Are Black Cops Conditioned Into Corruption?
Many black cops feel pressured to choose between their job or their people.
Instances of police brutality, militarization, and racialized acts of violence toward people of color have caused many to search for a solution to bridge the gap between communities of color and police. Some are calling for more efficient training while others are pushing for abolishing the police department. Another solution is the call to diversify the force. However, in turn, some officers of color have said that they felt conflicted about their jobs and even pressured to mistreat their own communities. So, is this really progress?
Illegal Racial Quotas
In March 2016, 12 active duty officers of color on the New York Police Department went public with claims of illegal racial quotas within the department during an interview with NBC. These 12 cops filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court claiming that the NYPD pressures officers to make quotas for arrests and summonses, which disproportionally affected minority neighborhoods. Meanwhile, officers who didn’t comply were punished.
“They tell you this to your face,” said officer Pedro Serrano in the interview. “Blacks and Hispanics between 14 and 21 — they must get stopped.”
Another interviewee, Officer Derik Waller, described the process of meeting quotas as “bounty hunting for an arrest.” Another officer claimed that when pressured, officers go after the most vulnerable targets: “the LGBT community, black community — those people that have no vote, that have no power.”
To Be Black and “Blue”
The question that seems to add conflict to the solution is the internal conflict many officers face, according to the Harvard Law Review, which writes about “the strivings to be “blue” and the strivings to be “black” — in one “dark body.”
In a past segment of Let Your Voice Be Heard!, Edwin Raymond, the lead plaintiff in the NYPD 12 case, explained that six months after completing the police academy, he was required to meet a quota.
“You weren’t recognized for anything but how many people you stopped-and-frisked, arrested, and gave summonses to,” said Raymond. “This is what caused the experiences that I had as a teenager and I couldn’t believe it.”
Uncle Tom Syndrome
It’s the pressure to choose between your job or your people. Choosing your job can sometimes classify you as having Uncle Tom syndrome, a coping skill where blacks become submissive when threatened or subservient with their white superiors. It means taking on passive and nonassertive behavior — hiding your true feelings and thoughts to keep your position and yourself safe. If you’ve ever seen Adult Swim’s sitcom, “The Boondocks,” Uncle Ruckus’ character fits the Uncle Tom syndrome. Ruckus is short-tempered, obese, and ignorant — the embodiment of a black American stereotype. He is also internally racist, using “reverse vitiligo” to explain his dark skin.
Uncle Tom syndrome can be seen in law enforcement. An example is the 2015 shooting of Walter Scott by North Charleston police officer Michael Slager. Slager reportedly pulled the 50-year-old father over for a faulty brake light. According to Slager’s police report, Scott did not comply with his demands and attempted to grab Slager’s stun gun. Eight shots were fired into Scott’s back, causing his death. The body cam showed a different story, where Slager was running away — unarmed when Slager shot him.
According to the daily Charleston newspaper, The Post and Courier, Slager’s patrol partner, Clarence Habersham (a black officer), was the first on the scene after Slager radioed him in. Habersham never challenged Slager’s account of what happened. During his testimony, Habersham insisted that he never saw Slager attempt to stage the scene by dropping a Taser near Scott’s body. He even categorized Slager as a “proactive … professional” policeman, even though prosecutors learned that in five years, Slager’s Taser had been activated 12 times in comparison with Habersham’s three-time activation over his nine-year career.
According to Vox contributor and ex-black cop, Redditt Hudson, the media also plays a significant role in the strained relationship between the police and black and brown communities.
“The mainstream media helps sustain the narrative of heroism that even corrupt officers take refuge in,” wrote Hudson.” The reality of police abuse is not limited to a number of “very small incidents” that have impacted black people nationwide, but generations of experienced and witnessed abuse.”
The issue of black police officers suffering from Uncle Tom syndrome and the conditioning of protecting their badge rather than their community cannot be fixed overnight. Before we fix the conditioning that a lot of black and brown law enforcement suffer from, we first have to focus on fixing police abuse that has been building for generations. Proper training needs to be increased — including teaching officers how to verbally deescalate situations, stay calm in rough positions, and resist the urge to “shoot to kill” before proper evaluation. Though in many states wearing body cameras are mandatory, they should be activated at all times. Even if proper training is increased, change will not happen unless officers are held accountable for any discriminatory and unwarranted actions.
