The Insanity of US Police Shootings Won’t End the Insanity of African American Shootings by US Polic

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The Insanity of US Police Shootings Won’t End the Insanity of African American Shootings by US Police: Only Constructive Dialogue and Earnest Changes Can: What Next?

If we are part of the families or communities that mourn we will know that statistics don’t matter. We will realize that quantitative analysis doesn’t tell us who are next or how it will end. We will know that all we want is justice and a path to recovery where incidents of these natures never repeat itself. We will know that we are all one and deserving of equal respect.

The fact is bias remains and we all know it, we have experienced it one way or another in our lifetime, and the fact also remains, if the color of your skin is black, you are more likely to be pulled over or searched and you are also more likely to get the death sentence for the same crime a white person wouldn’t. If we are all honest to ourselves we would acknowledge that this bias sometimes creeps into our minds and thoughts even if we do not express them. The fact is The Civil Rights Act didn’t end discrimination and the fact is Martin Luther king’s ‘I have a dream’ speech didn’t end the struggle for equality nor did the election of the first African American President mean the struggle is over. It all means we have come a long way and there is more work to do.

We cannot afford to ponder a lot on which side has been wronged, each and every one of us has to join sides and do what is right. So that we can learn to stand in each other’s shoes and look at the world through each other’s eyes. “So that maybe the police officer sees his son (or friend) in the teenager (or black person) with the hoody who is kind of goofing off but not dangerous, maybe the teenager (or black person) will see in the police offer the same words, value and authority of his parents (or close friend)” – words of president Obama during interfaith service in Dallas- Texas. What we need isn’t only words; we need constructive action and a new heart.

We need decent schools in all and especially in our less developed communities so that less people will be tempted by the street life and develop love for learning. Our governments need to put funding in the research of community policing and on how best it can be applied. Police officers should be trained to be members of the community rather than armed patrolmen. The use of force parameters should be well defined nationally and special prosecutors should be used in cases of police brutality and not the district attorney who works with them.

We should all find no comfort in the fact that these divisions exist. We should not assume to know what it means to be racially profiled or subjected to some form of bias. We should listen to all those morning; the black community and the police and think of a way forward together.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshrtJynt80

http://www.justiceinpolicing.com/policy-reforms/improving-police-department-practices/policy-14-use-of-force/

http://www.justiceinpolicing.com/policy-reforms/improving-police-department-practices/policy-15-improved-training/

http://www.justiceinpolicing.com/policy-reforms/independent-oversight/policy-11-special-or-independent-prosecutors/

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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