Opinions

Trust must run both ways for police, community

Black lives matter.

Richmond, California, Police Chief Chris Magnus bravely stood in uniform holding a sign adorned with that statement standing next to protesters.

Magnus told the San Francisco Chronicle that he does not regret his decision and under similar circumstances he would do the same thing.

No reasonable person could deny that there have been a number of disturbing incidents recently involving the death of unarmed black men -- and sadly, at least one child.

Eric Garner was killed in New York City after he became agitated when officers there accused him of selling single cigarettes on the street corner. In this case, police used a chokehold, which wasn't approved by the department.

The most famous of all the recent cases is the killing of Michael Brown. The details on this case are more difficult to nail down. Many witnesses claim that Brown was shot and killed while his hands were up in a sign of surrender; however, the physical evidence leaves room for an argument to be made that the use of force was justified, and a Ferguson grand jury agreed.

Most recently, the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, has horrified people. The video of the incident shows the officer pull up directly to the 12-year-old, jump out of his vehicle and shoot him dead. In this case the officer clearly gave himself no opportunity to assess the situation before he used deadly force.

ADVERTISEMENT

These are just the stories we've heard.

Akai Gurley was shot in the Brooklyn housing projects in an incident where the police commissioner defending the shooting as an "accidental discharge" in a dark stairwell. Rumain Brisbon was killed by a police officer in Phoenix who claims he mistook a pill bottle for the handle of a gun. Victor White III of Iberia Parish, Loiusisana, and Chavis Carter in Jonesboro, Arkansas, are both claimed to have shot themselves while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser in separate incidents.

Kajieme Powell was suspected of stealing energy drinks and pastries and was killed within 15 seconds of police arrival on the scene. Johnathan Ferrell knocked on the door of a nearby home for help after he was involved in a car accident and was shot 10 times by the officer responding to the call from the homeowner. The officer in that instance, Randall Kerrick, has been indicted for voluntary manslaughter. Larry Jackson in Austin, Texas, was fatally shot by Detective Charles Kleinert during an investigative stop where Jackson was suspected of defrauding a bank. Kleinert has been indicted for manslaughter.

Police officers have a more difficult job than we can ever imagine. They put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis and do so without complaint. When a gunman opened fire in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012, police arrived in 90 seconds -- which means that nobody had time to think about the danger they were about to encounter, they just went, because that's what they do. In Anchorage, Officer Jean Mills was shot in 2010 during a traffic stop. A 2010 ADN story by Lisa Demer reported, "The situation turned so bad so quickly she never had a chance to pull her gun." The night Mills returned to duty, she made a stop in nearly the exact place she was shot on Debarr Road -- because that's what she does. While she would likely protest the anointment, she is a hero.

The vast majority of men and women who protect our streets do so with honor, dignity and integrity. They don't ask for fame, they don't seek fortune; they work terrible hours and deal with the most difficult people in society. They see things on a daily basis that would haunt most of us for the rest of our lives. When danger reaches its peak and the rest of us are running out, they are running in. There truly are no words that can describe the service our police officers do for society.

However, there is a systematic failure in the way police departments interact with the public, and in particular the African-American community. While this problem is not universal, it is widespread, and at this point it would be hard for anybody to argue that there isn't a need for some sort of paradigm shift. The law enforcement community needs to work with communities and educate them on the occasional need for the use of force, the continuum that leads from asking for compliance all the way to deadly force.

The law enforcement community also needs to look within itself and explore when force that could lead to death may not need to be used. Sometimes apprehending a suspect is critically essential and putting a suspect's life at risk in an apprehension is unavoidable. However, in many of these recent incidents -- that clearly wasn't the case.

Black lives matter. We've destroyed too many families in situations where that could have been prevented. The solution to the divide between the law enforcement community and those they serve cannot be solved overnight. However, with men like Chief Magnus offering up olive branches, we certainly can work toward mutual education.

Michael Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

Mike Dingman

Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s.

ADVERTISEMENT