When Trust Breaks Down: We Must Turn Unrest Into A Movement

When Trust Breaks Down: We Must Turn Unrest Into A Movement

EDUCATE! FERGUSON, MOVEMENT, POLICE, VIOLENCE 

The events of the past few weeks in Ferguson and the surrounding St. Louis community have forced us to ask ourselves some tough questions.

Many young African Americans are asking themselves, “How do I feel about my city? And how does my city feel about me?”

Many white St. Louisans – who have long considered themselves “liberal” or “progressive,” yet have been surprised by the unrest they’ve seen on their televisions – are asking themselves, “Why are they so angry?” and “Has this anger been there all the time? And if so, how did I not see it?”

All of us should be asking questions about the role of government and police departments, and the danger that arises when those bodies so grossly do not reflect the populations they are supposed to serve.

What we have witnessed these past few weeks is the result of broken trusts. The trust between government and the people is sacred. Trust between a community and their police is absolutely required for police to effectively serve and protect it. Without it, police become something more similar to an occupying force, which is what the images from Ferguson last month resembled.

People need to trust that if they call police for help, the police will arrive ready to serve and fairly enforce the law. People should not fear that their call to report a simple shoplifting could result in a young man being gunned down on the street by the very officers they called for help.

Without that trust, the system does not work. And that is where we find ourselves today.

The next steps following the tragic killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer – and the equally tragic killing of 25-year-old Kajieme Powell by St. Louis City police officers – has to be to restore this broken trust. Only justice will do that – justice under the law – and if that is not possible, then we must change the law.

Justice under the law is what the Brown family is asking for in St. Louis County. If the accounts of multiple witnesses are correct, and the fatal gunshots to Michael Brown were delivered as the unarmed teen had his hands up in the air in surrender, then the officer should absolutely be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Justice requires that, as does restoring the public trust.

To determine exactly what happened, we need a trial. County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch had the option of indicting Officer Darren Wilson weeks ago based on the evidence.

Indictment does not mean guilt. It simply starts the process for a public trial in which both sides can present their evidence. A jury would decide Officer Wilson’s guilt or innocence. A trial is what is being demanded by the community. It is a reasonable – in fact, modest – demand, and the alternative (no indictment and no trial) would further fracture people’s faith in the justice system and endanger public safety.

The Powell case in St. Louis City is different. The fact that Powell was armed, in a distressed mental state, and moving towards the officers at the time he was shot means that it is very unlikely that the officers who killed him will be indicted or disciplined. This is because of current laws and policies regarding the use of lethal force by city police.

When Police Chief Sam Dotson was asked if he believes the shooting was justified, he said his officers “have the right to go home at night.” That is true. But the same is also true for young black men.

The challenge in Ferguson is justice under the law. The challenge in St. Louis city is to change the law.

Lethal force should only be used when other means have been exhausted or if it can be reasonably determined that an officer’s life (or the lives of others) is in immediate danger.

Police officers will argue that it is too easy to second-guess an officer’s actions after the fact. They will say that these are split-second decisions that have to be made, and that it often comes down to the victim’s word versus theirs. That is a fair complaint. And that is also why technologies such as body cameras should be required — to protect both officers and the public.

The Public Safety Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen will be meeting on Wednesday, September 10 at 10 a.m. in City Hall. The police chief is scheduled to present to the committee his department’s policy on the use of deadly force. This meeting is open to the public.

However, it is up to the chairperson, Alderwoman Phyllis Young, to determine whether or not the public will be allowed to comment on this important issue. I and others have urged her to allow public comment. This is a critically important issue to our city, and people from the community, as well as organizations, have much to offer to this conversation.

This is just the beginning. Meetings and conversations will be had over the next few weeks and months. But in the end, we need real and substantive change in order to restore trust. Changes to the police department’s policy regarding the use of force, the deployment of technologies such a body cameras, and the creation of independent civilian review boards to investigate killings like those of Michael Brown and Kajieme Powell will go a long way to do that.

We must turn this moment of unrest into a movement to create a more just St. Louis, one in which all people feel that their rights and humanity are respected by those we entrust to protect and serve.