Hmmmmmmm

  • They may be servants, but not slaves. The public has no right to make there own rules as they see fit. If u do not comply u are the reason LE will legally take it to the next level. If not for LE u wouldn’t be able to leave ur home to get in ur car, chew on that for a while or call the thug with a gun when you need help

  • This certainly is not the first time that such injustice has occurred. Although the mistreatment can occur with white people, so many cases have happened over the years where black people were targeted and received unfair treatment simply because of the color of their skin. Innocent black men have been suspected of crimes just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Black mothers and fathers regularly warn their sons about the possibility of it happening to them even if they are totally law abiding citizens going about their daily lives in a normal fashion. Total Outrage Over Racism Is Justified Article by Irene Mori It is past time for racism to be recognized for what it is and be put aside so we can move on. It seems like as if it has taken forever.

  • I do not agree with your last sentence and I am not sure how to respond to it. I would though like to take a minute to thank you for presenting your beliefs in a non-accusatory and constructive manner. I really respect the fact that you pointed out some fine points in author Publius’s comment. I am sure you probably disagree with many of the commentators view points but you sure presented your opinion in a a civil and well thought out approach!

  • Editor’s note:

    To the person who wrote the sentiments below (you know who you are), if you—or anyone else for that matter—ever writes something of this nature again on WLA, you’re banned. Permanently.

    It’s going to take armed citizens swarming the streets and putting down BLM antifa and leftist animals.

    Once they’re out of the way we can be civilized again.

    C.

  • Not angry or bitter, on the money shithead. Drink before I go to work, what a dumb fuck low life cop hating piece of shit you are. Go fuck yourself.

  • Because of our occupation we’re targeted daily by Antifa and some in BLM. Will you ever speak to that, fucking ever? How many videos do you need to see? Will it only be those posts directed at those you support where you’ll threaten the posters? Two cops shot last night, one was Black. WAKE THE FUCK UP!!

  • Vergitas, your first paragraph could be applied to the police. If only they would stop acting like vicious dogs and act like the security guards they were hired to be, perhaps we would not be in the situation we are in today. Now, once again, the chickens came home, this time in St. Louis. Unless and until you stop treating people like crap and learn a bit more about customer service, there will people tired of your disrespect and take it upon themselves to teach your ilk a lesson. I do not approve of it, but I understand it. So, stop whining and earn your pay. You are a peace officer, not judge, jury, or executioner, and you can’t shoot and find a reason later.

    Dope of Reality, you an anachronistic brute, out of time and place. You would have done well with a swastika or a couple lightening bold on your arm in the 1940s or with a German Sheppard on a leash on one hand and billy club in the other in the 1950s Alabama. Here, you are an anachronistic brute and those days you long for aren’t coming back. Increased funding? Keep wishing. For what, more pay? You are already over paid.

    Fifi, you are right, no one cares about you. You are on your own and too tied to that nice paycheck that you have no self-respect to leave and find another job where people don’t spit on you, where people don’t call you pig, or don’t shoot at you because of your crude manners and quick trigger finger and hide behind the state issued badge and gun. Have some self-respect and find another job. But, alas, Burger King does not pay as well.

    Madame Kong, I have never seen a portly White man without a badge walking in the hood talking crap. You ain’t that tough. You see, the natives are restless and aren’t afraid of you anymore. Again, I don’t condone it, but I can understand it. The days when you could play Tarzan are over, Billy Bob.

    Damn, Pubicus, can you spell RACIST?

    Celeste, I don’t know, you may have an ethical obligation to report some of what gets posted on your site before someone gets hurt. Some of the stuff on here is not only racist, but borders or amounts to threats of violence. I suspect we may have a middle age, portly Dylan Klebol or two on this site. Good thing is that based on previous history, they aren’t very good shots. They discourse has gotten so low they are taking the fun out of it. I may have to find another site to post my wit and wisdom.

    Stay safe and racist, my cyber friends.

  • Celeste show me which parts of what I wrote are not being displayed on a nightly basis?
    Savages pulling people out of cars.
    Shooting police officers.
    Burning.
    Looting.
    Rioting.
    Innocent people’s lives and livelihoods being destroyed.
    All in the name of lies.
    Those are the actions of animals and predators.
    Citizens are, in fact, preparing to take the war to your precious BLM antifa and lefties.
    Ban away but the fact remains unchanged, the further the false narrative pushes police into a corner, the sooner the big boys come out to play with your thugs.

  • Another “the cops had it coming” comment from cf. What right leaning commenters should understand is that Celeste is basically in agreement with cf. it’s only due to her WASPy sense of good manners and a fundamental but vague belief is free speech that she allows the cops to comment, or sometimes even rein in the most outrageous anti cop rhetoric from commenters like cf. (usually after some prodding)

    But make no mistake, she is as certain of the virtue of organizations like blm and of the inherit racism of the police as cf pretends to be.

    She watches the anti blm comments like a hawk , and has a million excuses for letting the anti cop stuff through. That’s her bias, the best you can do is the Saul Alinsky thing, and make her live up to her own rules.

  • Why more funding, cf? To make the streets safer for leftist loons like you to run your suck. Leftist loons in California, such as King Newsom, don’t give one damn what the people want. Case in point – the death penalty. Not only did the majority of people vote to keep the death penalty; they voted to speed up the process. What did the King do in response? Well, he completely put a stop to the death penalty. That’s a left wing kook for you. Even Moonbeam warned the public not to elect Newsom. We done fucked up.

  • Hide, not me bitch. Not from anyone not ever. You wouldn’t last two minutes with me, probably not one.
    I could have come on this site a long time ago but it was irritating enough just reading it. A family friend told me about it due to a certain story from some years back that concerned us personally as a friend was involved. Of course the coverage was slanted as expected.
    You’re just a guy who talks to amuse himself with nothing resembling a man inside.
    On a good day, you’re nothing but lint.

  • @CF your words are the problem here. Your lack of accountability is the problem. Do your job as a citizen. Stop whining. What’s the population of African Americans in la county. Go ahead and put the sheriffs dept down for failing to murder or hunt any of them yesterday. Probably nationally.

    That’s probably not the case for citizens on citizens homicides.

    Show respect for yourselves then you’ll prob feel the respect you rate

  • @Voice of Reason, certainly there are people in these communities who don’t trust the police. I submit, however, there are many more who distrust and absolutely fear the criminal element that is a part of their everyday lives. Setting aside my discussion of the underlying issues so adversely affect these communities and concentrating on the relationship between theses communities and the police, I’d like to call your attention to a (much overdue IMHO) briefing the LASD had last week regarding the “controversial” shooting of Dijon Kizzee on August 31st by two Sheriff’s Deputies. https://lasd.org/updated-info-aug-31st-deputy-involved-shooting/ Beginning at 2:50 the Sheriff brings up some stats of the area in which the shooting occurred. Without repeating what he says, it is abundantly clear that this is an area (like many other impoverished areas) in which people are being killed and shot on a regular basis. The number of guns on the street must be apparent to every one, and without doubt, the residents of that community live in fear on a daily basis.

    To any one with any experience in these neighborhoods (be it resident or police), it becomes readily apparent who the culprits are in the vast majority of these shootings. In fact, these individuals don’t try to hide their activities, they revel in their notoriety and like to show their bravado to one and all. These are the individuals the residents really fear, not the police.

    Now, the Deputies assigned to this area know the situation regarding the number of shootings and who the likely suspects are, past and future. What would you, Voice of Reason, have them do? Drive around all day and just be content to scoop up the dead and wounded or have them become pro-active, thus stopping and talking to some of these individuals who are so very easily identifiable? Your choice: they can sit on their butts and let the criminal element continue to terrorize the neighborhood or try to do something about it.

    In the instance of Mr Kizzee, it is my opinion the Deputies were trying to make a difference. That they saw him violate a vehicle code section and recognized him as one of those individuals who so obviously is one of these problematic individuals and decided to stop him. His reaction? He immediately ran from them. They did not chase him but only later found him because LOCAL CITIZENS told them where he had gone (22:30). Now, does that sound like a community that is afraid of the police? No, they WANTED the Deputies to catch this guy, who they knew darn well was one of the people who terrorizes the neighborhood.

    Doesn’t that tell you volumes about the attitude what the neighborhood really thinks about their “trusting the police”? At least I think it does.

    I don’t want to debate Mr Kizzee’s shooting – that is for a different thread – but wanted to use certain facts in the briefing to point out that many, many folks in these neighborhoods realize the need and purpose of the police and appreciate the fact that they are there every day and night trying to protect them from who they really fear.

  • Fife you are not angry or bitter but you angry enough that you tell strangers on the internet to ” go fuck yourself ”

    You are probably one of those cops who beat their wives. Am I right ..

    I don’t hate all cops just the assholes like you .

  • I’m single. Never hit a woman in a dating relationship or outside of one. You deserve what I give you cop hater, all cop haters do. I apologize for nothing I say to scum like you, not ever. Battle tested unlike you and cowards like CF. I will never be kind to my enemies but am professional at work, but trust me, use every single tool at my disposal. Clear enough for you?

  • Guy got dumped in Central Cal yesterday after shooting a Dep but took two in the ten ring. This will get no play because he was a White Supremacist P.A.L. but if he would have been Black, different story of course. Oh, he hid and ambushed the Deps as they searched for him. That makes, I believe six ambushes of cops across the nation in a little over two weeks. Certainly not enough to do a story on here or a really big one on the PTSD issue that’s effecting so many. Better to ignore it, who cares about the mental health and suicide of cops when there are doper, rapist and drug dealing thugs we need to torch cities over. They’re the real victims here.

  • Hey, have any of the BLM haters on this site heard of the cop killers by the name of Boogaloo bois? No?

    Just do a google search and find out who is really acting as a home grown terrorist group. Oh, I know, they are probably all white males who like to play public soldiers with real weapons, but now some have acted out some of their fantasy and went ahead and have already killed a few in law enforcement. Now, how come we are not really hearing about this on the news much? Or how come the president has not come out to publicly denounce this and other right wing terrorist as anarchist and terrorist?

    Go ahead and give this some thought and take the time to do some homework before answering some of this questions?

  • Madame Kong- You may be partially right (actually entirely right). I don’t think Celeste breaks bread with your ilk- racist, monosyllabic brutes, although every once in a while you and Fat Rolman do impress me, as you did today with your reference to Saul Alinsky. Not that she does with my ilk, either, but I have no illusions but I consider she is throwing your ilk a bone when she censors me so as to appear fair and balanced, so to speak. It is funny how you and your ilk complain about this site, Celeste’s “slant,” but like battered women keep coming back for more. And more, and more, and more. They call you names in the real world and in the cyber world. You are the Rodney Dangerfields of government employees. BTW, your colleagues are probably asking themselves who is this jew, Saul Alinsky, that Madame Kong references.

    Fifi, I am disappointed. We just met and you use such harsh words. Like Madame Kong, if you give me a chance we may end up being cyber friends. But you are correct, I am a lover not a fighter, so I have, as you say, nothing resembling a man inside me. You, on the hand, sound pretty tough and I bet there is a man inside you.

    RealLOL, alas, we agree on something. There are animals in uniform that I have seen yank people out of cars. Or, shoot people as they are getting into cars. Or, shoot them in cars when they are reaching for their registration. Yes, I am aware of those animals. Or, the animals in uniform that shoot other animals in uniform, sometimes accidentally because they cant shoot. But other times intentionally because other cops have “disrespected” them. Other animals have been caught receiving fellatio in cars, DUI, diddling little girls, with kiddie porn on their computer or defrauding the system by claiming they are disabled. Yes, alas, we agree. But, to stop those animals would take less money, not more.

  • Cf, your performance art aligns with Celeste’s ideology, So she has a difficult time censoring you, however there’s no doubt your boorish buffoonish nonsense conflicts with her nice Anglo Saxon sense of manors and being a good person. E.g. how do you wind up being on the side that encourages the shooting a mother in the face simply because she’s wearing a uniform?

    No doubt this leaves nice white liberal ladies like Celeste conflicted. If your goal was to troll Celeste and expose this cognitive dissonance, then I have to say congratulations, job well done.

    I doubt this was your intention, I suspect you a little wounded fellow lashing out, but then again who knows?

  • Mr. Kong, I appreciate you elevating my boorish, buffoonish nonsense to performance art. You seem like a man, of all in the peanut gallery on this site, that would appreciate that. However, I am not on side of anyone that shoots a woman in the face. But, I am certainly not on the side of anyone that shoots a man in the back with his kids in the car. Or, of anyone who shoots a man reaching for the registration when he told the officer of the gun he has a right to carry. Or, of anyone that stops a teenager with mental issues for no reason, but to do an “investigative stop,” and the kid is unarmed and ends up dead. The young man or woman who shot those two officers is gone, done with. If you catch him or her alive, he will be in prison for 25 years to life, no question. Neither you nor I doubt that. But, that is not so for the cop who does the same. You have a list of excuses and reasons, no doubt on a cheat sheet, that you guys carry around ready to pull out when someone ends up dead -he made a sudden move, I saw something on his hand, he “resisted,” etc. And, you do it on my dime. That is my issue. But, alas, even with another 4 years of Trump, those days are coming to an end, little by little, but it will change.

    Finally, rest assured that Celeste has deleted many of my meditations on law enforcement. It is her site, and I respect that. I just feel bad for your ilk who are denied an opportunity to lash out, rant and rave at my musings. Its a therapeutic outlet for some of my racist friends on this site, so I feel bad for them. I’d rather they take it out on me on this site, than on some kid in the streets. In many ways, I suspect she is harsher on me given that we are, despite our different word choices, more aligned politically, and she wants to come off as being fair and balance.

    Let us move on. I think we beat this horse dead. Take care.

  • Cf (Greg) saying something like “ shoots a man in the back with his kids in the car” may be factually accurate but it’s untruthful. It leaves out the criminal investigation, violent struggle, and risk to everyone by the suspects violent actions. It’s a bad faith argument meant to deceive, an all too common lie of omission used to manipulate people’s emotions.

    You argue dishonestly in an attempt to enact revenge on police officers for some reason. You should tell us the reason for that but you never do. Broken little man, you are now dismissed, feel free to move on.

  • Hmm. “What’s it going to take to fix policing?” Seems simple. Tell everyone to stop committing crime. Seems illogical and unrealistic, but so does the information in the above article. There is nothing wrong with policing, truth be told society has problems. There is zero accountability! No one deserves to die before their time, not in a justified OIS or in a gang violence murder, but when has it become okay to have zero accountability.

    For instance, Dijon Kizzee. He was either committing/ not committing a violation that led to a police contact. One thing led to another and a OIS occurs. If you drive through the streets of South Los Angeles or similar you’ll see thousands of violations and shenanigans all day. Street take overs, street racing, shootings, burglaries, prostitution, loitering, illegal bicycle violations, and so on. What are these city leaders and community members actively doing to eradicate this. Well law enforcements part is to contact individuals who are committing these minor and major violations and crimes.

    Can we honestly ask without any back and forth, why did Kizzee have a gun! Does no one have a problem with this fact. Suppose the deputies told themselves, forget this let’s go find some shade and park, allow this individual to ride around on a bicycle unchecked or regulated and free to do as he pleases. Why does a person who is not suppose to have a gun, have one? Doesn’t justify being killed in a justified homicide, but this coupled with the circumstances, we’ll that’s how it unfolded for him.

    Drive through the city of Compton and you’ll see another issue I have. A male is murdered needlessly and unexpectedly, in what most likely is gang related. This isn’t my issue, what is the issue you ask? Well it’s society, it’s the person that comes out for their home in their pajamas, eating a bowl of cereal as the person lie there lifeless and watching. Numb to the normal idea of respect or life itself. Regardless of background someone passed away, but this person feels it okay to be out there eat a bowl of cereal, as if it’s live entertainment.

    I grew up in a neighborhood similar to this. City leaders pandering to the media and public, but actually doing nothing. The mayor of Compton is hell bent on police reform, while her city remains trash like. Graffiti on every block, gang violence in the regular, roads that gave craters in them, abandoned building, prostitutes walking the streets, homeless encampments every where you look, and god knows what else. Where is the accountability? You mean to tell me you fix the police and/or get rid of them will solve all problems. Snap of the fingers, reimagined law enforcement, and Compton will be good and thrive. I think not!

    The scales of justice for life have broken. I hope that communities across this nation can heal and find faith in humanity. Law enforcement could always be better but so can citizens of this world

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