Catching a Bad Man
/By Troy Flint
“Mommy, I’m worried those men are going to kill Daddy.” That’s what my four-year-old daughter told my wife as they drove past some police cars this afternoon.
Part of me was crushed by this story. And part of me was relieved. It’s heartbreaking to learn that your child fears for your safety. It’s supposed to be the other way around. That’s the heartbreak. The relief comes from knowing that reality, in its harsh and uncompromising way, has done the necessary trick of destroying innocence, illusion, and indoctrination. Naiveté is not a luxury a Black person can afford. Increasingly, Americans of all kinds recognize that the country can’t afford it either.
This reckoning has been slow to come – and it has come at a terrible price. That’s by design. But until I had kids, I never fully appreciated how early the police propaganda machine gets into gear. Preschool, children’s books, television, you name it. Unless you engage in counterprogramming, your kids will put police on a pedestal with Superman, Elsa, and Paw Patrol by age two.
To my everlasting shame, I let it go. I’d wince when I’d hear “O” talk about “the police catching a bad man” but decided it was too early to break it down for her, that she was too young to understand the “nuances.” Maybe it just seemed too hard. Maybe I had too much guilt about the times I accepted or even perpetuated the official police story when there weren’t camera phones to vindicate the victim. Maybe it was all of the above, but it was definitely a disservice. You always have to make sure your kids are prepared.
I doubt O was prepared for the response she got last weekend when she asked me why traffic was so backed up on I-5. After defining what a “traffic jam” is, I informed her the cause was a long line of police vehicles creating a barricade against protestors. This prompted a follow-up question about protestors and a subsequent explanation that they were protesting the murder of a Black man named George Floyd by police.
O replied with expressions of concern for my safety and I rushed to assure her I would be OK and ludicrously told her not to worry after dropping this bombshell that completely destroyed her existing paradigm and upended her conceptions of safety and trust and right and wrong. Not even close to fair. And rhetoric won’t change that but I write and I have a monthly column and if I wrote about anything else at this moment in American history that would be almost as ludicrous as my ambush explanation about the police cars, and the protestors, and the murder of George Floyd.
So, I write and this is the space in which I’m supposed to express outrage at the latest atrocity, in this case, the public execution of George Floyd and the violent, disproportionate state-sponsored terrorism that passes as police response to public protest. Insert hashtag here, offer thoughts and prayers there. Wash, rinse, and repeat at the next tragedy. Not this time.
The moment for platitudes is gone – if there ever was one. Of course, we condemn racism – interpersonal and institutional. And yes, we pledge to uproot bias, both implicit and explicit, in our communities. We must continue to educate ourselves and others about this nation’s history of injustice and inhumanity against Black people and push back against systemic oppression that disadvantages Black people and too often results in our deaths. That, however, is not enough.
All people of good faith should advocate for police reform that results in fewer hashtags and more justice. This transformation should stem from robust discussions that center those most impacted by police brutality and those who have been combatting it. I, sadly, cannot include myself in this group, but I am learning from those who are doing the work, like Campaign Zero (a worthy recipient of your donations). What I have gathered is that our national conversation – and it can’t just stop at conversation – should include these key elements (and undoubtedly many more):
A formal apology from law enforcement for historic, ongoing, and disproportionate violence against Black people
Full citizen participation in all aspects of police operations (policymaking, oversight, training, performance review, etc.)
A managed reduction in funding for police and the size of police forces
Narrowing the scope of police activity so it is no longer the principal means of addressing social problems like drug abuse and homelessness
Strict transparency and accountability in incidents of police abuse
Elimination of contracts that prevent effective investigation of police violence and punishment for misconduct
Mandatory use of body cameras every moment while on the clock
Elimination of arrest quotas
Required training on community policing and implicit bias
The demilitarization of police forces
This is a crisis that demands our urgent attention lest the promising Black children of today become the Ahmaud Arberys and Breonna Taylors of tomorrow. Let’s ensure that our current protests are more than just a trending topic and instead become a catalyst for the kind of change that values and preserves Black lives because Black Lives Matter.