This article was originally published in the September 2018 Trenton Downtowner.
Advances in smart phone technology and body camera recordings have illuminated the high incidence of police resorting to the use of fatal force when making contact with the public. The incidence of citizens killed running away or fully restrained or unarmed is especially high in minority communities.
The frequency is too high to be justified by self defense or feeling threatened. Police actions seem to be impulsive, fueled by uncontrolled stress, anger, and fear.
While it is unfortunate that police are killing unarmed citizens, the fact that a greater number are killing themselves points to reasons in addition to racial prejudice and poor judgment.
The amount of stress police are under is extreme and, for all practical purposes, ignored.
Meetings and cookouts between police members of minority communities and/or diversity and sensitivity training are ineffective political ploys to mask addressing the unattended mental health issues associated with laws that conflict with the reality of police being able to do their jobs safely and parents who no longer have proper authority over their children.
And Trenton’s demographics and the police relationship with the minority community are indicative of most urban centers in the U.S.
As a licensed clinical psychologist I have experience working with police as patients in large cities, providing consultation for staff at some of the most dangerous prisons in the United States, and conducting disability examinations on law enforcement officers (LEOs) applying for Social Security benefits.
In addition to being a member of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, I am also an African American male, have a son, a granddaughter, and many family and friends threatened by contact with the police.
The fact that police suicide has not received more attention than it has is itself a crime. So too is ignored its contribution to the well being of LEOs and the public, and unless it is effectively addressed it negates the benefit of other interventions.
The opportunity to apply my professional experience to address the mental health issues affecting police and reduce violence between police, minorities, and the public at large is an obligation.
Many segments of the public have become angry regarding the number of African American and Hispanic citizens killed by police. However, of equal interest is why so many police officers are killing themselves, and is there a relationship between the two events?
Because of tradition, false perceptions of manhood, and the indiscretions of a few, most police are not perceived with the compassion that they deserve as human beings. Even the police themselves are reluctant to admit that they are affected by the same vulnerabilities and adversities of life as the public they serve. It is also true that we live in a society that promotes legal rights that conflict with reality to the detriments of both the police and the public.
It is helpful for the public to acknowledge that being a police officer is a stressful and dangerous job and to understand police as human beings who are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives, etc.
Police go to work every day with the intent of helping to protect citizens, save lives, and enforce the law. It is also true that when police officers leave their homes every day, they and their families hope that they will return unharmed.
We live in a country and culture that is democratic and theoretically presents many benefits to its citizens. Yet the combined effect of a citizen’s constitutional rights and the police’s responsibility to enforce the law create a dangerous paradox, especially for the police.
The Second Amendment allows almost anyone the right to buy a gun, while illegal guns are easy to obtain. And on a daily basis police officers are exposed to persons who are mentally ill, veterans suffering from PTSD, gang members, drug dealers, criminals, terrorists, and individuals exhibiting threatening behavior so they will be killed by police. They are also constantly exposed to victims of violence.
At the same time, the police are viewed negatively in most minority communities. The disrespect and limited cooperation accorded to police stems from the perception of harassment and abuse by some police in the context and pretense of doing their jobs.
Consequently, as noted in a report by the National Institute of Justice, feelings of anger, fear, and mutual mistrust are constantly expressed between police and communities of color. Furthermore many police feel disrespected and unappreciated for their effort and sacrifice to protect the communities they serve. For many LEOs this contributes to low morale and motivation for going to work — except perhaps to protect their pension.
As the Marshall Project and Conversation law enforcement publications reported, citizens will often challenge police authority based on the belief that their rights have been violated. These conflicts create negative, cumulative, and deleterious stressors to the police.
It is important to understand that police do not get a waiver for problems at home because of the stress they experience at work. The stress or responsibility of work often carries over and affects relationships at home. Even most combat soldiers returning from war get some rest from fighting when they come home. Ironically, for many police, home is where the fighting begins emotionally, psychologically, and sometimes even physically. Police working overtime and extended hours to supplement their income affects time with wives, husbands, children. Also, there are the common problems of overdrawn bank accounts, bills, health problems with family members, wayward children, elderly parents, deaths, divorces, etc.
Police are expected to manage, and/or even ignore emotions all human beings experience. They are also expected to maintain a professional facade while their authority is being challenged and they feel disrespected and underappreciated by the community they are risking their lives to protect and the families they are providing for.
Given the aforementioned, it should not be surprising that the greatest threat to a police officer’s wellbeing is himself or herself. And, as the Marshall Project reports, an average 130 police officers kill themselves yearly — in addition to those killed in the line of duty.
The high incidence of police suicides is given minimal attention by municipalities and communities and by police themselves. The high incidence of police suicide and the limited extent to which it is addressed by those they report to is inexcusable negligence.
It is not only important that the public change its perception of police, but that police change their perception of themselves. It is critical that police not feel, or be allowed to feel, that they are other than human or defective for having natural, emotional responses to being exposed to unnatural circumstances, day in and day out at work, only to be met with confusion and conflict at home.
Since police and citizens are both victims of laws that increase the risks of harm and danger, practical steps should to be taken to reduce such risks.
Consider amending existing laws for a temporary suspension of citizens’ rights and to be totally subordinate to police authority during a traffic stop or on the street.Reserve the determination of any violation of citizen rights and/or abuse of police authority for the courts, citizen complaint hearings, and internal affairs.Provide education and training for the public to understand police first as human beings, respect their authority, and voluntarily abstain from asserting their rights in certain situations (i.e., traffic stops).Develop new education and training for police oriented around policies and procedures that will sensitize them to the cultural diversities within their community.Develop training to modify police maintaining the image of “macho infallibility” and the idea that they are not affected by emotional responses to adversity as any other human being.Introduce technology that reduces police risk to harm and the need to resort to excessive and fatal force to protect themselves and do their job.Amend and modify existing laws to reinforce parents as the primary authority to discipline their children and respect their authority as parents and that of police.Mental health support should be provided as a mandatory standard and ongoing service for all police officers.
There is little doubt that there is at least a logical relationship between the use of excessive force resulting in the death of citizens, especially minorities, and the high incidence of police killing themselves.
The present mental disposition of police is an urgent health problem that requires immediate attention, starting with the implementation of reasonable rights.
The author is president and CEO of Telecare LLC. The article above is based on excerpts from a longer work.
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