Copyright © 2020 Daniel Eugene Reinhardt All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE IMPACT OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND CHRIST-CENTERED FOLLOWERSHIP ON THE PROBLEM OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST MINORITIES __________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education __________________ by Daniel Eugene Reinhardt December 2020 APPROVAL SHEET THE IMPACT OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND CHRIST-CENTERED FOLLOWERSHIP ON THE PROBLEM OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST MINORITIES Daniel Eugene Reinhardt Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Timothy Paul Jones (Chair) __________________________________________ John David Trentham Date ______________________________ To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who changed my mind, my heart, and gives me purpose. To my wife, Yvette, who has stood by me with unwavering faith and endurance. May we never forget what God has delivered us from nor our hope in Him for the future. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . vi PREFACE . vii Chapter 1. RESEARCH CONCERN . 1 Thesis . 5 Two Gaps in Existing Leadership Literature . 10 Research Methodology . 14 Delimitations . 16 Research Assumptions . 17 Definitions . 18 2. THE POLICE HISTORY AND CULTURE . 20 The History of the American Police, Police Power, and Abuse . 20 Police Brutality and Police Departments as Social Structures .. 37 Summary . 48 3. LEADERSHIP IN LAW ENFORCEMENT . 50 Contemporary Leadership . 51 Servant Leadership . 67 Summary . 76 4. LEADERSHIP MODEL SYNTHESIS: CHRIST-CENTERED FOLLOWERSHIP AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP . 77 Followership . 77 iv Chapter Page Leadership Model Synthesis . 87 Summary . 107 5. SERVANT AND SHEPHERD MODEL APPLICATION . 109 Leadership and Organizational Change . 110 Leadership Application . 118 Law Enforcement Mission . 126 Conclusion . 142 Further Research . 143 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 144 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Page 1. Inverse Consistency Protocol . 86 2. Modified Protocol . 87 3. Leadership model synthesis . 105 4. Servant and shepherd model with application . 125 Figure 1. Servant and shepherd leadership model progressive impact . 141 vi PREFACE I am thankful and indebted to the people who have supported and helped me complete this thesis. From the initial research to the final product, my doctoral supervisor, Dr. Timothy Jones, provided guidance and instruction, and his feedback has been invaluable. My cohort has also been a source of encouragement and strength. My mother, Jeannie, read and edited every chapter. I cannot thank her enough for all her time and efforts. To my wife, Yvette, who has supported me, prayed for me, and sacrificed. Lastly, I am thankful that God has not only provided the means and opportunity but also given me a desire to keep pressing forward. Daniel Reinhardt Lorain, Ohio May 2020 vii CHAPTER 1 RESEARCH CONCERN Racial tensions have existed to differing degrees in the United States throughout the country’s history, and law enforcement has been closely linked to this unfortunate reality.1 As a result, there is an existing tension and mistrust of the police in many African-American communities.2 Furthermore, recent events wherein the police have used force to apprehend individuals from racial minority groups, specifically African Americans, have perhaps increased the awareness of the tension between the police and racial minorities.3 Anthony Stanford explains, 1 Gina Robertiello, The Use and Abuse of Police Power in America (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC– CLIO, 2017). Robertiello explains the role of the police historically starting from the 1600s to the current era. In doing so, she notes key events such as an early form of law enforcement that was utilized to return escaped slaves to their owners, law enforcement during the civil rights movement, and current events that have led to civil unrest and tension between the police and racial minorities. 2 Malcolm D. Homes and Brad W. Smith explain, “Blacks see the police as oppressors protecting the interests of the white community. Many minority citizens perceive the police as a real danger in their day-to-day lives.” Malcolm D. Homes and Brad W. Smith, Race and Police Brutality: Roots of an Urban Dilemma (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008), 2-6. The authors note that racial minorities perceive the police as a legitimate threat to their safety. Furthermore, the police are often understood as oppressors rather than public servants that are interested in helping the community. Homes and Smith, Race and Police Brutality, 2-6. Robertiello confirms, “Surveys consistently show Blacks are less likely than Whites to trust local police and to treat both races equally.” Robertiello, The Use and Abuse of Police Power, 213. 3 Robertiello notes, The 2010s has witnessed an increased criminalization of public demonstrations. Additionally, the upsurge of police brutality has once again become more prevalent within the decade. More importantly, due to the rise of social media activism, many of these accounts of police abuse have been documented and posted on social media outlets, online newspapers, blogs, and YouTube. The Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements are undoubtedly two of the largest social movements of the 21st century. These political and social demonstrations propelled into national movements making news headlines across the world.” (Robertiello, The Use and Abuse of Police Power, 221) Robertiello also notes key cases that have led to increased tension and drawn attention to the need for police reform: Timothy Thomas, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, Timir Rice, Freddy Gray, Walter Scott, and Sandra Bland. Robertiello, 221, 243–309. Pegues references a 2013 survey in the New York Times that showed that only 32 percent of African-Americans believed that police relations 1 The Ferguson incident and its aftermath have focused attention on the chasm between young black males and police across the country. Tense protests, exasperation, and racially explosive situations related deaths of the unarmed black males such as Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner have become a catalyst to examine the treatment of black males by law enforcement organizations.4 Currently, the police may be at the culmination of a long and unfortunate history of events that have afflicted African Americans and other racial minorities. Leadership in law enforcement should be compelled to respond. The police have a duty to keep the peace by protecting and serving, and police leaders are to ensure officers fulfill this commitment. If police leaders ignore the tension and violence, then they are negligent. Local law enforcement agencies, the courts, and federal law enforcement agencies are not blind to the problem and have responded. The history of law enforcement is replete with responses and organizational reforms designed to mitigate problems related to abusive practices in local law enforcement.5 Nonetheless, the problem of police brutality remains, and many African Americans feel that little to no progress has been made as a result of the police reforms implemented following the civil rights movement.6 Some may have concluded that organizational reforms have been largely ineffective in adequately with African-Americans has improved since 1963. Furthermore, in 2014, a year after Michael Brown was killed, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey and 80 percent of African-Americans surveyed believed the incident “raised important issues about race.” Jeff Pegues, Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2017), 101. 4 Anthony Stanford, Copping Out: The Consequences of Police Corruption and Misconduct (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2015), 166. 5 Robertiello, The Use and Abuse of Police Power. Robertiello overviews the history of law enforcement reform by noting the key court decisions, federal commissions, and local law enforcement applications that were largely a result of controversial and abusive applications by local law enforcement. Many of the changes were orchestrated because of the police using force against African-Americans. The LA zoot suit riots are an early example, and the beating of Rodney King is a more recent incident that led to organizational changes in local law enforcement. 6 Pegues notes, “According to a 2013 survey conducted just before the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington, 48 percent of whites claimed that a lot of progress has been made since 1963, yet only 32 percent of blacks agreed with that assessment of police relations.” Pegues, Black and Blue, 101. 2 addressing the problem of police brutality against racial minorities, particularly African Americans.7 There is a need to identify contributing factors to police brutality by looking further into the police context and thought processes of police officers with the intention of finding solutions that enable organizational reforms. In other words, external measures alone have not proven successful, and leaders in law enforcement must identify internal factors contributing to the problem of police brutality against racial minorities. The focus on internal factors, however, does not suggest that