BALTIMORE…STILL WITHOUT ANY REAL ANSWERS…
(…because no one has bothered to ask any…real questions)

The recent violent firestorm of public outrage in Baltimore, about the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, is yet another instance of a public stampede to judgment on the assumption of police malfeasance while performing their duty. An assumption based solely on a video clip showing Freddie Gray being half carried half dragged by several officers to a waiting police van.

The video clip of course did not provide any context to the situation, only showing the appearance of what looked like police “brutality”, and thus sufficient justification to ignite that public outrage. The fact that Freddie Gray was a person of color added the element of –race- as further fuel to that outrage (even though half of the officers involved were also the same).

Compounding all of that the local authorities’ waffling response to the situation almost immediately drove the initial peaceful public protests into uncontrolled riots of violence, looting, and malicious vandalism, as community leaders, civic, state, and even Federal authorities dithered and fiddled about on how to quell such an out of control situation. Meanwhile, as usual, the news media and assorted pundits of one kind or another made no useful contributions beyond highlighting the dramatic visuals of these events as continuous news feeds to their viewing audiences.

There is now an aroma of “expediency” in the way the authorities suddenly managed to accelerate the machinery of due process and justice, by arresting six officers and charging them with a wide range of sins of omission and commission relating to Freddie Gray’s death. The whole thing smacks of sacrificing a few individuals under the wheels of the bus, to pacify the manufactured ire of the public juggernaut. All of which still leaves Baltimore without any real answers, because no one has bothered to ask any…real questions.

Here are some of those questions:

  • Why was Freddie Gray of specific interest and subject to arrest by the police?
  • Why did he run when he was first confronted by police?
  • How and when did he sustain those life-threatening injuries? The video clip shows him already down, before any pursuing police officers even reach him.
  • If he was that seriously injured, why did the police officers fail to call for an ambulance and paramedics, instead of just dragging/carrying him as they did to that van?
  • What was his condition when that van finally delivered him to the police station?
  • Where was he held during the week-long time before he died?
  • Why was the case referred to a State’s Attorney, instead of the local District Attorney?
  • Why is the van’s driver the only officer being charged with a serious charge, when he obviously played no part in either Freddie Gray’s arrest, or was nowhere near him when he seems to have sustained those injuries (as the video clip apparently shows)?

None of these critical questions appear to have been asked, and none of them have yet to be answered.

Instead, there is an over emphasis on presumed police misbehavior, rather than any serious thought concerning how and in what way are the police expected to react when confronted by someone either fleeing or resisting arrest. The only thing being touted now is how to cover the cost of body cameras for all police officers. While that may have some deterrent effect on the behaviors of individuals and officers, none of that answers the question of how, when, and what kind of force, can officers apply in a hostile and violent situation.

There’s no denying that some officers are overly aggressive in such instances, and/or, that they have personal biases against certain kinds of individuals. Yet by and large the vast majorities of officers are not, and stay within the limits of the rules of engagement, while performing their duties.

Unfortunately too many communities seem more concerned with justifying their violent outbursts against authority as being caused by lack of economic opportunities, social ills and issues, and claimed brutality of behavior, whenever police are called upon to uphold the law. Playing the racist motivation card seems to be their reaction of choice in such instances, since doing so then gives stronger credence to be their claims of being “victims’ of injustice. The real answers to such problems must come from the grass roots. That is, local community leadership must step up efforts to initiate community self-help efforts rather than enabling dependency upon programs of one kind or another.

To that end, a creative use of the existing tax code, by creating community tax exempt associations (as 501-C3 NFP entities) could do much to provide the funding for many of the educational, employment, and social services, local authorities are unable (or reluctant) to provide. With such entities, they would then be better able to tap into the wealth of philanthropic organizations and deep-pocket individuals with the means to support such local boot-strap efforts.

Here’s one example directly related to improving and enhancing community and police relations. That is, under the aegis of such a local community association, provide subsidized volunteer employment for many of their youths who might otherwise become involved with gangs, drugs, or criminal activity. Employed as local community service patrols, organized in three-man units, under supervision from either retired or off-duty police, fire, and EMS personnel, uniformed, and equipped with radio gear to communicate with their neighborhood control center, these would become their community’s frontline “security” service…as its eyes and ears…to deter criminal activity…while the police would become their enforcement backup.

Thus trained, mentored, and otherwise guided by professionals, such youths would have the opportunity they might otherwise not have, to start on that first rung towards upward economic social mobility. Combined with a disciplined environment, new skills learned, and collateral continuation of education, they would reach their young adulthood much better prepared for further success in their lives. In the meantime, community approbation for their performance would further strengthen their self-esteem and pride as individuals.

From a purely ROI perspective, instead of spending the same $30-$40 thousand per year otherwise needed to recruit and train one police officer, using that to subsidize a half-dozen of the community’s youths seems to be a much better approach. Similarly, a micro loan program, to help local community members set up small enterprises and shops, could go a long way in revitalizing a run down and decaying neighborhood, and, if that were combined with some form of community cloud financing/credit union to acquire and restore vacant homes and buildings to good use, that would also further uplift and otherwise improve the environment in which they live.

None of these ideas are new. Some have been done in one form or another in many communities, but the key to their successful application and results always has to start locally…not from outside or above. Simply put…people power…starts with people who make an effort to get it.

CENTURION