Dear Jessica, I’ve Seen Officers Misbehaving. And I Failed To Speak Up.
A Bay Area teen and a long-time cop have a frank conversation about police brutality.
Hello Jessica,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me. Congrats on graduating from high school. You have achieved something I failed to do!
I retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 2013, so I wasn’t working as a cop when your cousin was killed. I’m sorry to hear about the pain and heartache that your family and community suffered because of this horrible tragedy. I’ll do my best to answer your questions as they relate to how police operate in general.
Officers are trained to stop any threat either to themselves or to someone else. According to this news report, police were informed that someone was in the park with “a black handgun on his hip pacing by a chain link fence near a bench. The caller described a man with his hand resting on what looked like a gun…”
A call of a person with a gun is one of the most intense calls that an officer can get. The officers’ sense of fear and concern for overall safety suddenly goes haywire as they drive to the scene. When the officers got to the park, they were probably already pretty amped up, based on the potential threatening nature of the call. When they encountered your cousin and saw the weapon, the report says that the officers told him to show his hands, which he didn’t do. Supposedly, he then drew the weapon, which was later determined to be a taser, and pointed it at the officers. That’s when the officers shot him.
Police recruits spend a week at Academy learning how to use firearms, which includes handguns, shotguns, semi-automatic rifles, and beanbag guns. Unfortunately, SFPD officers don’t have tasers. (The Chief of Police has tried to get them, but was rejected by the Police Commission and the Board of Supervisors.) Twice a year, officers go to a police shooting range in order to prove that they can use the gun proficiently. Cops are taught to shoot to “disable the threat.” They are also taught to shoot in series of at least two or three shots from various distances and circumstances until the threat stops. Shooting a semi-automatic handgun is a pretty difficult thing to do. Even if an officer were to shoot someone point blank, there is no guarantee that one shot would stop the person.
When one officer fires his weapon, he does so because he feels that there is a credible threat to his safety; the other officers near him probably shared that feeling and joined in what is called “sympathetic fire.” Sadly, when there are several officers all shooting at one person, it seems to be, and oftentimes is, excessive force, as that person ends up having multiple bullet wounds from multiple guns.
When there are conflicting stories about what occurred — like in Alejandro’s shooting, with many people accusing the officers of murder and acting without cause — the police will attempt to make the situation appear justified. That’s probably why the information about Alex’s mental illness was brought up. A victim’s mental illness supports the police officer’s justification for the shooting.
After 32 years as a cop, I still believe that what you and I were taught as youngsters is true: MOST officers are fair and there to help. The overwhelming majority of police officers I’ve known are ordinary people of all races and sexual orientations who just want to do their job without any complications. They don’t exhibit any kind of ill will towards anybody, except when they are attacked or abused. Even then, most cops are able to maintain balance and act professionally.
I admit that I’ve known a small number of officers who didn’t possess the honorable traits that make a good cop. Some allow their own biases or their lack of professionalism to color their actions. I’ve seen officers talk rudely, disrespect individual’s rights, and use too much force to make an arrest or search.
There’s an old term used to describe police officers’ unwillingness to tell on each other, and that term is “code of silence.” There are times when officers, myself included, failed to speak up when we saw other officers misbehaving. There’s this sense of unity or family amongst cops that’s reinforced with an “us versus them” mindset. Nobody wants to be a snitch.
When I joined the SFPD in 1981, at 24, I was a young eager cop who wanted to succeed. In spite of some actions that I took later in my career I never really wanted to rock the boat so, like a lot of officers, I usually looked the other way when I saw misconduct. As I spent more time “on the job,” I recognized what was acceptable conduct and what wasn’t. My attitude toward wayward cops became less permissive. My critical eye turned toward all of the video-taped incidents occurring nationwide, beginning with the Rodney King beating of 1992.
I’ve watched so many videos of questionable police tactics lately that I no longer know what to think. I honestly don’t believe that most cops go out with the intent to hurt or kill someone — they are either poorly trained or unable to control their rage. Too many people, cops included, use violence to justify violence. As police brutality increases, so too does violence against the police. We must stop reinforcing that “us versus them” mentality.
Requiring police to wear body cameras would be a step in the right direction. Cameras show what truly happened and can be used as evidence when investigating police misconduct. I understand your concerns that the “police will show whatever they please,” but I don’t think that’s the case. Already some cops have gotten into trouble because of video that was taken by their cameras. Of course, that’s not to say that this system is foolproof — but systems of checks and balances help insure that the evidence is not compromised.
I’ve met scores of people who’ve hated officers for what they represent. That’s not a legitimate reason to dislike cops. I’ve personally tried to view every individual as just that, an individual. An ideal solution for the divide between civilians and police would be to work collectively toward solving the problem. The “us versus them” narrative is no longer valid. I am hopeful that these exchanges between you and me will serve as an example of how people can talk about these issues with the goal being to find common ground and work together for positive change.
There is much more for us to talk about. I look forward to hearing from you soon so that we can continue our dialogue.
Carl
Check back here on Thursday to read Jessica’s response.
Do you have a question for Carl or Jessica? Join the conversation by writing a response — and don’t forget to @ mention them! The pair will continue to exchange letters over the next two weeks and will try their best to incorporate your queries into their dialogue.
