7 traits of killer police

The New Orleans Times has published a list of characteristics common to police officers who use deadly force. The list was assembled by criminologist Evaristus Obinyan and paints a banal and saddening picture.

1) They work in departments said to have a ’siege mentality’. (the article stresses that what constitutes a ‘siege mentality’ is not entirely clear)

2) They are male.

3) They are younger.

4) They are less educated.

5) They have an inability to recognise mentally ill offenders.

6) They have usually exhibited some form of mental instability in the past.

7) They work in high-crime areas.

The recent killings of 12 year old Tamir Rice, 18 year old Michael Brown, 43 year old Eric Garner and 17 year old Trayvon Martin, all of whom are African American, have led to understandable outpourings of grief and anger from a community that has a too-well-justified historical basis on which to feel unfairly persecuted by law enforcement.

Obinyan said education, or the lack thereof is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not an officer will pull the trigger. Also, seasoned officers are far less likely to use deadly force, even in high crime areas.

It’s no secret that black men are grossly over-represented when it comes to who is getting shot by the police, but Obinyan makes the point that he, “didn’t use race as a variable, black officers kill black people too, it’s not a black and white thing, it’s a blue thing”. Some people might remain unconvinced, but the effect that uniforms can have on humans’ willingness to over-exercise their authority cannot be overstated.

Perhaps, if departments avoided dressing police in combat gear more suitable for Afghanistan than suburbia, they would be less likely to exist in a ‘siege mentality’, and think twice before pulling the trigger.

Original Quill wrote:“[ I ] didn’t use race as a variable, black officers kill black people too, it’s not a black and white thing, it’s a blue thing”.

This is very typical of white-dominated thinking.  They deal in surficial signs and signals.  They don't understand cognitive layering.

First, there is racism in the first layer of American-cop cognitive influence.  Then there is blacks are dangerous and outlaws, in the next layer of American-cop cognitive influence.  Then there is the cop, influenced by all the notions of America-cop thinking.  Black or white, he is a captive of American-cop cognitive influence.  It's still racism...just whitey looking for escape (Not me, not me, look...it was a black that did it).  It's really the mind-set.

I have often dealt with this in employment discrimination, where you have a black superior who who takes adverse action against a black employee.  Overriding it all is the white cognitive ideology.  In employment situations, you want to get ahead; so...to get along you go along.  What do you follow?  The common (white) cognitive ideology, of course.  Indeed, behind the scenes there is a 50-50 chance there is actually a white superior telling you to do it!

eddie wrote:This seems to be a bigger problem in the US than over here? Or am I ignorant?
We dint seem to have the proper violence that you experience in the US.