Is America Becoming Lawless?

Once upon a time there was universal respect for the police. Children were told by their parents that the police were there to help and if they were ever lost or in trouble, find a policeman. Oh, of course, there were bad and corrupt cops. They were then and are now a small minority of the law enforcement officers. I am not sure when the current attitude by some started. It seems like it was within the last year or two. Maybe it was since Rodney King. Lets talk about Rodney King for a moment.

Rodney King ran from the cops, and refused to comply with the cops orders. He resisted arrest. He received a number of non lethal reminders that he was not listening to the police. Most visible was the use of batons to strike him in the legs and torso to compel him to submit to arrest. Every person in the world, it seems, saw the few seconds of video of King being struck. Most never saw or heard the repeated verbal commands to submit to arrest. What came out in the criminal trial of several of the officers was that the police agency employing the officers required they use non lethal force to compel compliance. In street terms, the department's policy required they use baton strikes rather than putting hands on to gain control. Why, you might ask, was this the department policy? Reason: Lawyers and disability claims. You see, cops get hurt when they have to place hands on and go to the ground to fight an arrestee. It is cheaper for the agency to mandate pain compliance procedures, instead of fighting. Less injuries for the officers. So, in reality, the officers followed department policy, and that is why they were found to not have used "excessive force"

In the past year, a number of alleged race based actions have made international news. In all but one (where the officer shot the black person in the back as he was running away) were adjudicated with the officers being cleared of all wrongdoing. Yet, the US. Dept. of Justice and even our President had crap to say. Justice began investigating the department for past racial bias and use of excessive force on minority members. The city / county cannot bear the cost of defending themselves on a federally based civil rights lawsuit brought by the Feds, so they enter in to consent decrees. In effect, the U.S. Department of Justice takes over policy and procedure in the department and become the new Chief of Police. The mayor and other city / county officials in these large cities frequently come out and complain about their own police department. The officers, rightly so, feel they have been sold out by their elected officials, and their department. Arrests go down.

So, now begins the spiral effect that is consuming America. Here is how it is working. The cops feel they are on their own and their city does not trust them to do their jobs. Rather than risk starting a so-called "racial incident" they let minor crimes slide. Arrest go down.The stop patroling the bad neighborhoods. Violent crime spikes. Certain minority members of the community feel emboldened. They have become even more violent and open about their crimes. There are parts of a dozen major U.S. cities where there is, in effect, no policing now. Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis to name a few has seen shootings and murders go up 100, 200, 300 percent over last year. If the police try to keep the peace or investigate a crime, the local residents interfere and prevent them from doing their job. Some community members get even more bold and commit even more violent acts....and so on.

An atmosphere is growing where the police are portrayed as the enemy. Hatred of the police is epidemic in these large cities. Crime is out of control and the situation is getting worse. So, what caused this?. In my opinion, it is the abandonment of law enforcement by government official from the local council person up to the Attorney's General and the President. It fosters a license for crooks to do their thing, and if the cops come around, use claims of racial discrimination and excessive force to indict the police.

What is the answer? Government official have to back their local law enforcement. If they don't, the crime rate is going to grow and grow. If things do not change, it will be unsafe for most Americans to even enter many of our cities, go out at night, or even leave their homes. I believe personally that our current federal administration wants control over local law enforcement, and are using this crisis to further this goal. Cops have to act lawfully and within the Constitution. Every police act must be within the law as defined by the 4th, 5th, and sixth Amendment.

The effect of this current atmosphere is that officers are leaving their jobs in droves. Vacant officer positions remain unfilled. Moral is nationally the lowest it has ever been. Ultimately, officer standards will be lowered to fill positions. Many of the new officers hired under the coming lowered standards should not be wearing a badge. Use of force will go up.

Not a pretty picture. Ultimately, law and order must return to the cities now out of control. The price of this in terms of arrests and enforcement will be high and it will be painful. If we do not take back the cities, we will have a nightmare that will make the current picture look serene. If this does not happen, we will have a lawless nation. Martial law will be declared in many cities.

Urge your local officials to support and defend their law enforcement officers. Get involved with your communities support for its police. If we do not stop the current trend, this country will look like some central America third world country with cops patrolling in armored personal carriers or in pick up trucks with machine guns mounted in the bed. What American city will be the first to have tanks sitting in intersections?. My bet is Chicago. What's yours?