When I was
working in Baltimore in 1962-63 as the sole White member of a band, I lived with
four of the guys in the band. One night as we returned from a road gig. I
pulled the car to the rear of the agency (an alley) and we got out and began
moving some of the equipment into the building. Presently a Baltimore city policeman
walked up and came to our group. He was young, chubby, and brusque in manner. I
had seen him previously near a restaurant we favored which made the best damned
cheeseburger sub in the universe. He was (in daylight) pink cheeked and looked
a bit “piggy”, and probable wouldn’t have passed current physical standards.
He asked what
we were doing there and for whatever reason, probably because he and I were
both Caucasians, he addressed it to me, and I answered. While I won’t pretend
to remember the conversation exactly, it related first to why were we there, (it was late) and when Kirby, the leader, showed him the
key proving that we were not breaking in, I explained that we had just come
back from a gig out of town, and were putting some instruments back in the studio.
He then for some reason called me “Punky.” I responded that I wasn’t a punk and
that I didn’t care to be addressed as one. The guys stepped back. He hesitated and
then demanded, “Driver’s license and registration?!” (although we weren’t driving,
and the car was stationary.) I complied, he demanded more ID, I showed him, he
questioned the ownership of the car, I explained that the registration was in
my dad’s name and suggested he check DMV if there was a question. He “harrumphed” and left us. Through all of
this, the four young Black men with me were silent and stood a bit back.
After he left,
they told me how lucky I was, that this
guy loved to use the baton on people who didn’t kowtow to his authority, and
(the reason I thought of this incident from 58 years ago) I was lucky I was White
or he would probably have “tuned me up”. Obviously, one should never have to be
either White or “lucky” to avoid bad treatment by anyone, especially Law
Enforcement.
This particular
cop, I am almost positive, fit one of two profiles, either of which, in my
opinion should exclude any individual from a Law Enforcement career. I will admit
that, in this instance, my opinion here is pure speculation.
In this case, I
believe this individual was probably bullied at some point, probably school/adolescence,
and had found a career that provided the opportunity to “legally” act out those
frustrations on those who could not protest or resist (Baltimore, 1962, remember?)
I was probably fortunate that night.
I would love to
see a serious study (if honest responses could be obtained) that correlates the
incidence of excessive force and the percentage of officers involved who were
either bullies themselves as younger persons or were victims of bullying.
Either history, I believe could result in the kinds of callous violence we see
today in some cases. These personal histories make for poor risks as badge
carriers with sidearms, in my opinion.
In the case of
those who were bullied, there is at least a possibility that they may come out
of the experience empathetic and actually become great officers, but the
inverse is also true, I believe. I’d call it a break-even chance, still meriting
scrutiny.
For the habitual
bully, I seriously doubt that there is any rationale which concludes that this person
should ever be placed in a position to use deadly force. There are bullies at
all levels in all organizations and those who are unfortunate to be under their
supervision or even a colleague sharing space pay the price daily.
I have known several in my Naval career. When
we arm these guys and put them in a position to use deadly force, sometimes we
get a Chris Kyle, emotionally damaged by the experience to the point of
becoming almost a pathological liar, inflating his military awards and claiming
to have “shot thirty looters during Hurricane Katrina,” (he was not even in
NOLA). Other times we get an Eddie Gallagher, killing innocent civilians and
loving it. These are some of the same guys who, unable to deal with real military
discipline, hone their killing skills and leave to become mercenaries. Make sure
you understand this: It isn’t the job, which is at fault. SEALS and cops all
face daily challenges which most of us aren’t willing to deal with, and most do
these thankless jobs well and to the best of their ability but the wrong
personality type in those jobs is a recipe for disaster. One of these guys in a
training position is disastrous.
I would posit that when a Derek Chauvin, with 17 prior excessive force
complaints and several previous formal written reprimands, is still carrying both
badge and gun, then uses an unauthorized tactic to essentially choke Floyd George to death, unresponsive to the
pleas of bystanders and the victim himself, something has gone seriously wrong.
In hindsight, and, again, in my opinion, what went wrong was
Chauvin’s continued status as a policeman. As I stated earlier: Without knowing
Chauvin’s earlier years, we can only conjecture on the “bullying” issue. Any
bets?
Fortunately for
most of us, bullies in the workplace are, for the most part, survivable annoyances,
although a Harvey Weinstein surfaces from time to time, and uses sexual
bullying for his own, criminal, ends. Bullies often focus on employees who have strong morals and integrity. This is especially the case when the bullies don't possess these traits themselves, or when their victims' values conflict with their own. When they are armed and badged minions of the law, however, the narrative changes and the consequences can escalate. Add racism to the mix and we have the current situation.
Sadly, many, if not most, of those on the Far Right who scream “Constitutional
rights” when crying about even the slightest gun control suggestions, couldn’t care
less about those rights when race is concerned. Even worse when the symbol of the
Nation, which most of the world sees and hears, is himself a racist,narcissistic, bully, and almost obsessively extremely
overt about it, what should we expect? I suggest we should expect exactly what
we are seeing – racists, bullies and the like, emboldened by the belief that, “If
it’s OK for the President, it’s good enough for us.”
Hurry up November!
No comments:
Post a Comment