The fatal beating of Tyre Nichols is only the latest tragic example of excessive force by police. It differs significantly from most previous incidents in that the violent police brutality came from officers who were, like their victim, Black. That distinguishing feature is significant in two respects. First, it probably reduced the level of violence that would be sparked in protest of the tragic event. Second, it showed that, while racial distrust or antagonism may be a factor in some cases, the use of excessive force by police is a much broader problem.
A fundamental cause of that problem is clearly inadequate training of police officers. Such training obviously varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and will be more comprehensive for some forces than for others. In every case, however, the avoidance of excessive force should be a discrete element and given appropriate emphasis. I am no expert in policing, but I cannot resist offering some tentative thoughts on what they should be taught.
It seems to me that every officer must be made to understand clearly several basic lessons, both moral and practical:
1. Use of excessive force is contrary to the fundamental ethics of policing.
2. Excessive force undermines the effectiveness of the police by destroying the confidence of the community they serve.
3. Given the wide availability of cameras, use of excessive force is unlikely to go undetected.
4. Officers who observe other officers using excessive force cannot stand by: they have a mandatory obligation to intervene.
5. Officers who are found to have used excessive force will be subject to internal discipline, possible dismissal and, in cases involving a serious injury or fatality, possible prosecution, conviction and incarceration.
Apart from those basic concepts, police must be trained specifically in just what kinds of force will be considered excessive. For example, shooting a fleeing suspect is not justified unless the suspect poses a threat of bodily harm to the officer or others. They must learn detailed techniques of controlling and subduing criminal suspects who have been apprehended, without using choke holds or using tasers unnecessarily, let alone kicking and punching suspects on the ground.
Responsibility for training police lies with state and local authorities. But the federal government can assist them with financial support and in providing training materials. Particularly for jurisdictions with limited resources, it might be quite helpful to have a federally-produced video illustrating basic concepts and techniques and, perhaps drawing on footage of past incidents, showing how things can go very wrong, very quickly.
Whatever the merit of the specific suggestions in this blog, improvements in police training are surely a matter for urgent consideration by the Biden Administration and Congress, as well as state and local jurisdictions across the country.
I had to stop watching the news this week. Horrifying, heartbreaking…Tyre Nichols’ brutal beating and murder being shown 24/7 for all to endlessly see. While I understand that showing this video brings reality home so we can be aware and take action against police brutality, in this case Memphis didn’t ignore Tyre Nichols’ beating and death. Thank you, Memphis, for immediate and appropriate action to fire the officers rather than put them “on leave”. My hope is the public will see these officers quickly punished to the harshest extent of the law. I hope the public will see police departments in our country implement the important steps and concepts that Doug outlines here. May we see that this kind of police brutality will no longer be tolerated in our country. But the media must also realize that the saturation of violence – actual murder videos on the news – on our screens is not without harm itself. Just as our police departments need to change, so does our media.
Thoughtful as ever, Doug, but re shooting a fleeing target, I’ll hark back to the laws of the Old West where only a coward would shoot a man in the back. Today, only the law officer shooting a fleeing target should be fired, not the gun, and then denied the ability to own a weapon. It’s too bad the law of the land today protects police-persons. Why doesn’t the Supreme Court overturn that ruling…
I don’t know anything @ policing either, but it seems to me that a simple rule wd be “if suspect flees, and you get suspect down on the ground & handcuffed, no need to choke/beat suspect, even if you suspect he/she is a murderer, let alone if you observed him/her committing a traffic infraction.” Like duh? One wdn’t think police wd need “training” to figure that out. We know that police have been shot by drivers in seemingly-routine traffic stops, so I guess it’s possible that Tyre Nichols’s reaction to the initial stop caused the cops to suspect he was armed and/or up to something else more nefarious than (allegedly) “reckless driving,” but once they had him under their control, shd have been “end of story.” What am I missing?
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