Dear Jessica, We Are Hiring A Generation Of Fearful, Inexperienced, And Poorly Trained Cops.

A Bay Area teen and a long-time cop have a frank conversation about police brutality.

Hi Jessica,

I agree with you — it makes much more sense to use a taser before an officer has to resort to using his firearm. But the police commission and the board of supervisors are responsible for researching any changes to police department policy. They give consideration to what the community wants, and, of course, factor in their own political agendas and personal feelings about the issue.

I’m glad that you understood my explanation about the officers’ actions toward you and your friends that day. I know that it left a bad taste in y0ur mouth, and based on what you told me, your feelings are justified — especially if they stole your money.

And yes, Jessica, I’m painfully aware of the video of the officer throwing the student at her desk to the ground. Once again, I’m at a loss for words. I’m unable to fathom what was going on, not just in that case, but in all of the situations that seem to be occurring on a daily basis. (Today, I saw the news about two Louisiana deputies who shot a six-year-old boy to death while he was in his father’s car. I was saddened to the point of tears.)

Your perceptions and feelings about this incident are spot-on. I watched the video repeatedly and I don’t see any justification for that type of violence, especially coming from a police officer towards a teenage girl who didn’t appear to be a threat.

Those who defended this officer’s actions say this young woman had it coming, that she had been disruptive and argumentative and that the teacher asked her repeatedly to get off of her phone. According to the police report, the teacher called the principal who then called the school’s police officer, and he arrived to take action. When the girl didn’t comply with the officer’s request, he chose to use physical force to remove her from the classroom. That is what we see on the video. Some say that if you slow the video down, you can see the girl’s arm hitting the officer in the chest. I don’t buy it.

It’s easy for me to sit at this computer and critique the officer’s actions but it’s not completely fair since I wasn’t there. In these types of situations, time is moving rather quickly and actions are based on a number of factors that we don’t know about.

The point you made — that we have no idea what’s going on in her personal life — is such an important observation. It touches on something we discussed earlier: empathy. We have no information about this girl’s life, but it’s reasonable to conclude that if she was being so disruptive and non-compliant there was probably something troubling her. Any level of violence would only add to her troubles.

Many years ago, I was assigned to Benjamin Franklin Middle School. I never had a scenario like that one but I did have my share of interventions with unruly students. As was most often the case, I was able to talk through the situation and resolve it peacefully.

What would I have done in this situation? I would’ve tried to talk to her to find out what was going on. If she continued to use her phone or refuse to leave the classroom, I would’ve asked the teacher or the principal to have the other students leave the classroom and give me a chance to talk to her in private.

This incident would’ve been a good opportunity to teach students about alternatives to violence. But this would only work if the officers were willing to concede. Too many cops today are taught that “we can’t give in or concede our power” — and this mentality is reinforced throughout an officer’s career. But that’s old-school thinking. It had more relevance in a bygone era.

My way of doing things, in life and in police work, doesn’t always follow a predictable formula. There’s a general mindset in police culture that decisive action must be taken as soon as possible. Police officers rarely slow down and take a step back to really assess the situation. The recent videos that have circulated on social media demonstrate this: the cops were reluctant to deescalate tense situations through talking.

When I was in the police academy, there wasn’t a whole lot of instruction on how to talk to people effectively. The academy staff had limited time to teach all of the basics required by the state for certification. I’ve learned most of what I know about talking to people as a hostage negotiator. Two things in particular stand out: we have plenty of time (within reason), and time is on our side. This kind of thoughtful approach helped me avoid countless volatile situations.

It seems to me that we are hiring a generation of poorly trained, inexperienced, and fearful cops — cops who “fear for their safety” at the slightest threat. And fearful officers should not be patrolling our streets nor should they be cops.

Police work can be dangerous; it’s the nature of the job. But it’s not danger and threats all day, every day. Most cops will tell you that police work is “90 percent boredom and 10 percent terror,” and that’s not far from the truth.

But the folks applying to be police officers these days don’t have as much life experience as officers from earlier generations. Some have never faced any real physical adversity nor have they had to fend for themselves in the outside world. Many still live at home with their parents; many have spent their time working clerical or tech jobs rather than interacting with people in the real world.

Effective training begins with effective communication. Officers are taught basic information gathering skills that is pretty rote question-asking. There should be more training on empathy and establishing rapport with individuals. I believe that the advanced training given to hostage negotiators in the area of human psychology and behavior should also be given to all police recruits.