Arms the Size of Giants

This being the second, third, or maybe even the fourth recent one of these incidents sharing similar characteristics, I'm compelled to write something on this, if only to at the very least organize and see my own thoughts on the issue(s). The others that I'm thinking of are the BART officer in Oakland who shot the unarmed man who was already down flat on his stomach with his hands spread. The other is a video taken from a Los Angeles suburban news station, again with another young man on the ground not moving after he'd given up on both his high speed chase and fleeing from the vehicle, whereupon an officer ran up to him and commenced to kick him in the head and neck with the sharp, pointed toe of his boot, a boot colored black in such a way that I'd imagine blood would just about blend in. A second officer arrived moments later. He, of course, saw the situation was out of control and used his baton to further batter the already beaten man. After the suspect was handcuffed, the officer who'd kicked him high-fived his partner. Go Team.

Now there's this incident in New Jersey. The video speaks for itself, I think, though CNN's version is edited, perhaps for brevity's sake, but there's another version on Youtube which shows the entire two minute scene in real time and finishes with a local man pushing his kid along in a stroller while about ten law enforcement officers apprehend the one middle-aged, non-combatant schizophrenic man in broad daylight after pummeling him with fists and billyclubs.

Here's what I get. Law enforcement is a high-anxiety job. It's not cold-calling and it's not sales. Depending on your beat, it's not much of a cake walk, though for some it very well might be. But focusing on high crime areas, places where officers are on the go and dealing with heavier misdemeanors and felonies and less doling out speeding tickets to middle aged moms late to the carpool pickup after practice. For every hour on the clock not only are these officers on edge, anxious, high-energy, with octane firing and adrenaline bursting out of their skin, but for they've got to be that way in order to be professional at their job. So as to remain alert, this boosted adrenaline is necessary. I understand that and want to empathize as much as possible. But there is a line between being alert and extending the already too-long, not to mention ever-growing jurisprudential arm further than it should ever go and entering that domain of sheer violence beyond all necessary means. Once that line is crossed it's painfully clear to see for anyone watching. And the more instances like these continue to occur, and it feels like they're occurring with unsettling frequency these days, the further the chasm between civilian and police gets, which ushers in less trust for police, more disdain, and for some, more outright hatred. 

For their sake it's beneficial that this relation be a healthy one. Yet if the police working in and out of our lives begin to mimic the very kinds of behaviors, demeanors, and actions of the "thugs" they claim to be intent on putting into custody, this relationship dissolves. There's no trust. If the police can rough up anyone they want, where do they draw the line? Who's immune? Is being a suspect a crime, something worthy of brutality? When these kinds of thoughts run through the mind of a citizen when they're around or even thinking about law enforcement, it negates everything law enforcement aims to do. They no longer protect nor serve at that point without a willing and cooperative public to protect and serve. 

For this one at hand, I can't imagine any scenario they could hatch up that would render this officer's behavior acceptable. There was no altercation. Nothing Ronnie Holloway could have said would have warranted what happened. Nothing he could have done would have warranted what happened. Whether or not he'd committed a crime before this, none would excuse the behavior from an officer of the law at that point in time. The suspect was standing and appeared to be cooperating. Cops are not harbingers of vigilante justice, making and breaking the law as they see fit. They uphold the law and are held to the same standards. We expect more from them. One of the charges laid on Holloway after the fact was resisting arrest. Frankly, I don't see where he was even given an opportunity to resist arrest. They asked him to zip up his jacket, he did, and then out came the officer wielding his latter-day version of a caveman's club. The only thing separating him from his ancient ancestors was a firmly pressed uniform, a badge, and swaths of bureaucratic protection.  He made no effort to arrest him. A man cannot be charged with resisting arrest when there was no effort made to arrest him. A question came to me while I was watching; why didn't the officer's partner either a. help her partner apprehend the the suspect, or b. stop the officer. My best guess would be because she was just as bewildered as I was when I first saw it, shocked. The fact what Holloway is schizophrenic, something that I don't know if at this point has even been empirically verified other than by the man's mother, isn't important as far as I see it. If true, it only further compounds it and makes for a more emotional case, but schizophrenic or not, the behavior of the cop was draconian and overarching at best and vile at worst. 

And here's the LA officer kicking the fleeing car driver. Is the guy a criminal? Yes, for sure. But again, nothing warranted this behavior. He'd given up.