Policing police
An eye-popping report from The Associated Press on Tuesday gave heft and veracity to long-held fear, suspicion and allegation that ugly prejudice exists within some of our region’s police ranks.
The AP story, featured by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, disclosed the existence of racist and transphobic sentiments that were expressed by current and retired police officers on a supposedly private Facebook page called “Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom.”
The social media page wasn’t as private as some thought. AP gained access to the postings and disclosed in an incontrovertible way the anathema for some among those who are sworn to protect all.
Pitifully, the news was not news at all to some local leaders who now are calling for stricter social media policies.
But stricter social media policies won’t really solve the problem. Stricter social media policies won’t change the hearts and minds of those who harbor hate.
In a companion article by the PG about reaction to the AP story, Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam commented: “I’m embarrassed, but not surprised it was our region that was highlighted in this piece. ... These abhorrent and racist comments and viewpoints expressed in this socalled ‘break room’ mirror the reality that so many of our Black fellow community members experience on a daily basis: a racist system, from top to bottom — not excluding, but especially in regards to, policing and the criminal punishment system more broadly.”
Sen. Bob Casey issued a statement declaring, “The AP story demonstrates why we need substantial reform in policing.”
In fact, we need substantial reformation of souls.
How does a community move forward from such knowledge, knowledge that undermines faith in the law enforcement community as a whole? The despicable online comments shouldn’t cast shade on all police, for not all police are involved. But the regrettable truth is that such comments do stoke doubt — albeit undeserved — about the trustworthiness of all.
So, what to do?
Police officers must police themselves. They must hold themselves and their brothers and sisters in blue accountable for their actions and their speech, public and private. Their municipal employers, elected and appointed, must be ultimately accountable for the people they employ.
Police should be held to a high standard because they have high levels of power by virtue of the law they uphold and the badge they wear and the gun they carry. There must be more and better training — not in better marksmanship but in better thinking. And that will begin with better understanding and greater involvement by police within the communities that pay their salaries.
In the meantime, stricter social media policies could be used as leverage to expel from police ranks those who will not or cannot change.