he was trying to figure out how to fix it. Are there bad cops? Hell yes. Are there racist cops? Hell yes. Are bad racist cops scared out of their minds when dealing with 'big black scary dudes (you know, the 5'5" 120lb ones)"? Unfortunately, hell yes.
Let's also look at the fact that this has been going on for a long time, but with smart phone cameras, social media, and other advances in technology, we are suddenly seeing it live and in person so to speak. And the previous sentence is in no way meant to minimize the problem, please believe me when I say that.
I would like to go back to beat cops and neighborhood policing, where the beat cop gets to know the neighborhood. Who the good kids and good adults are and who the bad ones are. It is a whole lot harder to shoot someone you know than a stranger. Get out of the damn cars, walk the beat, interact with the folks who live there. Get rid of the problem cops and don't just shuffle them off to a new job in a new city. Prosecute the really bad ones and lock them up. But also we need to do a whole lot better job of training cops. Lethal force is the absolute last option, not the go-to option. And you are not going to fix things overnight. But fix it we must, if we are to have any self-respect as a nation. And, while I am on my hobby horse, get rid of the damn privatized jails and prisons!
So, lets look up to the good cops, the ones who really believe in 'protect and serve', who do try to treat everyone as a person of value and worth. As someone's son or daughter, someone's husband or wife, father or mother. Let's put them out in front and get rid of the bad ones. Can't do it overnight, but it is a goal we need to strive for. And I think that this was one officer trying to do just that.
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