RACISM IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
The “Warrior Mindset” of Cops is one of the Biggest Obstacles to Police Reform- Written by
Keya VakilKEYA VAKIL on June 16, 2020. This source speaks on the “warrior mindset” that
officers have, as they face different challenges every day they need something to mask their
fear. Reading this piece, I deduced that many officers make their moves out of fear. Their
fearfulness is then amplified when they encounter people of colour. Knowing this it instills fear in
me. My thoughts continually drift to an officer being afraid of my parents, my friends or even me
and making an absolute detrimental move that could result into a fatality. They- the police
officers- are all united with their fears thus the police force has an us-vs-them mentality. They
are also told death is one misstep away. This fear causes officers to think they need to use
excessive force. Officers are even told that if they aren’t willing to snuff out a life they should
pursue another line of work. What officers are told to instill fear into them also attributes to the
racism in law enforcement. This helped me to understand that officers are still human, but they
should learn self-control and learn to handle themselves in all situations. It is shocking to
understand that police officers undergo police training and still come onto the roads and do not
know how to handle themselves in different situations.
CBS This Morning- Four police chiefs on systematic racism, police brutality, and much needed
change on June 8, 2020. In this video Gayle King spoke with four police chiefs on systematic
racism, police brutality, and much needed change. For the most part of the video the four police
chiefs agree. It is agreed on that the police system needs to stress the duty to intervene when
another officer is doing wrong. They all believe that the change starts at the top and they have
to be the ones to initiate change, which I am in total agreement with. They also believe that
black people are treated differently from white people in America. It is also brought to light that
the Police Association ‘coddles’ officers and makes their bad behaviour acceptable. Before
watching this video, I believed the Police Association was harsh on police officers so they would
know that they can’t make any mistakes in the line of duty and now hearing the complete
opposite I am taken aback. This video also showed me that if these four police chiefs (2
Caucasians and 2 African- Americans) could agree on all this that means there is something
wrong with the police force and it needs an immediate change.
The Face of America- Joe Ested, a former police officer, explains the roots of police brutality
and offers solutions on September 8, 2019. He grew up in a low-income area in Brooklyn, New
York with a broken home, no parents, he spent most of his youthful days in the foster care
system. He remembers when he was young and how poorly treated, he was by the police. He
states that he was a victim of police brutality, coming out of my building and getting roughed up,
and thrown on the ground. From a child he realized there was something wrong. From the video
I learned to understand that when policing began blacks were slaves, so the body of the police
was already established by the time blacks were freed, meaning that white persons were police
officers. Blacks were segregated and weren't allowed in certain places. To ensure this there
were police officers who had to ask for their papers and where they were heading to, and it is
the same today. The mindset of policing hasn’t changed even though many years have passed.
It is hard to believe that there has been little to no change in the way in which police officers
carry out their duties since the Police Force was established. Joe Ested also states that white
police officers when they go into low-income neighbourhoods, they must go off what they learn
and what they have heard from society sometimes instilling fear into them even when it is not
needed.