From The Journal Times.com:
"RACINE — Alderman
Terry McCarthy is asking Police Chief Art Howell to give him and his
fellow City Council members a review on the department’s policy
regarding use of force.
"McCarthy said the request to have Howell
speak on the issue before the Committee of the Whole doesn’t stem from
complaints he’s received about local policing. He simply wants the city
to avoid the allegations of excessive force that have rocked communities
elsewhere in the state and country.
"'If anything were to happen
in Racine, we should know how the Police Department would react,'
McCarthy said. 'If we have any concerns about that, this would be our
chance to influence the policy, etc., maybe ahead of time.
"'Every
month there is something on the radio: the unnecessary use or force
here, the unnecessary use of force there. I want to make sure we are
prepared from a policy perspective, and procedural perspective. I want
to know the chief’s thoughts on it and what he thinks makes sense.'
"McCarthy
said he wanted to make sure that in the event an incident occurred in
which force was used, the City Council didn’t learn there was 'official
accepted policy' in place that they didn’t know about that didn’t make
sense to them.
"'I don’t want to be complaining afterwards. I want to be understanding ahead of time,' he said."
Read more: http://journaltimes.com/news/local/city-alderman-citing-national-news-asks-about-police-use-of/article_79635660-91b4-5d43-a8dd-6313d591c3e4.html
I just sent an email that states police are "damned if they do, and damned if they don't." The worst case scenario is our officers second-guessing themselves at the moment of interaction with a possible criminal.
I've witnessed many police interactions in the schools. As you know, more and more, violent and criminal behavior is happening with teens nowadays. They are the fastest growing population for extremely violent crimes. I've witnessed many more instances of police taking abuse than acting on it. Their patience has been amazing at times. A situation can appear to be under control and change in an instance. I would NEVER want to be in their shoes. I think body cameras should be mandatory. There are always opportunities for misuse of power, or a difference of opinion. There should be as much transparency in policing as possible.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think it is reasonable and smart to have this discussion before there is an incident like we have been seeing in the news. Good for Alderman McCarthy for bringing this forward.