Police Unions

Police

I like conspiracy theories, not because they are necessarily the truth, but because they offer explanations for otherwise inexplicable events. They can give you a villain to blame for mass activities that you don't like. As far as I know, no one has come up with an explanation for why some topics 'go viral' while other, similar, topics are completely ignored. Maybe there is some mastermind behind it all. Or maybe there is so much communication now that wide swaths of the population are of a similar mindset and so a trigger will set them all off simultaneously.

Every once is a while a policeman, somewhere, does something reprehensible. Statistically speaking, these are very rare events. Most policemen are responsible and comport themselves as they should. Most of the bad actors are not police. But we expect the police to behave themselves and when they don't, it's easy to become agitated. And if you have nothing else to do because, say, you are out of a job because of the pandemic panic, well, you might be inclined to join the protests.

There's been some talk in legal circles about reigning in qualified immunity, because it is so often used to shield those committing these reprehensible acts from any consequences. Will this talk result in any substantive changes? The future is cloudy, I cannot see.

An idea came to me that might help purge some of these bad actors from the ranks of the police. Right now, when a policeman does something bad, lawsuits are filed against the city and if the city loses, the city pays. Perhaps the police union should pick up the tab. That might encourage them to expel those who committed the crime. Will this idea catch on? It might, eventually. Police unions are very tightly bound. Loosening their bindings is going to take a sea change in the police mentality. If we are optimistic, we might think they are getting close to the tipping point. I'm not holding my breath.