Police survey demonstrates need for reform

While reading Dan Rodricks column on the “rat cop,” the first thing to pop in my mind was the movie, “Serpico” (“Baltimore officers refuse to take corruption survey. Looks like things haven’t changed much since ‘rat cop,’” Sept. 29). If you remember, Frank Serpico was a real life New York City detective. More importantly, he was a “good cop,” an honest police officer at a time when corruption, bribes and under-the-table payments were rampant among cops in the Big Apple. However, when it became apparent he was a straight-shooter and could not be counted on to cover another officer’s misdeeds and lawbreaking, the police culture, the “blue wall of silence,” took over. Nobody wanted to partner up with him and the harassment and taunts from fellow officers began. I firmly believe the Joe Crystals and Frank Serpicos do exist in today’s police departments. I firmly believe the majority are “good cops.” I’m also profoundly grateful there are people willing to put their lives on the line 24/7 to protect me, my family and my community. But please, don’t come at me with that “99% are good cops” nonsense or “yes, we have a few bad apples, a couple of knuckleheads” malarkey. There’s a whole slew of cops who are racist to their core and, trust me, they are not restricted to the South. Racism is still deeply embedded in every region of this country. The fact that less than 10% of Baltimore City police officers felt compelled to answer survey questions posed by the Commission to Restore Trust in Policing should tell you something about the mindset and moral caliber of some people wearing police uniforms.

Police reform, pure and simple, is the only solution. My parents were arrested in the early 1940s for protesting police brutality in Baltimore. It’s 2020, and all sides including the citizenry, civil rights groups, church leaders, police unions, state, city and local government officials have to possess the will and commitment to sit down and hammer out a strategy to make law enforcement work for all concerned. Systemic deficiencies need to be addressed and resolved. A civilian review board is an absolute must. At this juncture, police unions and police departments cannot be trusted to police themselves, and the relationship between prosecutors, attorneys general and cops are too cozy. Face it, the current policing model is clearly not working, particularly, for Black and brown people.