The Fears of Cops Should Face More Scrutiny
The emphasis on subjective fears felt by police officers mirrors what we hear in debates on college campuses.
What’s the threat level?
Photographer: Darren Hauck/Getty Images North AmericaWhen Eric Garner pulls away from a cop trying to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed individual cigarettes, police pin him down and choke him to unconsciousness and death. When Lavall Hall, a skinny schizophrenic wearing only boxer shorts and an undershirt, resists efforts to get him to come inside, police Taser and then shoot him. When Sandra Bland argues with a cop who stops her for not signaling a lane change, he threatens her with a Taser and arrests her; she dies in jail in what is later ruled a suicide. And, of course, when George Floyd is handcuffed for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, an officer kneels on his neck for nearly nine minutes, killing him and igniting nationwide protests.
It’s an all-too-familiar pattern. Someone does something minor that someone else finds threatening. The alarmed party overreacts and summons the full force of authority to suppress the threat. The offender becomes a victim. Essential rights are infringed. The damage is both personal and social.