© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.
“Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status.” – David Alan Mamet, Pulitzer Prize winning writer
I routinely walk up to members of law enforcement to say, “Thank you for your service to our community.” I still do so despite having some concerns about law enforcement oversight.
It is a complicated relationship between citizens and members of law enforcement. Our country was founded to protect citizens from foreign and domestic bad people. Those protections are of the most violent kind because it is the currency of bad people.
In many communities there is an uneasy balance of respect and suspicion for the police. This is especially so when deadly force is used. At times, it is the only way to protect the citizens as a whole. Other times, it is inappropriate.
Many communities have civilian review boards to review these incidents. I understand members of law enforcement opposing that kind of scrutiny. Most citizens have no earthly idea what it is like to be in the middle of an incident with all of the pressures of correct performance being balanced by the expediency of surviving to go home at the end of the shift.
To review police actions, it is essential that the observer can understand the human component to law enforcement. The problem: Shoot too slowly and lose your life or shoot too quickly and be liable. Every moment might be the last that each policeman spends on the job.
That knife-edge decision must be made without time to ponder. My friend Tommy Bedford was a Lincoln County deputy sheriff who one Monday afternoon in October 1979 did not perceive the danger quickly enough and in an instant gave his life. I still think of him often.
One of my best friends was in law enforcement and I rode with him for a number of years. They have a “layer-cake” life with thick layers of nothing much happening punctuated by thin layers when it all breaks loose. They go from nothing happening to all out in a matter of seconds.
One night he and two other deputies were trying to subdue a large man who had taken a medicine cabinet full of uppers and downers and sidewayers. I had no role other than observer.
At six one and 200 pounds I was the smallest person there, including the belligerent. They were having a tough time. Finally my buddy kicked this guy directly in the crotch. The guy fell down and scrambled right back up. My buddy said, “My God, I’m going to have to shoot him.”
But he did not. Instead they were finally able to subdue this monster, who the next day experienced extreme pain. But at the time he was so high that he did not feel a thing. I asked my buddy why he did not shoot. He smiled, “Too much paperwork to do if I did that.”
Maybe it was that or an innate sense lawmen have that final force was not needed. I am glad they did not have to shoot.
In bright light and safety it is ever so hard to ex post facto judge those actions fairly. Most jurors and onlookers would fail miserably at a shoot/do-not-shoot range since they cannot make those split-second decisions.
However, when the decision to shoot is made there must be civilian oversight so the public can be assured it was required. We cannot blindly just trust that the members of law enforcement will police themselves.
Each city does need a civilian review board, but it must be formed correctly with knowledgeable observers in police procedures. It is essential so that the community can have a way to redress concerns about police actions outside of the influence of law enforcement.
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.