Memories of the 28th Century

There have been too many examples of police killing too many innocent and unarmed people recently, and it is unacceptable that public employees, even police, should be targeted for assassination. How did we get to this horrible situation, and what can be done about it? One of the basic underlying problems is that police seem to regard themselves as being above the law, that laws do not apply to them. Together with this is the fact that many police are quite ignorant of the laws that relate to and regulate their behavior on the job. I have heard police in uniform describe making illegal searches to get probable cause for a warrant; anyone who thinks he can get away with that probably thinks that a cop can’t be convicted for assault and battery for slugging someone when he’s on-duty; actually there are some other charges that would also apply. Police should be held to higher standards than others. The police are supposed to enforce the laws, so they have to start with themselves.

On the other side of the matter are people doing suspicious things that catch the attention of the police. Then those people fail to follow the simple directions of the police. Following the directions will lead to arrest, but their failures to follow directions led to their deaths. I am thinking of one guy who was unarmed and apparently got out of his car for a traffic stop. The police ordered him to put his hands up and in clear sight. He started walking away. Then they ordered him to lie down with his hands in sight. He walked toward the police with his right hand hidden. After ordering him to stop a few times, the police fired and killed him. There was nothing in his hidden hand, and there was no sign that he would have been arrested for anything, if he had just stood still with his hands in plain sight. The poor victim was playing a game with the cops, and he lost. I can’t blame them for shooting the guy, but they should not have made a lethal shot.

Then there was the therapist who was trying to collect an escaped autistic patient. The therapist followed directions, but he was shot and wounded for his trouble. The shooter and another cop are being investigated about that. I’m wondering why the police even had guns out in that situation. They should have been standing around trying to help the therapist collect the patient.

And the elementary school teacher who was slammed into the pavement during a traffic stop. There was no reason for the cop to touch her, but apparently he felt threatened by a skinny woman.

I get the feeling that many of the police have mental problems that make them fearful of all people. I have been acquainted with some police, and they are a variable collection of people, but there seem to be many who think that they have to force people to fit a mold. That would be appropriate in a fascist country, but in a republic people have the right to live as they wish, as long as they don’t negatively impact others.

I have worked in local government in various places and similar attitudes are not rare, but with most officials it is just a matter of trying to enforce regulations, while police carry weapons and try to impose their wills on others by force. I don't think it's just a matter of too many people using too many firearms. It's more a matter of people trying to make everyone fit their favored mold. There are too many laws and regulations in the U.S.A., and it is difficult for anyone to avoid violating all of the laws. We would all be better off, if there were fewer laws, and if laws were enforced gently with minimal force.

But there is also the problem of some other people who think that laws were made for others. In my experience most criminals seem to be lacking in intelligence and sympathy with others. I don't know whether they are truly psychopaths, but they have that characteristic.

There isn't much that can be down to control criminals, except to use the police, but there are too many laws. If there were no laws that banned any sort of consensual behavior by adults, including the use of and and all drugs, then many crimes would be eliminated. And if the barriers to starting a business were lowered, then more people would be able to make legal livings. And if the regulations on manufacturers were decreased, then we would have more jobs in this country, and the economic reasons for off-shoring manufacturing would be decreased. And if life were easier, then people might not do stupid things that resulted in them being shot by police; they could be drunk and happy at home, instead of making trouble somewhere.

And we wouldn't need as many police, because there wouldn't be as many laws to enforce, so there would be less pressure on the police, so they wouldn't feel compelled to kill people for no reason. Unfortunately, the police have a strong union, so cutting police jobs would be difficult. Until we do make it easier for people to live we will need to send a paranoid to catch a psychopath.