When should we discuss officer accountability issues? To some people, George Floyd and the issues with officer accountability are over. The officers have been convicted and sentenced. Increases in crime is the big news now. Officers are facing prosecution across the country and there hasn’t been a big incident like George Floyd since May 5, 2020. They say it is time to move on. Things are quiet now, but we need to talk.
Officer accountability discussions should not be relegated to a hot topic issue when a person is killed, or a recording of an officer’s behavior becomes infamous through social media and the internet. I was doing a little research yesterday and ran across a 1947 poem by Langston Hughes titled, “Who but the Lord?” The poem talks about police excessive force. Seventy-five years later we are still talking about this issue. I understand… it can be exhausting to always have to discuss officer behavior and demand change in officer accountability. It can be exhausting to see and hear the screams of those being injured and killed and witness their family members’ pain. It can be exhausting to be reminded that your life can be taken from you because somebody didn’t correct an officer’s behavior early on, didn’t remove an officer from the force before the officer could cause irreparable harm or didn’t establish a culture of officer accountability within their department.
In a time when actions and emotions are driven by so-called leaders’ use of buzzwords or ignorant and trite soundbites that require no thought, real conversations about solutions get stunted in a dizzying loop of blame game, deflection, and indifference. Some officials hope that citizens would just move pass the incidents and let bygones be bygones because it is quiet now.
The danger of the quiet time is that it can lull us into a typical false sense of security, believing that the problems no longer exist. The threats are over. We can resume with normalcy. But, no, it is in the quiet time to be deliberate and thoughtful about the overall goal of officer accountability, without the rush to get past the moment that only delays and denies systemic change, because there will undoubtedly be a next time. Constant vigilance is a necessity!
There are those who doubt change can happen, whose exhaustion seeks to douse the fire of vigilance. There should always be time for action even in the face of doubt where we question if change is even possible. Just as when the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho and civil rights protestors marched and braved the dogs, beatings, and water hoses for change in America’s treatment of black people, I am sure there were some who wondered would their goal be accomplished. But they marched anyway.
Despite news reports and social media stories of officers still harming unarmed citizens, citizen involvement must continue and increase. We cannot shrug our shoulders and shake our heads as if the defeat for change is certain and the only thing left is hoping we never have to face the same fate. We know change is possible because we have witnessed how law enforcement has been able to exercise restraint when apprehending mass shooters and others.
Involvement in officer accountability discussions and demands for officer accountability must be raised often, even in the quiet times. Vigilance requires raising such issues in the quiet times. It serves as a reminder to elected officials and the police department that change is expected; accountability is demanded. Raising the issues of officer accountability during the quiet times allows the community the time to evaluate the sincerity of actions, to question the intent behind changes, and ensure that police departments and elected officials are addressing issues timely and effectively. Lastly, it increases the opportunities for meaningful discussions that can build trust and understanding. However, these discussions require transparency and integrity and must be guided by follow up and follow through.
The ACRB encourages you to read the reports, visit the website, ask questions, participate in the conversation and share the information with your neighbors and friends. Please visit our website at www.acrbgov.org.