The interview “In Memphis, people call for police reform after Tyre Nichols’ killing” raises the question of police violence and how do we work together to reduce police violence. This story is about a traffic stop that turned violent resulting in the loss of Tyre’s life three days later in a hospital. While reading and understanding this story it states Tyre was stopped for speeding and was pulled from the car and put on the ground by 5 officers in Memphis. With that being said the beating of Tyre did not take place at the first stop with 5 officers being there somehow one man was able to overpower and escape 5 officers when he was lying on his side with 3 of the 5 officers actively trying to restrain him. This makes me wonder how can the police training process be reformed because something must be wrong if a one man is able to escape from 5 big police officers from the ground then make it back to his feet and run off. It doesn’t sound like these people have been properly trained or lack the skills to restrain someone without the use of deadly force.
Goff was asked by Shapiro what would be the number one thing he would want to change to reduce police violence and Goff admittedly said that that was a tricky question but if he had to change one thing it was “Use police for less”(PG 1) This is an interesting angle that could help with some problems. What Goff means by this is there is no need for someone to call for something that does not need a badge and gun to appear. For example, a suicidal patient. The last thing they would want to see is a gun, a badge, and someone with very little training in dealing with mental health emergencies. Another example is if a homeless person’s main problem is they live outside in the elements, and have no food or water, sending an officer with a gun and the threat of being arrested and potentially beaten does not seem like the right call to action. Having an officer on stand by is different that could be ok but having them as the first respondent to a nonviolent situation could cause more problems than good especially if the person already doesn’t feel safe around cops because of the power imbalance in the real world.
Goff made another interesting point that might hit a little closer to home. In Ithaca Tompkins County the police have been told to end all low level traffic violations like speeding tickets in the case of Tyre because the ticket can always be issued through mail and they will get the perpetrator eventually. “I’ll tell you that, in Ithaca – in Tompkins County, N.Y., in Saint Louis, Mo., in Berkeley, Calif., we’re very happy to have encouraged local leaders to end low-level traffic enforcement by law enforcement and to stop sending police when there’s a nonfatal accident.”(PG 1) At the same time, this would reduce police violence by simply just removing them from the situation and allowing the police to avoid conflicts that are nonthreatening. This will ensure fewer altercations with the police and a slightly less police presence while still holding authority over people to make sure rules are being followed. This would also help protect police officers while protecting the public. The reason for less police presence in places they normally aren’t or need to be is a healthy thing; because I believe that many people would agree that not seeing the police or any government official during the day is usually a pretty good day. What I mean by that is every time you see a police officer or a firefighter all dressed up and the lights are on in their vehicle outside a building or just driving past you always think “What has gone wrong?” “I hope everyone is ok” and if it has something to do with you it raises your stress levels and some people might act erratically in the face of a Police officer. I’ve never heard someone say “Yay the police are at my front door unannounced and I never called I bet it’s some good news” It just doesn’t sound normal at all. Having fewer badges and guns in people’s faces on a daily basis in nonviolent scenarios would help decrease the chances of police Violence and would make the jobs of the police easier and safer.
Policing is not an easy task and there are many split second decisions that need to be made, and many people are not capable of the task. Whether it is physically mentally, or emotionally it is very hard to figure out who all those people are individually, and have them removed from the police force to get rid of the “Bad eggs”. It’s nearly impossible to do that in the real world but there are a few things that could be done to reduce the chances of violence. As mentioned earlier better training on learning techniques to take someone down and restrain them without having 5 guys pepper spray, beat, and electrocute a signal person to the point of near death just to get handcuffs on them. And as mentioned by Goff “Use police for less”( PG 1)
- Would using the police for less help reduce police violence why or why not?
- Do you think the use of AI policing might be the future of equitable policing?
- What do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence?
