When should you call the police?
T here has been a lot written over the past few years about negative interactions between the public and law enforcement, especially where it involves people of color. The issue is not new, but the increased use of cell phones to take recordings has documented the problem more thoroughly.
More recently, we are seeing a discussion of the role of the public in these interactions, particularly when someone calls law enforcement to report a perceived problem.
So, how do you know when to call the authorities? Some would argue that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but given how often these interactions go wrong, it seems as though caution would lie with those not making calls.
It ought to go without saying that the 911 system is important, but should be used for true emergencies. That means when someone’s life or safety is threatened, not when you want to complain about something happening that you don’t like.
So, if you are a college student and see a fellow student sleeping in a dorm common area, that might be something to complain to your resident adviser about, that is, if you’re the complaining type. Most of us would just ignore it. It certainly need not involve a call to the police.
Someone barbecuing in the park is not a 911 call, not even if you think they’re using charcoal in the wrong area. At worst, that’s a complain to park authorities.
If your neighbors are being noisy, you can call the police (but not 911) if you want to. But you could also consider talking to your neighbors. Unless you have an actual reason to suspect they would be violent, this should be the first step.
One thing that is difficult and sensitive, but important is to consider the role of implicit bias. None of us want to think that we are “racist,” and we make all kinds of excuses for our own motivations, but our brains are programmed to take shortcuts.
This means that we are trained to take special notice of things we think are unusual in our surroundings. This is a key evolutionary defense mechanism, which likely helped the human race survive among predators, but in modern society can lead to problems.
So, before calling the police, particularly on a person of color, stop and think for a moment. Would you be making the same call if the person involved was white?
If you are feeling a bit threatened, is it possible that race is a factor? Few of us want to believe this to be the case, but it often can be. There is a plethora of research showing that white people view people of color, particularly black males, as larger and threatening, regardless of the circumstances. Black children are often described as adults to emergency dispatchers.
Over and over, we see 911 calls about black men who are just going about their business, sitting down in a restaurant, going into their own residence, using services like Airbnb; the list goes on. The question to ask yourself, after a long pause, is do you have actual reason to believe that this person is doing something illegal? Or, is it possible that they are just doing normal things that you don’t expect to see someone “like them” doing?
It is also important, when talking to emergency personnel, to be accurate and precise with the language you use. Don’t embellish thinking that it will get a faster response. A 911 caller a couple of years ago claimed that a black man was in Wal-mart waving a gun around and pointing it at people. It turns out he was examining a gun Wal-mart sells, not waving it or pointing it at anyone. That is little consolation to his family as he was shot and killed by officers. Despite the fact that the air rifle he was holding was unloaded, he was shot because he didn’t respond to officers, as he was on his cell phone at the time.
When you do provide information, it is paramount that emergency dispatchers relay it to officers. The dispatcher who took the call about Tamir Rice was told that the gun he was playing with was likely a toy, but did not tell officers that.
None of this excuses officers when they make mistakes. But, if recent events show anything, it is that they often do get it right, but are having their time wasted by nonsense calls.
We should also be aware that the standard for use of force by police in the US is lower than in most countries, so the chances of an encounter resulting in tragedy is substantial.
Take responsibility and exercise caution. Michael Carley is a resident of Porterville. He can be reached at mcarley@gmail.com.