Racism/Policing/Privilege

A Personal Story About Prejudice and Privilege

By: A Working for Justice Ministry Member 

I believe we need to realize that we are all prejudiced; white, black, and brown peoples; all.This I believe, is a natural  developmental ability to quickly determine friend or foe, good or bad; so as to quickly react without the thinking processes of our brains decision making process.We need to first see this in ourselves, before we complain too loudly about others.Of course the difference in our country, is the "white privilege" advantage. 

My personal story began with growing up in Mt. Nebo/Ohio Twp.,where I saw virtually no people of color. Not until first grade( no kindergarten), did I meet my first black classmate. With my first touch of a black hand, I wondered if my hand would be "dirtied"! Throughout my youth, I was heavily involved in our all white church, and I thought I was developing into a non biased individual.One stand out memory; the time when a black woman sat in the balcony and I heard comments: " what's she doing here" & of course no one asked.

In my senior year of high school, I attended a church retreat with a black speaker. While I don't remember the particulars, I do remember my initial anger, that I was being told that I was racist.I learned this was true, by his explanation of my " white privilege".

Throughout my 40 years at work in the North Boroughs, I continued my white isolation.  Basically, no business in that area was black owned, or even had black employees, the only exception being a black trash collector, who lived in an out of the way "hollow". It never dawned on me, that white privilege is having those work opportunities.Where I chose to live,I see virtually no black faces, again white privilege to live in a pleasant, safe environment of my choosing.

But until recently, I never understood all the ramifications of white privilege. As example, I had been blaming blacks for the high crime rate, lack of educational achievement, as well as their general lack of advancement."Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps"!

Now I am learning that ending my racism, is not a destination, but a journey. I'm hopefully going forward, & I have started at Jeanne's suggestion,the book  Me & White Supremacy.

My thoughts on police reform:

1.  Selection & training

As we know police work, especially in a city environment, is a stressful occupation.Naturally any situation, from a routine traffic stop, up to physical confrontation with a criminal will lead to heightened stress.In many of these situations the officer does not have the time to reflect, but must act on impulse.This is why the hiring of only psychologically fit people as well as proper training is vital. 

2.  Pay

Obviously, if we want good police, the pay must be adequate to entice the best.However a solution must be found for economically distressed areas, where the money is simply not available.

3.  Proper use of police

Part of the problem, is the typical use of police in a " one size fits all", solution for every situation.The answer is not always a man with a gun.

4.  Messaging to bring both the police & public onboard

A priority of police reform is to bring the general public & the police themselves, to see that reform is in everyone's best interest.In this light, I think using the term "de-funding" is a tactical mistake & we are better served, by using something more akin to calling it, reforming police departments.We need a clear message, that good & honest police are both respected & cherished for their duty protecting us.This will help bring more police onboard for reform, as well as counter the racist narrative, that we are anti police.

5.   Communication

Good communication between citizens and police is vital.Everyone feels more empowered when their position on issues is listened to and respected.

Open letter to my fellow members of law enforcement

From the Pittsburgh Courier - https://newpittsburghcourier.com/2020/06/09/open-letter-to-my-fellow-members-of-law-enforcement/

I do not want to dismiss the importance of training and the emphasis on the recognition of implicit bias that is ingrained in American Law Enforcement culture. Making illegal the carotid artery hold, commonly referred to as the “choke hold”, is low hanging fruit and should be legislated out of policing nationally for it is an equivalent to lynching without a rope but at the hands of persons sworn to protect and serve the community. Necessary changes, however, in and of themselves fall woefully short of the complete overhaul that is needed in law enforcement in the United States of America.

The disproportionate numbers of Black, brown and disenfranchised Americans that are over-policed fundamentally will not change if we only focus on tactics and training without acknowledging the structural and systemic racism that policing in America is responsible for. The over-incarceration of Black and brown Americans and ostensibly criminalizing being poor are inequities ingrained in American policing that cannot simply be trained out of the hearts of the 1.5 million plus law enforcement officers that work in over 19,000 different police agencies across the United States of America.

I would submit to you that after 33 years in law enforcement; I joined the Detroit Police Department at 19 years old with the noblest of intentions as I would opine that the millions of Americans that have served in that capacity have done and will continue to do as they heed to the call of serving their communities. At the age of 52 I realize that even with the noblest of intentions of police officers in America; we are surreptitiously the instrumentation that enforces the structural and at times exacerbates the social inequities of systemic racism that starts with the first organized police forces in America; slave patrols to Bull Connor to the War on Drugs; the Omnibus Crime bill to the seminal moment in our history where America witnessed a tipping point moment when George Floyd was murdered by four Minneapolis police officers right in front of what had been for 401 years our proverbial lying eyes.

Anything short of comprehensive reform to American policing is unacceptable. I do not want to be a part of a system that simply causes its officers to be less forceful in its implementation; we cannot afford to simply have systemic racism with a smile. Any meaningful reform of the criminal justice system as it relates to the engagement protocols for police and communities of color to address the disproportionate contact and over-policing of these communities minimally must address and correct the following:

1. The predication for police stops in communities of color. Police Officers have unrestrained discretion as to the predicate for their stops and that discretion is abused in communities of color. As an industry we have not demonstrated the ability to have such unregulated discretion in the predication for police stops that are not directly attributable to a 9-1-1 call for service.
2. Arrestable offenses. There must be a delineation in probable cause arrests that are for offenses that do not pose an imminent or immediate danger to the public. When an offense is not a crime against person and the potential suspect can reasonably be identified; such offenses need to be processed through the not in custody warrant process.
3. Decriminalization of traffic offenses that do not go directly to a physical and tangible potential of imminent danger to the public if continued operation of the motor vehicle were to not cease.
4. Elimination of “no-knock” warrants except for circumstances wherein imminent danger of death or critical injury to persons is reasonably articulated.
5. Review of compensation policies that cause for overtime for officers for their appearance in court based on citations issued. An alternative compensation policy must be adopted to compensate officers accordingly but gives no greater incentive to enforcement with a profit motive for the officer.
6. Equitable sharing formulas for civil asset forfeiture re-engineered for reinvestment in the community wherein the funds were seized as opposed to the coffers of the forfeiting agency; again, removing any profit motive for enforcement.

These measures are in no way all-inclusive of comprehensive criminal justice reform, however, structurally reframes how in a meaningful way the disproportionate benefit of the doubt that has been extended to law enforcement over the persistent and righteous calls to equitable treatment of people of color and the disenfranchised by police. Black people particularly in America have been subjected to 401 years of unspeakable trauma from a system that has not protected them consistently, fairly nor equitably. As law enforcement executives we must own our contribution to this trauma as a profession realizing that there are three physiological stress responses to a trauma which are fight, flee or freeze. Two of the three responses do not work in favor of the traumatized in a police encounter. Black and brown officers in particular and all officers of good moral character must own these unfortunate facts and be a part of the solution; we can no longer hunker down and proclaim we “bleed blue” while the blood of the least of these we are charged with protecting runs in the streets of America. We cannot fix it until we own it and address it. We may in mass be “good cops” but we are working in a “bad system”. Black lives matter.

Ralph L. Godbee, Jr.

Chief of Police (Detroit Public Schools Community District)

Chief of Police Retired (Detroit Police Department)