James B. Astrachan, The Daily Record Newswire
President Barack Obama announced recently that the public needs to build trust in the police. Soon after he said that, the Department of Justice released a lengthy report following its investigation of the Baltimore Police Department, concluding there is reasonable cause to believe Baltimore police have engaged in a pattern of practice that violates the Constitution and federal law by making improper stops, searches and arrests, by developing discriminatory enforcement strategies, by using excessive force, by retaliation against people engaging in protected speech, and more.
So why should anyone trust the police?
The news resonates with stories of police brutality, the death of Freddie Gray and the criminal trials of six cops charged in the aftermath. There are recent police shootings of citizens in Louisiana, Wisconsin and now Randallstown. Prompted by coverage of these events, Baltimore's mayor and legislators in Annapolis say they are examining opportunities to amend and create laws that affect the police. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake claims Baltimore's leadership is determined to meaningfully reform its department. It's all legislative theater and will matter not one whit. If government, including the legislative and executive branches, is truly serious about police reform, the voters who elect these officials must demand change. Otherwise, these officials are doing what is asked of them.
The police are an arm of government and serve at the pleasure of government. To blame the police for execution of policies approved implicitly, if not, expressly, by the people they serve, is disingenuous and hardly useful. The police do what government requires of them and government does what those with the ear of government ask of them or allow.
Stunning authority
Those of us who live in society have agreed to surrender some of our rights and liberties in exchange for the government's promise to keep us safe from those who would harm us. To fulfill this obligation, and preserve order, governments have established police forces to oppose internal threats. Governments, through its citizens, have given the police stunning authority.
The police are authorized to take life and liberty; they are authorized to use non-negotiable, coercive force in their discretion to preserve order and government. They are imbued with enormous discretion and, as we have recently seen, they are immune from liability for their actions in all but the most egregious circumstances.
The Department of Justice has conducted investigations of the police departments in Chicago, Cleveland, Albuquerque (where African Americans make up no more than 4 percent of the population), Ferguson and now Baltimore. Those most affected by brutality at the hands of police are the people who have no access to government; they are most often poor and not educated. They expect brutality and ill treatment at the hands of the police. Many do not vote. For the most part, their grievances remain largely unheard by government unless they protest in mass.
These rights violations are devastating, short- and long-term. In the short term, multimillion dollar awards are paid for police brutality. Baltimore has paid out over $16 million in less than 10 years. Other cities are similar. Citizens appear OK with these payments.
Governments, and those with the ears of governments, have demonstrated for years they are willing to pay a stiff financial tariff for abusive police acts, when caught, if they feel they are getting something of value from these payments. In other words, if the actions of a police department make citizens feel their lives and property are safe, citizens will not question the method and will pay if the police are called on their acts.
Paying dearly
To be clear, the police are not solely to blame. They are subordinate to and are controlled by our elected officials. Despite the myriad of laws and regulations intended to prevent police abuse, including the United States Constitution, neither our elected officials, nor the enormous financial penalties paid, have changed the way policing is done in our large cities. Only when an oppressed segment of our society protests and threatens safety and property of the upper-class, for example by mass protests or burning buildings, do legislators and other elected officials announce they intend to examine police powers. And even then, little happens. It's been the same story for decades.
Baltimore has paid dearly for these abuses. Its reputation in the world is severely damaged. But here's the real problem: It's more than a money or reputation issue. When the government, through its police arm, abuses one citizen, all are threatened. When it abuses one class of citizens, all are threatened. If this brutality can turn on one segment, it can happen to any segment that loses the ear of government. The least protected segment of the citizenry needs the most protection, and government needs to stand up for the rights of every citizen and not turn its back on some for the sake of others.
Baltimore now possesses a scathing Department of Justice report. Let's see whether it does anything meaningful to right the described wrongs. A good start would be to acknowledge that much of what the report details is accurate. If government is unable to stop this abuse it's because either it does not want to, or it has lost the power to rein in the police. The latter is unthinkable.
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Jim Astrachan is a principal at Astrachan Gunst Thomas PC in Baltimore. The opinions expressed here are his own. He can be reached at jastrachan@agtlawyers.com.
Published: Fri, Sep 02, 2016
