The way I see this whole issue about police brutality or abuse doesn’t involve choosing a side or supporting one group over the other. I have no need for an “us” versus “them” mentality or defending any group as a whole because each case brought to the public’s attention is never the same as the last one. Not every case has a clear cut “aggressor” an “victim” and everyone involved could possibly have a fault in their actions.
Now of course, our expectation should be that the police will correctly address and handle all on-duty situations correctly with integrity and high ethical standards. Unfortunately it’s not always the case as some officers to disgrace the badge, but in my opinion those who abuse the power of the badge aren’t real officers. I see them as cowardly imposters hiding behind the badge as they unload whatever anger filled, prejudice, or “power drunk” emotions onto unfortunate citizens. Real officers, like the majority of men and women currently in uniform or those who served before (such as my grandfather who is in my profile picture), are amazing and highly distinguishable individuals who selflessly work long hours to make our communities better.
Every group has it’s black sheeps per se. The only sides of this issue that there needs to be is the side of the truly genuine officers of the law and (with everyone on this side) and the disgraced side that only consist of the thugs who are nothing more than an impersonation of the great people in blue. They’re only human and they can make mistakes and unintentionally make the wrong actions in some situations. Striving to find the best methods to improve the ability in an officer’s reactions, should definitely be a goal for every department (at least those that have have had issues with such).
They shouldn’t be harshly criticized and punished for decisions which were guided by survival instincts and made in the heat of the moment. It’s reasonable that some extra training classes be required for officers that have situations where they (unintentionally) did not make the most effective/efficient choices that end up having costly results. Every deadly or physical altercation involving an officer should be looked at individually where the results speak solely for the actions of specific individuals in an altercantion, not as one of the media’s intentionally misguided narratives.
It’s perfectly reasonable to acknowledge and realize when police abuse their power or unnecessarily use excessive force and also support police officers. Speaking out against actually perpetrators of police brutality does not mean someone hates cops or is anti-law enforcement. Once the line of police abuse has been crossed is the moment they are no longer an actual officer anymore and become just another thug committing acts of crime.
The line between having justified means for a required use of tactical force and unnecessary brutal force shouldn’t be debatable and if any definitive evidence shows the line being crossed then we should not tolerate it happening. We especially shouldn’t give any excuse to justify their action nor should anyone try and put blame on the suspect that is being abused just because they’re a detained or fleeing suspect. If there is no evidence of abuse then don’t make assumptions or paint the situation out to be abuse while tarnishing a possibly innocent officer’s name and career.
Stop trying to find certain things that just support your views side of the issue. In-fact stop supporting one side or an entire group, so everyone can unbiasedly see each case as a completely separate issue that doesn’t represent an entire group thus no need to feel defensive. Not every single case being portrayed by the media is or has been a case of actual abuse or the result of a prejudicial hatred.
At the same time, there has been and are actual cases of abuse and even murder being shown by the media and it is a real issue that should be ignored or discarded because people think it’s “anti” police to point out any mistakes or actual wrongdoing taking place by an individual working in law enforcement.
Too many people are uselessly trying to argue to get personal validation for one perspective they have for this particular social issue when there a so many different perspectives and aspects. So worried about making a personal point while destroying each other’s useful points just to defend the justification for hating cops or defending the rightful actions for people being shot to death or physically beaten without actually realizing the human stories or the real issues behind it all and how to actually solve it.
These are still human beings were talking about and its their lives affected, so all of us need to stop making it about ourselves. viewpoints on this issue are important or matter to us