talon | Then and Now

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/01/harvard.gates.report/index.html?hpt=Sbin

I believed then, and still belief now, that the officer held the greater blame. He is the trained professional. It is his job to "ratchet down" any confrontation.

When events like this happen between civilians and police, the blame is always heaviest on the police because of that training.

Every police officer is supposed to be trained in how to handle and defuse confrontations. How many civilians, even well educated professionals, are trained in handling confrontations?

I have, over the years, come to the belief that everyone needs to be trained in how to handle the police because it is increasing evident that they do not know how to handle themselves - tasering 85 year old bedridden women and kindergarteners and punching teen girls in the face over jaywalking and shooting dogs behind fences just because they can.

I firmly believe the police officer began the escalation in this case, probably through preconceptions and his attitude. I bet he didn't even listen to the professor. Since I have a great many law enforcement people in my family, I know for a fact that once they get some idea fixed in their heads that there's a crime in progress, anyone they encounter is automatically guilty. That whole "innocent until proven guilty" we are brought up on apparently gets drilled out of their heads during training so they know that everyone they encounter is guilty of something, they just haven't found out what, yet. Then, if you add in even a teeny smidgeon of prejudice, well, it becomes inevitable that the police officer probably didn't even try to "ratchet down" the encounter.

I know that when the local constabulary got the address wrong and broke down my front door, even with the knowledge I have of dealing with adrenaline-hyped police officers, I still almost got arrested - and I was a frumpy fat old woman then (still am, but that's beside the point).

I'm not too pleased that they are spreading some of the blame onto the professor. He was an innocent man in his own home. He had the right to be belligerent and the police officer should have just taken it, apologized profusely, and left.