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Voices of Forensic Science Chapter 10 Gold, or Fool’s Gold? Policing in America & the Potential of Body Cameras Nammal Mahboob, Mackenzie Johnston, Hussain Shah "I know that it’s hard to believe that the police you look to for safety and security are the same people who are causing us so much harm. But I’m not lying and I’m not delusional. I am scared and I am hurting, and we are dying. And I really, really need you to believe me.” (Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race, 2018) Defund the police. Black Lives Matter. I can't breathe. These sayings, and countless others, exist to address the inequality Black individuals face. An issue regarding the police has been the lack in a creation of a gold standard regarding their conduct. The overwhelming racial bias in America has been exposed by such police misconduct, time and time again through the attacks on Black lives during peaceful protests, and the lack of equivalent behaviour towards White individuals in similar circumstances (Simon, 2021). Media has also fed into Western society’s race problem by labelling peaceful protests about Black lives, rights and communities as riots (Steinmetz, 2020). Conversely, the Capitol insurrection and multiple other violent protests involving White terrorist organizations are not given such labels. Police are two-and-a-half times more likely to murder innocent unarmed Black civilians in the name of protecting America than they are White civilians (Edwards et al., 2019). Police behaviour does not accurately reflect the fact that White individuals are twice as likely to be armed, therefore posing more of a threat towards police compared to Black people (Peeples, 2020). This difference in conduct reflects the implicit association between Black individuals and weapons. The lack of racial bias training and the discrepancies in terms of police behaviour highlight the major changes that need to be implemented in American policing in 165 Are We There Yet? The Golden Standards of Forensic Science order to decrease the harmful racial associations (Reaves, 2016). These changes may include the use of body-worn cameras, which facilitate resolutions between police officers and civilians, as well as identify and examine corroborating evidence (Chapman, 2018). Unfortunately, the problem between police and minorities is not exclusive to America. Canada has multiple policing problems, especially between the Indigenous peoples, that are often not highlighted by mainstream media (Crosby, 2021). Policing Black Individuals The relationship between Black individuals and White individuals in America is rocky to say the least. ‘Slave patrols’ in the 1700’s was the first police initiative to specifically target Black individuals, which fueled the growth of a massive implicit bias against Black people that extended into following decades (Reichel, 1988; Ward, 2018). Even after the emancipation of Black individuals, police held a tainted view and remained violent towards this group. When one considers Black freedom, activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks come to mind but have often been associated with an old America, although, if alive they would be 92 and 107 years old respectively (Hall, 2005). This association is negative because it allows individuals to believe that America is a better place for Black individuals. Unfortunately, while society has progressed forward, violent policing against Black people has remained a significant issue. Due to these issues, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has emerged to tirelessly and bravely advocate for the beliefs and rights of the Black community, including the defunding of the police. BLM protests have been peaceful, but unfortunately have been labelled as riots, and have received negative violent reactions from the police. Although police are important to maintain public safety, there is no need to militarize the police force. Police militarization not only increases fatal-police shootings, but it also does not reduce crime (Delehanty et al., 2017; Gunderson et al., 2021). This implies that needlessly militarizing the police would increase undue violence towards the Black community. Militarization also aids in allowing the police to step outside of their jurisdictions and fulfilling roles outside their reach, by giving them weapons, armored vehicles and combat attire (Gunderson et al., 2021). Years of hatred and violence against Black Americans has resulted in a prejudiced American police force. Throughout history, Black individuals have died over seemingly meaningless conflicts, such as the refusal to remove one’s hat in 166 Gold, or Fool’s Gold? Policing in America & the Potential of Body Cameras the presence of White people (Ward, 2018). In turn, these instances have led to a racially biased America because the occurrence of these incidences perpetuate hate and allow others to believe this is ‘normal’. This is not isolated to a certain era, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, and countless other Black Americans have happened in the past decade alone. In modern-day America, the ‘frisk, search, arrest, and use of force’ still exists, and often occurs against Black individuals (Cooley et al., 2020). The police are, therefore, still afraid of Black individuals, even after evidence suggests that they are less threatening than White people (Peeples, 2020). White Supremacy When the United States elected Donald Trump as their President in 2016, a deep- rooted problem in America came to light. White Supremacy: the opinion that the White race is better in comparison to other races, and therefore should have more governance over others (Leonardo, 2004). Arguably, the leader of a country represents its population’s point of view. Built on a mountain of lies, Trump’s political platform reeked of racism and bigotry. In 1989, the Central Park Five, five boys of colour from New York, were wrongfully convicted of the attempted murder and sexual assault of Patricia Meili (De Niro et al., 2019). The Central Park Five had been wronged by law enforcement, whose racial bias had led them to implicate these boys in Meili’s death. At this point in time, years prior to his presidency, Trump called for the revival of the death sentence, and expressed that it was an ‘advantage’ to be Black in America, in response to the Central Park Five (Foderaro, 1989; MSNBC, 2020). Years later, Trump’s tweets, rallies, and words of encouragement lead to the Capitol insurrection, which not only resulted in damage to the Capitol, but also resulted in the deaths of multiple innocent people (Simon, 2021). Unlike the peaceful BLM protests, the White civilian-led violent Capitol insurrection did not trigger lethal force used by the police (Thomas & Tufts, 2020). Conversely, the peaceful BLM protests that occurred the year before, saw many physical injuries to Black people, who were also arrested for protesting, violently handled, and tear 167 Are We There Yet? The Golden Standards of Forensic Science gassed (Sainato, 2020). Where is the advantage in that? Clearly, White people held and continue to hold an advantage in America, whether it be 1989 or 2021. Many try to justify that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law in the United States regardless of race, sexuality, age, and other social positionalities. This claim, however, however can serve as a way to gloss over the struggles of marginalized groups as it is not reflected in police treatment. In White supremacist America, many White individuals believe that they are superior to others, this is based on various ideas, and allows a White individual to have privilege based on the colour of their skin (Leonardo, 2004). This is exacerbated by politicians that push the White supremacy agenda, Figure 10.1: Sign that states, “Fuck Boris. Fuck including Trump and many others. Trump. Fuck Racism, during a protest in Last year, Trump refused to Leamington Spa, UK. 6/21/2020. Photo by Alex condemn White supremacy by Motoc on Unsplash telling the Proud Boys to ‘stand by’, which provided encouragement to the Proud Boys and other White supremist groups (Gabbatt, 2020). This problem, however, is not limited to politicians, it seeps into the police system as well. Many White supremacy groups have strong ties or are members of local police departments and many members are hired policemen (Simon, 2021; Ward, 2018). Additionally, multiple White police officers have also taken a part in the Capitol insurrection and have been further linked to other White terrorist groups (Diaz, 2021; Ward, 2018). Police involved in the insurrection were not limited to one jurisdiction or even state, for example officers from Seattle are under investigation for their involvement (Diaz, 2021). 168 Gold, or Fool’s Gold? Policing in America & the Potential of Body Cameras Multiple other officers have been involved in the insurrection, but their names, nor their place of employment is known. Due to racial bias, ‘modern-day’ America has not been able to move forward. This stagnant approach negatively impacts the Black community because they are the direct targets of the bias and subsequent violence. Historically, these are the communities that performed lynchings, and where police officers ignored racial violence (Ward, 2018). The police must completely disconnect from White supremacy groups, stand independently and operate without bias. Moreover, the professional advice of the federal justice system should be sought out, and the police system should be reformed in accordance. This would lead to change across America, a change at the federal level may help cause a universal change across the country. Radical Change With a highly diverse population, America needs a police system that serves everyone. Currently, Black individuals in America are more scared of the police than they are of criminals (Jackson-Jefferson, 2021). There is very little race representation in American police departments, as 65.5% of police officers are Caucasian. (DataUSA, n.d.).
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