It’s the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles police beat-down of Rodney King. How far have we really come in 25 years in police-community relations? Not far. We’re still always a police bullet or bully club away from a black body being the point of contact. That means we’re only a nanosecond away from the next rage-filled human explosion.
The acquittal of four of LAPD cops who were involved in the brutal assault on King even provoked an outcry from the mayor of L.A. This was a black mayor whom communities of color felt was insensitive to their needs. He was infamously known as “Uncle Tom” Bradley because it was thought he was mainly a puppet for white, corporate interests. Even Bradley had to call out the mockery of justice.
Let’s look at the where we are today. First, let’s talk about federal consent decrees that communities look to for relief.
The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act was a direct response to the savage 1991 beating of Rodney King by four LAPD officers and the devastating Los Angeles uprising after the acquittals. The law gave the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice an extraordinary tool to hold departments accountable. The DOJ has the authority to sue police agencies when a pattern and practice of excessive force is used or when citizens’ civil rights are violated.
According to the DOJ, there have been 60 investigations into police agencies rife with corruption and discriminatory practices since the law came into effect. Currently there are about 20 cities whose police departments are under consent decrees, including our own Ferguson. Most don’t come to the table as willing partners (if they don’t sign the dotted line, the DOJ will sue them into compliance) and many remain resistant to implementing any substantive changes. The Oakland Police Department stood down for almost a decade, forcing a federal judge to put the agency into temporary receivership.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has publicly criticized the use of consent decrees, citing the reduction of “morale of the police officers.” Translation: When cops can’t freely violate black and brown bodies without consequences, it makes cops sad. Sessions has sent a message to rogue departments that he doesn’t intend to take these decrees seriously. The weight of accountability will fall on communities. We’re on our own from here.
Since the Rodney King beat-down, there have several laws passed making any harm or perceived harm to law enforcement officers a felony. In some cases, the law applies to the police canines as well. (Is a dog’s life more important that the life taken by that dog’s cop handler?) In most states, killing a cop can get you an automatic death sentence. There’s the militarization of police, complete with military equipment like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs), used against U.S. civilian populations. Then there’s the unregulated use of surveillance; the laws are still catching up with the technology already being used. Our society has clearly move farther away from addressing one of the biggest problems this country faces.
Tax-paying citizens will be forced to be more pro-active and more engaged in holding police departments accountability. In St. Louis, an opportunity has emerged with the “retirement” of Police Chief Sam Dotson. Citizens have had enough of what doesn’t work and of who won’t make it work. But we’re not just looking for something new or different. Citizens are looking for real change in how the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department operates.
Neither time nor history is on our side. We must boldly fight for a new vision for public safety and who will champion that new vision. Otherwise, we’re cruising into the next uprising.
