Also, it should be noted that white parents have to have a talk with their kids regarding how to interact with police too. To be honest, COPS has been on TV for over 25 years. By now everyone has seen it and knows if you run, reach for your ID without them instructing you, or point your car at them, they will shoot you. Actually, I think they should teach people how to act in a felony car stop in grade school. Sometimes it can be a simple case of mistaken identity, but just because you KNOW you are innocent doesn't mean you can survive disobeying their orders.
Here is a massive problem.
The horrifying fact of the matter is, that the orders being shouted at "suspects", are usually unlawful, confusing, and being given by often multiple officers at the same time and with contradictory commands. A felony hot stop in particular is one where a cop is likely to be in the throws of an adrenaline rush. On his own, this makes him dangerous, in groups, it makes them magnitudes more so. An innocent suspect (say a case of mistaken identity), is going to be at a disadvantage from the start. They will be scared and confused. Many people get angry when they are scared and confused... it's a recipe for disaster that at the end of the day is not the fault of the victim.
Cops are referred to today as "Law enforcement officers". That IS NOT what they are, nor it even remotely what they were chartered to be from the beginning. They are in fact, "Peace officers" as defined and mandated by the Posse Cumatatus act that created their role in society.
The overwhelming majority of cops have little to no actual knowledge of "law". Most do not poses an education in the field. Their training does not include such beyond learning a standard basic understanding of local municipal violations and the obvious major crimes. Rarely do they have a formal understanding of their rights as a police officer, and they generally know much less about the rights of citizens. These guys often think that simply reading a Miranda card waives them of their responsibility to conduct themselves in accordance with the letter of law and the rights of the people as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
They are on the street with a barrel of ignorance in one hand a barrel of bullets in the other and it's not really their fault either. Their training is far more about generating revenue than service and protection. That is a fact.
And then you have the brotherhood in blue, an almost unanimous feeling of solidarity with each other above anything else. Again... so dangerous.
That is not to say all, or most cops are "bad". I have many cop friends. It is though absolutely true that local police officers and Sheriff's deputies are woefully under - educated about the most important part of their jobs, and woefully under - trained.
I've said this a million times:
It should be mandatory for people to take the equivalent of just one semester of Junior College level Criminal Justice classes. That tiny introduction alone scares the shit out of people when they realize the reality vs the perception. When they learn that things I pointed out are true, they get very sober, very quick. It can not, NOT change your entire perception of modern "Law enforcement". It is truly terrifying.
We all want to stand up and support cops for doing a thankless and dangerous job for peanuts. Their nobility is not in question as a whole. The system they populate though is wrought with disastrous failings.
