Same Story, Different Victims, but Now is the Time for a Different Aftermath

Robert Hall, a 30-year old black man, was beaten to death in Newton, Georgia by Baker County Sheriff Claude Screws, a policeman, and a special deputy (all white) in January 1943. The officers arrested Hall late at night at his home for the theft of a tire, handcuffed him, drove him to the courthouse, and beat him, while still handcuffed, on the courthouse steps with their fists and a blackjack. They dragged his body to the jail and called an ambulance. Hall died within an hour. The officers claimed Hall had reached for a gun and used insulting language when arriving at the courthouse. The county prosecutor did not bring charges, but a federal jury found all three defendants guilty on civil rights charges. The Fifth Circuit Court upheld the convictions, but the Supreme Court overruled the decision. Sheriff Screws won reelection and served as sheriff until 1957.

Bernard Whitehurst Jr., a 33-year-old black father of four, was shot in the back by a Montgomery, Alabama police officer in December 1975. A gun was planted on Whitehurst to support the story that he shot at the officers. There was no autopsy performed, and his body was embalmed before it was returned to his family. Eight police officers were forced to resign or were terminated, but no officer was tried for the killing of Whitehurst, and the family was not compensated. Thirty years after his death, the city council passed a resolution expressing regret, and the city placed a historical marker near the place where he was killed.

Cornel Young, Jr., a 29-year old black police sergeant, was fatally shot by two white police officers in Providence, Rhode Island on January 28, 2000. He was off duty when he attempted to assist his fellow officers. One of the officers, an Academy classmate of Young, had just returned to duty after being investigated in a shooting incident, and the other officer was a rookie who had been on the job for eight days. The shooters were not charged, and the civil rights suit against the city filed by his mother was unsuccessful.

These are just three cases from different decades where black men were killed by white police officers, and the officers were not convicted for the killings. It is not known how representative these cases are because before this century, there was no database that attempted to capture every case of police use of deadly force. These cases only received publicity because family members, the media or organizations publicized the killings.

With the advent of social media, telephone cameras, police body cameras and a broadening social justice movement, more cases are being brought to public attention. In addition, several organizations are attempting to capture statistics of every case of police killings, and the FBI has established a Use of Force database. One of the organizations collecting statistical data on police killings is Mapping Police Violence. They report that there were 1,106 known police killings in 2013, 1,050 killings in 2014, 1,103 killings in 2015, 1,071 killings in 2016, 1,093 killings in 2017, 1,142 killings in 2018 and 1,098 killings in 2019.

We have lived through years of protests around excessive use of force by police officers. We can call the names of black men killed by the police such as Arthur McDuffie, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Philando Castile, and we know the stories of the beating of Rodney King and Abner Louima. We have participated in demonstrations on the streets and during government meetings, and we have testified at city council hearings and written letters to our elected officials. We have been interviewed by journalists and talk show hosts, staged media events for our organizations, written op-eds, met with activists, politicians, lawyers, and police officials, produced research studies, and we have participated in political campaigns.

Over the years, we have seen some protest activity yield positive results and others not so much. As illustrated by the three cases mentioned at the outset of this article, few of the cases result in what the families of the victims would define as “justice”. In addition, few of the publicized cases have resulted in long-term, meaningful change in the police systems.

I am in a unique position to speak about reforming public safety in the United States because I have seen the problem through several lenses: as a victim, an activist, a researcher, professor, and as a police official. My father was shot when I was a child, and the prime suspect, a police officer was never charged. As an activist, I have organized and been a participant in demonstrations and other activity to call attention to excessive use of force by police officers. My activism inspired me to write my doctoral dissertation on the politics of the police. Since that time, I have taught criminal justice at several universities and written articles on police-related topics. I was recruited to work as a civilian executive for the NYPD and two other agencies, bringing my outsider concerns and views as well as my academic knowledge to help them make their departments work better for the black community. I have also served as the executive director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).

What have I learned from my many years of being on the inside and outside of police agencies and from studying the uprisings, demonstrations, and responses in the aftermath of publicized cases?

First, change is possible after a publicized event, but often the window of opportunity for change can close as fast as it opens. Another event can capture the attention of the news reporters and the politicians. People will only stay in the streets for a limited amount of time. Demonstrators from out of town will flock to a city, but many, though well meaning, have jobs or school, and they will have to return home before meaningful and long-term change can be made. When I worked for the NYPD, the officers knew that the demonstrators would stay on the streets for no longer than a week. After that the department often did little about the issues until the next publicized event. Leaders need to have a long-term agenda, in addition to the immediate case, and they must find a way to engage the local leadership when the media are gone.

Some out-of-town demonstrators may hijack local movements because the media may be more interested in following the national leaders than the local activists who have been struggling for change over the years. Veteran national leaders must work with local activists to help them develop an agenda for change that will address the needs of the local community and they must promote the voices of the local leadership. Moreover, local leaders must try to control the narrative about their communities instead of allowing others to bring in cookie-cutter solutions. Local activists also must be aware of outside agitators who may engage in destructive behavior and move the attention from the peaceful protests to property damage.

The change demanded by the activists must be broader than the prosecution of the police officer(s) involved. If the demonstrations are narrowly focused on the police officer who killed the Black person, long-term, meaningful change will not be the result. Demonstrators must know what to demand and to whom to address the demand. For example, before demanding that the chief of police fire the officer(s) you need to know if the police chief has the power to fire the officer. Demands often include more training for police officers, but some officers who are not trainable — they should not have been selected. The selection process as well as the disciplinary process must be part of the agenda that is addressed. In fact, systemic change is needed to address the many flaws in the system and stop these cycles of protest related to a few issues.

Demonstrators must recognize that policing is a local function. The federal government can intervene in some ways, but most change will have to come from the local and state levels. Too many people do not engage with their state representatives and executive-level officials, including the governor and attorney general. Activists must draft model state legislation that addresses police reform. They must do research on legislation that can be used to hinder police reform and help state legislators repeal such legislation. ALEC and similar organizations get their legislation passed because state legislators are part-time legislators with limited staff. State legislators often vote for bills that are not in the interest of their constituents because they did not have the time to read the bill, and they do not have enough staff to prepare a “Cliffs Notes” version of the bill.

Police unions have hijacked state and local elected officials through political contributions. Thus, many states have police bills of rights that prevent police officials from questioning police officers immediately after a use of force incident and strip police chiefs of the power to discipline, fire or even change the assignments of police officers. Arbitration systems are in place that can extend the disciplinary process out for years and overrule the disciplinary decisions of police chiefs. Police officers who are fired or leave an agency because of disciplinary actions often get hired by other agencies because the firing agency is forbidden to disclose why they left.

One of the mistakes I made when I first got involved in activism around police issues was to stereotype all police officers as the same. I was reluctant to help Black police officers organize because I viewed them as sellouts. Over the years, I have met many dedicated law enforcement professionals who were attracted to policing because they want to bring about change for their communities. Some had negative experiences with the police when they were growing up, and they want to ensure that the police system will be different for their children. Joining the police has not shielded them from being harassed both in and out of uniform. Of course, all black officers are not community-minded. There are Clarence Thomas types in law enforcement, and there are officers who go along to be liked or to keep their job. Activists should seek out community-minded officers of all races and ethnicities who are willing to share ideas and information that can help to improve and change police agencies.

If this time is going to be different, systemic change must be the goal. Agencies cannot throw in more body cameras, more implicit bias and racial profiling training, a few more race-related policies and say, “We Good”. Police departments are reflections of the problems in society. This country will never be “good” until it addresses systemic racism. Dismantling the systems that prevent racial equality cannot be left to Black people. We did not create the systems, and they will not be torn down without the active engagement of white people.

What is different this time? It is not that George Floyd’s killing is that different from some of the other police killings, but political and social settings are different. The U.S. President has made racist statements and has not supported positive change. His lack of leadership and compassion has helped to drive young people, black and white, into the streets expressing their rage, and denouncing racism. The demonstrations are still happening months later as we move closer to a Presidential election. Moreover, the demonstrators are demanding systemic change, not just a few reforms. So this time is different.

This time it is different because people are recognizing that the problem goes beyond the police. It is the American Culture that needs to be changed. COVID-19 has already exposed the health disparities that have made more Blacks susceptible to death. Racism continues to contribute to the disparities that Black people have been talking about for many years, but few others seemed to listen and even fewer actively engaged in actions to address them.

I am hoping and praying that the aftermath will be different this time.

Please forgive me, however, if I take a wait and see approach. This Black daughter of the South sat in Federal court and saw a Federal judge register her parents to vote when the local registrar refused to obey a Federal court decision. Her happiness at their victory was tempered when the car with most of her family in it was ambushed because her father dared stand up for his rights.

This Black daughter of the South went north to graduate school thinking that being admitted meant she would be accepted. As the only Black in her program, she was not.

This Black woman accepted a job in the New York City Police Department to help implement community policing only to see racist insults directed at the black mayor who recruited her.

This Black woman was finally convinced that the country was ready to turn the corner on racism when Barack Obama was elected President of the U.S. But the euphoria did not last because racists starting plotting to take their country back.

America, America, please convince this Black woman that this time the change will be real and lasting.