The police must build bridges to black communities
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Version 0 of 1. America has a problem with human-on-human violence – especially when one set of humans has more power than the other. Following the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and now Walter Scott, it’s time to look at how relationships between law enforcement and the black community can be repaired to the benefit of all individuals. We have a problem, but a solution is not impossible, and hope lies in some of Los Angeles’s most dangerous neighborhoods, where we are slowly building bridges between police and residents. Growing up, I belonged to the Black Panther party, one of the most militant groups of the era, and took part in the revolutionary movement of the 1960s and 70s. For many years, I banded with my brothers and sisters, rallying against the social and economic conditions that stemmed from the Jim Crow-era of racism. I’ve graduated from those days and now work as a professional community gang interventionist, acting as a mediator between the police and communities constantly ravaged by death, destruction and utter heartbreak. My colleagues are former gang leaders, ex-militants, and hardcore community activists who hail from some of the nation’s largest, most feared, and most violent gangs. You’ve heard them by name: Bloods, Crips, and Florencia 13, just to mention a few. You’re familiar with what they do – but it’s that affiliation which once earned us a license to operate that now allows us to help change our communities, and the individuals within them, for the better. My team has found a certain and delicate common ground with the Los Angeles Police Department. We’re not their snitches. We don’t work for them. We have a respectful and professional coexistence that allows us to provide real, hands-on expertise in situations where officers can’t arrive fast enough, or more likely, where they don’t have the community respect needed to get the right answers to truly assist the residents that they serve. In part, we exist because the black community feels like the police have failed them – and they’re not wrong. On average, there are 96 incidents per year of white police officers killing black suspects. These weren’t coincidental, as one in four officers surveyed for a recent study admitted that they’ve witnessed fellow officers harassing a citizen “most likely because of his/her race.” That’s why young black males are 21 times more likely to be shot by the police than their white counterparts. In order for us to address the police violence that we read about on a near daily basis, perceptions need to change – and it must start with the police officers. They are the men and women who have been given the right to utilize deadly force and they can’t allow fear or misconceived notions to result in decisions that unnecessarily rob people of their lives. They must start utilizing their comprehensive training to diffuse situations and reserve their right to shoot for only the most necessary circumstances. It’s time that they target the individuals who do real harm and show respect to the rest. Local communities, for their part, must realize that entire police departments shouldn’t be held accountable for the actions of rogue officers. There may be unscrupulous cops throughout the nation, but there are also police officers who are constructive components and viable assets to the neighborhoods they serve. There are officers who understand their role to protect and serve the citizens they represent. The citizens must seek them out and uphold them as the model of law enforcement they want to see in their communities. One of my comrades once told me: “When my time comes, I want people to know that I was man enough to stand up for change”. I like to hold onto that statement because when it comes down to it, America is in the midst of national turmoil and without resolution, our patterns of death and destruction will only increase. That fact is that we’re all man enough, and through courage, tenacity and utter willingness, we will find a way to successfully create a level of respect and bridge the gap between police and the black community. |