No one can excuse miscarriages of justice, whether accidental, intentional, or just the result of bad judgment. We may never know for certain what took place in Ferguson, Missouri last week, but we do know that justice itself appears to be on trial in Ferguson right now.
An unarmed 18-year-old black man was killed by a white police officer. There are conflicting reports circulating about the shooting. Some say the policeman fired in self-defense. Others insist that the victim had his hands in the air when he was shot.
The Ferguson police have released video from a security camera in a retail store that shows Michael Brown, the victim, apparently taking cigars from the store and refusing to pay for them. The cop who shot Brown may or may not have known that he was a suspect in the theft. Even if he was, and should have been arrested, killing an unarmed man without justification is reprehensible.
The first question to ask is, was there justification? Because the police have not been transparent or forthcoming about what happened, there has been an appearance of lack of justification.
The second question is about race. Did the encounter end violently because the victim was black? Given the history of past shootings of young black men by police, many in the black community in Ferguson assumed the worst about the policeman.
Heavy-handed responses by police are not uncommon. Police have, on many occasions, been too aggressive in stopping, questioning or arresting innocent people of all races, in many parts of our country. But young black men seem to be frequent targets. In a Gallup Poll conducted in the summer of 2013, nearly one-quarter of black men between the ages of 18 and 34 said they had been treated unfairly by police in the previous 30 days. We all need to worry about why that is happening.
Police do have a hard job protecting citizens and their properties, in the face of danger themselves. The not-so-pretty side of police work involves protecting victims from crime, robberies, muggings, break-ins and assaults, as well as property protection in their areas.
Another question in Ferguson is whether the police went too far by using tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the crowds. Mob vandalism did occur, with looting of local retail stores and even Molotov cocktails thrown at the police. Some townspeople say that much of the violence was caused by outside agitators.
The governor of Missouri set up a curfew to protect the safety and security of the community, but it did not work. Neither did bringing in the National Guard. Even after the violence is curbed, though, the city will have to work hard to bring its residents together, and to ease the pain that has engulfed its black citizens. A lot of fixing and healing is necessary.
Some cities have programs aimed at helping the police and community work together. Both of our sons went through the Philadelphia Civilian Police Academy and learned about the police department’s organization structure and issues in a weekly three-hour course, for 13 weeks. Some critics claimed the program was just a public relations effort for the police department to build police support, but outreach programs can be helpful.
Internal programs are also needed, to help police learn to deal with control and anger issues. While many people get angry and defensive for little known reasons, police are no exception. Police should realize aggressive, arrogant attitudes need to be toned down with civility and cooperation when dealing with people they have to protect.
We have all had experiences where overzealous cops intimidated us, but most of us have also been grateful to the many terrific police who have helped us when we were hurt, or let us off with just a warning when we made a minor driving mistake.
We depend upon our police to protect us, day in and day out. A policeman’s job is difficult, many times filled with hazard and life-threatening situations. We all need to respect how tough those jobs are, but people of all races need to feel equally protected.
It will foster a friendlier, more positive attitude, if police get to know their residents better. Police departments should seek ways to forge better relationships with their communities. Actions such as the killing of an unarmed person must be fully investigated and the results made known to the public.
That is how we will prevent another Ferguson in the future.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
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