POLICE MUST KEEP WORKING TOWARD REFORM
By Madison L. Winchester
Cumru Township Police Chief
President, Berks County Chiefs of Police Association
On a daily basis police officers across this country make strides toward establishing their legitimacy in the minds of the people they serve. Mostly, they do this with little need for recognition; it’s just good police work. Daily, there are exceptional things being done by great cops that rejuvenate our faith in humanity.
Then a horrific and unexplainable act is committed by an officer, or multiple officers, that brings all the progress to a grinding halt and quickly erases everything good that has happened. In a moment, public trust is lost.
No one deserves to have to go through what Tyre Nichols went through, and now the nightmare that his family is living through. When something like this happens there will always be some, and often many, that will never trust or believe in police again. We have lost them.
Repeatedly, when an officer’s unacceptable conduct thrusts policing into the spotlight it is due to poor tactics, outdated practices or lack of training. Evaluation and necessary reforms should be taking place continuously in our profession. Everything we do should be looked at for effectiveness, efficiency and best practice. Without continuous evaluation and honest criticism, we will never be at our best as guardians and protectors.
But what about an event like the beating death of Nichols in Memphis, Tenn.? This did not happen because the officers were poorly trained or were using outdated practices. These officers knew exactly what they were doing and had to know it was wrong. It was horrific and criminal. They all knew there were body cameras and pole cameras recording their actions, yet they still beat Nichols. They either lost control of their emotions or just had malicious intent. Either way, the result was that a man lost his life, and those officers are culpable.
I believe law enforcement as an organization needs to support reforms that emphasize training and decision making regarding the use of authority. Too many incidents occur in which an officer feels disrespected, insulted or offended, which causes them to retaliate without justification. Police officers can’t afford to lose control of their emotions or horrible things occur, just like the death of Nichols.
When officers enter into a foot pursuit or car chase, they often get tunnel vision and fail to reasonably evaluate the situation. Is the risk necessary to achieve a successful outcome? Is there a safer, more viable way to get the desired result without dire consequences? Officers can become so intent on catching the suspect that they lose rational thought. The officer feels disrespected and offended that someone is not listening to them. That someone is not yielding to their authority. If the officer catches the person, they need to immediately de-escalate themselves in order to maintain emotional control.
Law enforcement leaders need to reinforce to our officers not to take disrespect or the disregard of their authority personally. It needs to be reinforced that respect needs to begiven in order for it to be received; and even if it is not returned, officers still need to adhere to their oath of office and act with integrity and responsibility.
As police officers we need to be better. We are human, and we do err. Perfection is not really attainable. However, we can improve on how we handle the authority given to us by the public we serve. We must always recognize and support good officers and never excuse the few who tarnish the badge we wear with pride.