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?
Hi Jaylin,
Great post – you did a great job of succinctly analyzing the main points of the two articles assigned. I think your perspective on these issues is wise and sympathetic, I like how you eloquently acknowledged the violence that occurs from policing, and that simultaneously, policing is a difficult job, but officers are not being appropriately trained. I agree with this. I’m glad you brought up Ithaca, and the article as well. I live in Ithaca and have my whole life and am seeing these changes first hand. One thing the article doesn’t mention is not only are they reducing / removing policing for traffic tickets, but they are also taking one step further and creating a system in which police are not the first and only resource called to an incident, but if appropriate, mental health professionals would respond first. To connect this to your question, “Would using the police for less help reduce police violence why or why not?,” I think the answer would be absolutely. As you discussed, often times the amount of police officers used in an incident only heightens the situation by intimidating the citizen. In the NPR interview, Goff says “Not introducing a badge and a gun to those situations does not mean we cannot enforce the rules” (“In Memphis”), which I think is a crucial point to understand. While reforming police and improving training is one aspect of the solution, I think the larger part is using less police, and utilizing more trust and respect in our communities.
Hi Jaylin, great blog post. Your post was extremely insightful and well written! To answer your first question, I do not believe that relying on police for less will help reduce police violence. I think that racism and prejudices are so deeply instilled into the United States’ social and legal system that it would not actually reach the root of the issue. I believe that in order to combat police brutality, it is important to reverse the generational racism that has been instilled into the minds and systems of America. I believe that many initiatives have been made in order to prevent officers from acting unjustly, such as the enforcement of body cameras, and having forces that reflect communities, but it’s clear that this is not the answer to making enough of a change. As reinstated by Lindell in the New York Times, “In the South, policing evolved from slave patrols, white vigilantes who enforced slavery laws; in the North, it emerged as a way to control a “dangerous underclass” that included African-Americans, Native Americans, immigrants and the poor. “Policing’s institutional racism of decades and centuries ago still matters because policing culture has not changed as much as it could,” she writes in the Conversation” (Lindell 2). I think that the only way to seek reform is through reforming the minds of all of America. I think that there is no perfect way to achieve this, but I feel it’s the only way to actually fight against such significant numbers in police brutality against African Americans.
Hi Jaylin, this is a great grasp of the reading and a great job at pulling out the key points within the article. I strongly agree with your theory along with Goff’s about how sending police to non-urgent/ non-violent scenes can sometimes and oftentimes make it worse. For example Goff stated “Better yet, someone whose major problem is that they live outdoors because they don’t have a home – why are we sending badges and guns to respond to that? I would think that the problem with being unhoused is housing, and possibly, you know, substance abuse and mental health issues because they so often co-occur.” (pg.1) I agree that within these situations showing up with a badge and gun will trigger people more than help them, which can then lead to violence either physically or verbally which can both escalate very quickly. I also do not understand why police are being sent to “move the homeless” when they have nowhere to go, what does law enforcement expect them to do? The issues within the system lay so much deeper than we think, it roots back to so much more than diversity within the policing system like Goff also stated many times. To answer one of your discussion questions, I think that reducing policing can go both ways with reducing violence and increasing it. On one hand many people may not only feel safer with less police around and be able to live their lives more stress free, but I mostly think that it would overall increase violence. Sadly the world we live in today takes advantage of any slight reward we are given, I think that people would act carelessly and cause more crime knowing that there are less police around to see them.
Hi Jaylin,
I think your post was very informative and really brought in another perspective that I didn’t think of. One thing you talked about was what police should be involved in and you said the example of homeless people and suicides. I have to say that I disagree with that statement. I think police should be involved in those types of situations because although there’s no need for a gun in those situations, I think having the police involved would benefit the police and neighborhood. Helping a suicidal person would show the community that they do more than what they see on the news. When you help a homeless person find shelter and resources you see another side of them and how they wanted this specific job to help people. Although the number #1 rule is to obey and follow laws, they should still be there to support and guide the community. The only way you can do that is by being on the streets seeing firsthand what’s happening. In the article Shapiro asked Goff is diversity would make a difference in police violence, Goff answered, “Black officers and women officers of any race were far less likely to use force than were white male officers. That tells me that there is some benefit that’s possible in diversifying police.” (Shapiro) Now I’m not saying to only hire black males and female officers, I’m saying to be aware of the community and having their perspective of the police in mind. How can you expect someone to look out for the community when they don’t know a lot about it or are not in the streets looking at how things are run. People want to feel safe and welcome. They don’t want to be targeted. When you see a police officer who is constantly at community events or games at the local high school, you see that they’re also a normal person like you. I don’t think having less police presence would make the community feel at ease, I think it would intensify each interaction they would have with law enforcement actually. We need to see the other side of them.
Hi Jaylin, amazing post, I enjoyed how you incorporated examples of what is also going on in our community and environment. I would like to answer your last question, in the interview the term “Use less police”(P.1) seems like the best option here. I say this because someone who is dealing with suicidal thoughts, or who is mentally ill, sending the police who carry weapons and are very intimadating. Is not a good idea, someone who is trained in the field of mental health should be on call for these types of things. Someone could easily get scared and if the police don’t know what they are getting themselves into and feel like they’re life is in danger it might not look good for the victim. In the article Philip talks about the need to have people who deal with mental health and different backgrounds to be the one’s on call for non threatening acts like this. “So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” (P. 1 Lines 11). This shows me that there need to be more tools/supplies for police to use and there needs to be more options for people to get, autism is a big thing in today’s world and some police unfortunately aren’t trained to deal with it or given a background to the person they are arresting or pulling over.
Hi Jaylin! I really enjoyed your blog post and connections between the article and our communities/the real world. To answer your first discussion question, I don’t think there would necessarily be less violence if the police were involved less. I don’t think that the amount of policing in a situation would affect the violence a person creates. I think if a situation was going to turn violent it would not matter to the police present. However, I do think that the police may not be the best people to handle certain situations. Or, if they are the only people available, they should be given proper training on how to handle situations other than what police training covers. For example, Shapiro says “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional” (1). I think that this is exactly correct, if the police are not equipped to handle someone’s crisis, they are doing a disservice to the person who reached out for help. If the police cannot help in the situation they find themselves in, they should be able to call for reinforcements, or they should be trained on how to handle more situations than just what they teach to become a police officer.
Hi Jaylin! Great blog post! You did a great job explaining the articles and made some very thoughtful points. I enjoyed the example you provided about the suicidal patient and the homeless person. I think you make a great point, you never know what someone is going through and for people like that to see a gun and a badge could be very triggering. This leads me to answer your question- What do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence? I believe that first and foremost everyone has to understand that both people are only human. Police officers are only human and as you mentioned in your blog post there are “bad eggs” but that is the same in any profession. No matter where you are or what you are doing there will unfortunately always be “bad” people in the world. I feel that just like how police officers need to be acknowledged as humans, they must respect those in trouble with the same approach. You never know what someone is going through so it is crucial to attempt to remain calm and treat them like a human. Sometimes people are mentally ill which causes them to act out more severely. This relates to what Philip Goff says in the article “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional”(1). What Goff is saying is that the police should be given several tools. Sometimes it is more than just the training they receive. They need a set of tools so when they can not help the individual, they have other ideas to resort to. A teacher who has a student that is struggling mentally has access to a social worker or psychologist. Police should also have access to mental health professionals that can assess the situation and allow for a calmer situation in general. Overall, I agreed with several of the points you discussed and think you did a really good job with your blog post.
Hi Jaylin,
I like how you analyzed the text and related it to a place not so far from where we go to school. In addition, something else I liked that you went into depth about is that police are not trained to deal with the everyday person, let alone someone with mental disabilities or physical disabilities. The quote in the article “In Memphis, people call for police reform after Tyre Nichols’ killing” “If my problem is I’m considering suicide, why is it that, in so many communities, the only person who can show up is someone with a badge and a gun, at best 8 hours of training in mental health emergencies and whose decisions are, I’m going to maybe lock this person up; I’m going to maybe restrain this person; I might have to use force on this person if I feel threatened?” I think it’s great that you pointed out that police receive little to no training on how to deal with or handle people with mental health issues or disorders. To answer your first question, yes, because if the power-hungry and racist cops stop doing routine stops, there will be fewer altercations once the citizen’s rights have been violated. To answer your second question, I think AI policing is an interesting strategy but I think a human element of properly trained staff would be better to make the interaction more authentic. To answer your third question, I think the only way to stop police violence is to throw them in jail. Getting off easy will make them just repeat their corrupt actions.
What do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence?
The best course of action to reduce police violence I believe would be promoting community policing, ban chokeholds and strangleholds, invest in crisis intervention terms, increase the number of mental health professionals in law enforcement agencies, involve psychologists in multidisciplinary teams to implement police reforms are some ideas. The amount of police violence occurring is so sad, it must stop immediately, things must change. In the article by Spencer Bokat-Lindell, “Why is Police Brutality still Happening?” he has a photo of statistics over time. “By year, the number of police violence instances from 2013-2019, starts with 1,111 in 2013, 1,059 in 2014, 1,103 in 2015, 1,071 in 2016, 1,095 in 2017, 1,143 in 2018, and 1,099 in 2019”. (Bakot-Lindell 1). The numbers being so high is so sad, police brutality must be reduced immediately and the actions I brought up could help I believe in being able to bring a stop to it immediately. It is very sad how the world has been and how much violence is occurring every day for no reason.
Hi Jaylin, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I think you made some great points and highlighted some important aspects of the reading. To answer your first question, I do not believe that using the police for less would help reduce police violence. In most instances, the violence comes from a prejudice or bias, an underlying issue that will not change the way many people believe is right. Also, with less, people may see this as an opportunity to run rampant due to the fact that it would seem less strict. However, I do agree with you when it comes to using the police as a second option. Goff stated, “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” I believe this may be a necessary step when it comes to using the police for less. They are not always trained in the right way and may provide more fear than help. Unfortunately, I do not believe that this will ever be the case though. Due to the police being first responders, they hold a lot of the law in their hands. Although they might not use their power in the best way, they are still seen as higher individuals and I believe it may be hard to lessen their hold on society.
Good night Jaylen, I hope you’re having an absolutely wonderful day. This was an interesting blog post to read and reminded me on the topic of police brutality and what can be done to reduce this problem. To answer your question regarding the best course of action of reducing police violence, I read that they are being educated in crisis intervention. This is what happened in San Antonio and they had 40 hours of training and mostly there is only 6 hours of this training. Spencer says “equipping officers to recognize and handle cases involving mental illness is another front for reform.” This is all in an attempt to lower police violence and allow for a more educated police force. So to go to your point of police not being equipped to help people with mental disorders, what is supposed to be done for them. There is no other place to send some form of help to them. To have this you would need another specialized group for those specific situations.
Hello Jaylin! I really enjoyed your post on these articles and how you went into great detail about some of the things mentioned in both articles. To answer your third question, “what do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence? I think a huge thing that we have seen a lot recently is mental health training and being able to de-escalate a situation. Like you mentioned in your post, sometimes when people are in crisis, the last person they are looking to talk to is someone who has a gun and who could possibly hurt/arrest them. Goff says, “…at best 8 hours of training in mental health emergencies and whose decisions are, I’m going to maybe lock this person up; I’m going to maybe restrain this person; I might have to use force on this person if I feel threatened?” (1). Should police still have involvement in these situations, absolutely, sometimes their protection is necessary for safety. But maybe when calling 911, there is someone like a psychologist or social worker that could attend certain scenes when deemed possibly necessary. I also mentioned de-escalating situations. I’m sure this is taught in police training, but I think it should be emphasized more. Situations could turn out much safer/with better turn out if there wasn’t such a quick jump to conclusion. Our society and environment are always changing and since policing is a public service job, there training must run alongside these changes.
Jailyn, great job on your blog post! I think you offer thoughtful insight into the difficult conversation of police brutality. To answer your discussion question, “What do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence?” I think several steps can be taken, but unfortunately I truly don’t know the right answer. On the “All Things Considered” podcast episode titled, “In Memphis, people call for police reform after Tyre Nichols’ killing” the host discusses what can be done stop police violence with guest Phillip Goff. Goff says, “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” Here Goff is suggesting a different response to situations which police typically respond to. Goff establishes that police a use of a force and violence which a majority of times isn’t necessary. It is the reevaluation of situations that is necessary in order for our society to become less violent in regards to police response. Personally, I agree with Goff to a certain extent. I do believe mental health is a serious issue in regards to an individual becoming dangerous, and the deeper issue of someone threatening suicide comes down to a neglection of their mental health. However, in an instance of a suicide threat, sometimes police could be necessary if the individual is threatening to hurt others. Unfortunately, it is often times that suicidal people feel they have nothing to lose and are willing to harm others in the process of their attempted suicide and those people (in addition to the suicidal person) need to be protected. With that being said, I think ultimately Goff is right, there needs to be a certain reevaluation on a situation-by-situation basis in order to control and fight back against police violence.
Hey Jaylin,
I like your discussion about the key points mentioned in the article regarding how we use the police. To answer your first question about using the police for less would reduce overall police violence, I believe that less enforcement of the police would be beneficial to society. Modern American culture is very complex; there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for many of the problems in this country. After reading these articles, I see that for most problems, we as a society choose first to send the police, which is usually not the answer. Often, this could worsen the situation, leading to dire consequences that never needed to occur. For example, in the interview with Phillip Goff, he brings up an interesting point about a common issue in our world. In regards to mental health in our society, the first thing we do whenever a person is attempting to commit suicide is to send the police. As you pointed out, this could be scary for victims, as the images of power and destruction could further send them downward. In response to this scenario, Goff suggests, “If someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” (Shapiro, 11.) Replacing the police with someone much more skilled in this scenario would help reduce the overall anxiety of the victim while also preventing any other prominent issues from occurring.
Hi Jaylin,
I understand why many people would think that less police would equate to less violence but all it would really do is limit the publics resources in times of need and make citizens more vulnerable. What I do think would help, contrary to popular belief, would be to give the police more funding. As of right now it is one of the easiest career fields to get into with little to no education or prior training. This leads to underqualified young people being put in the ultimate position of power, resulting in poor decision-making skills that lead to innocent or unjustified deaths. If we were to increase the funding for police, they could raise the pay and drastically increase the requirements to join. This would result in a more professional and culturally diverse police force that care about their jobs. I’d like to reference this quote from the reading, “There’s a widespread belief that if you have a police force that looks like the population of a community, that will reduce violence. In this instance, the five former officers charged with murder are all Black. So was the victim.”, I think that if we were to look less into the race of the officers and more into the requirements to be one then we could really make a difference. There is no possible justification for having the most powerful group of people being some of the most uneducated and poorly trained. Being a manager at a fast food chain requires more training and professionalism than becoming a police officer and that speaks volumes.
Hi Jaylin, I found your thoughts on the reading very interesting! It was surprising to read the mention of Ithaca in Tompkins County, and I think it is great that they are mailing tickets, that way people can be held accountable for their own actions and take matters into their own hands. I wanted to answer your last question on what I think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence. After reading the Spencer Bokat-Lindell article, “Why is Police Brutality Still Happening,” I personally like the idea of more education and training for the police force. For example, “the San Antonio police have received national attention for developing their own mental health unit, and every officer is required to complete 40 hours of training in crisis intervention — far more than the national average of six” (Bokat-Lindell). I think extra training is important because as time progresses, life and people change, so a consistent amount of training and workshopping, etc. seems very important. I also think that it is important for civilians to be educated as well, and to understand that the job of the police is to serve and protect, and there are certain protocols and regulations they must follow in order to maintain their safety and the safety of the public.
Do you think the use of AI policing might be the future of equitable policing?
First off Jaylin amazing job with your blog post! I think that there is a future of AI policing but maybe not all AI. I think the human element is important although yes as you said policing is not an easy task and many split-second decisions need to be made, and some can’t handle it mentally and may cause innocent people to get hurt. AI could help with these problems and I think using AI policing for things like speeding would be good as it would avoid the potential of traffic stops going south.
Hi Jaylin! I really enjoyed the segment where you discussed the removal of police when it comes to speeding tickets. I think this is a good idea because without a person with their own biases, the law can more effectively be enforced. By removing a reason to be defensive when you are pulled over, you will still receive the ticket and only the speeding ticket. This also relates to your question of Ai policing, I think that for nonviolent crimes, ai policing can possibly the most effective way of handling crimes without a racial bias. With small crimes such as speeding but can also possibly help with crime footage analysis. Ai is meant to help humans, and by removing police officers for nonviolent crimes it is possible that the ai will be helping enforce the law in a fairer and nonjudgemental way.
Hi Jaylin! You did a really good job with your blog post! I really enjoyed reading your interpretation of police violence. I’m going to answer your first question today, which was : Would using the police for less help reduce police violence why or why not?
In my opinion, reducing the reliance on police for non-violent situations has the potential to contribute to a decrease in police violence for several reasons, of which the most important in my opinion remains improving police practices. Indeed, it is possible to clarify this point relying on Lee Hale, Justine Kenin and Ari Shapiro’s article titled “In Memphis, people call for police reform after Tyre Nichols’ killing”, thanks to the following quote “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” (Lee Hale, Justine Kenin, Ari Shapiro). I think that reducing the scope of police duties to focus on addressing serious crimes allows law enforcement agencies to prioritize their resources and efforts where they are most needed. This can lead to a more targeted and effective approach to policing, with officers better equipped to respond to genuine threats to public safety. Additionally, it can foster a culture within law enforcement agencies that prioritizes de-escalation and community engagement over aggressive tactics, further reducing the likelihood of police violence.
Hi Jaylin! I really enjoyed your blog post! To answer your first question, would using the police for less help reduce police violence why or why not, I don’t think that utilizing the police system less will truly reduce the violence within and around this system. The violence within the police system is commonly caused by false perceptions of self defense. Often times, people who are being placed under arrest, while obviously upset, tend to become belligerent. People can take police advances as a form of an attack and want to fight back in order to protect themselves. I believe that if the system were to have a better understanding of when and where they’re needed, we could avoid many situations of violence, “Give police more tools so that, when they are not the right tool, they can lean on them. So for instance, I would tell you, if someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional.” (Goff 1). I think that Goff has a very strong point here, a lot of people running into trouble with the law could be on drugs or possibly not mentally sound. In this case, the police wouldn’t be of any use. They might only escalate the situation and put several lives in danger. Utilizing other services could reduce the problems created and violence exhibited by those dealing with the police.
What do you think would be the best course of action to reduce police violence?
Hello, Jaylin, great blog post!! Enjoyed reading it. To answer this question, I think we have to talk about equality. This whole semester I had brought this issue up especially when answering a blog post. The way our social structure is at the current moment is much better than before, however we have to acknowledge the fact that inequality is an enduring issue that still exists. Not every policeman is bad but the ones that are usually abuse their power. Machiavelli is a person who can be compared with policemen who abuse their power. Machiavelli had written a book called The Prince and throughout that book he came to the conclusion how one with power must be feared. This is essential since it also relates with Human rights violations. Back to the question, I believe a way to reduce police violence is to keep protesting to have a change in the system. We haven’t seen results but we still need to have faith. “In other words, he must seek or use force to achieve his innovations” (The Prince). This quote is important because we have social media now and it helps us a lot by creating organizations that can keep the policeman in check. Also the way we are educated can be the best course as well since clearly a lot of people do not understand the definition of equal rights.
Hey Jaylin, great post this week! I really enjoyed your thoughts on the reading and what you took away from it overall. As someone who prior to this was unfamiliar with the situation you did a great job covering all the basics along with showing how wrong and unfortunate the entire situation was.
To answer your first question, i don’t think that would reduce police violence because they are usually called onto situations that can be violent in which they are needed. Second, I think AI policing can be a possibilty for the future but not for real problems , more so the traffic stops / speeding stuff. The best course of action to reduce police violence would be to require more hands on training in different fields like more of a support. A quote to support this would be “If someone’s in a mental health crisis, send a social worker. Send a mental health professional” (pg 11).