NOT THAT YOU ASKED

It's getting to the point that every week a policeman somewhere kills a black man during what should be a routine traffic stop. Sometimes it turns out to be justified as in the case of Michael Brown, but most of the time it is the result of a cop with a quick trigger finger like in South Carolina, or indifference to a prisoner's injury as in New York and Baltimore.

I don't believe the killings are all the result of racism, particularly the type of racism we know all too well in this part of the country. In fact, three of the cops charged in Baltimore are black. It's more likely to be the mindset of cops everywhere when they stop a black male for any reason.

It's similar to the way the late Lewis Grizzard explained the difference between the words "naked" and "nekkid". He said that naked means you don't have any clothes on. Nekkid means you don't have any clothes on and you're up to something. When a cop stops a white man for speeding he probably just thinks he's driving too fast. When he stops a black man for speeding he's likely to think he's trying to race away from the liquor store he just robbed.

It doesn't get any better for black men in court. They are statistically more likely to do hard time for offenses that white offenders won't. A black man with a joint in his pocket is probably headed for prison while I white guy with a joint in his pocket will probably get probation. If he's rich, the charges might just disappear. That's why so many of these men run when stopped. If you had the choice of running or going to Cummins Prison Farm, I'll bet you'd run too.

I don't know if that bias will ever change, but if it does it's going to take a long time. Meanwhile with the advent of smart phones that can make a video of an arrest police have to assume that every time they stop someone, they may be on camera. It reminds me of that old gotcha line, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." except this time nobody will be smiling.

Ironically, here in Arkansas members of law enforcement should be more worried when they stop a white man instead of a black one. I can recall a total of six members of law enforcement that have been shot in Northeast Arkansas, resulting in five deaths. All of the killers where white men. In 1985 the County Sheriff in Walnut Ridge was killed in a shoot-out with a member of an anti-government group. In the 1990's two Poinsett County deputies were shot, one fatally. The alleged assailant later committed suicide before he could be arrested. A few years ago two West Memphis policemen were shot and killed by a father and son who belonged to the same anti-government group as the killer in Walnut Ridge. Less than two years ago a Trumann patrolman was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

Clearly we have a big problem in this country in the way law enforcement and the justice system deals with people of color. It can't be summed up in slogans, and it does no good for extremists on the right or left to make irresponsible accusations. What it calls for is better training for people who want to be in law enforcement, and a public defender system that can deliver a competent defense for those who can't afford an attorney.

Being a cop is hard. You live with the knowledge that every time you go to work you might not live through your shift. You know that every time you stop someone the situation could escalate into a violent and deadly one. You find yourself sometimes with the power of life and death in your hands. It takes a special person to be able to handle all of that. Those who have the responsibility to select candidates for police training need to do a better job of evaluating candidates to see if they can deal with the mental stress of the job. Those that train people for law enforcement have to do a better job of developing ways to handle situations that might become violent. The life of that policeman and everyone he stops depends on it.