Dark clouds gather over law enforcement

There are storm clouds gathering over law enforcement agencies.  Once a cop was always believed, but that is no more.  For many years agencies have been able to handle their dirty laundry themselves, without outside scrutiny.  But that too appears to be changing.  There are several recent notable examples of the public rising up and demanding more accountability and transparency in what we do.

This past week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, certainly not a liberal politician, signed a one of a kind law directly impacting how police agencies in Wisconsin investigation any police custody death.  This law mandates that two investigators from a different police agency direct the investigation of that police related death.  This law is the result of the shooting death of Michael Bell by Kenosha officers nearly 10 years ago.  I was a police practices expert for the plaintiff on that civil case.  It settled for $1.75 million.  Bell’s father, however, spent nearly $1 million on billboards and other advertisement to change the way police agencies in Wisconsin handle these types of cases.  It should be noted that five provinces in Canada have formed all-civilian investigative units to handle all police involved use of force cases, including those resulting in death.

In Hawaii, SB2591, has passed both state legislative houses and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature.  It would mandate more reporting and transparency in how local police agencies report officer misconduct and discipline.  Chiefs would now be required to report to the legislature whenever an officer is suspended, fired or allowed to resign in lieu of discipline.  The Chief would also be required to report whether criminal charges were sought.  Should some appeal process overturn the discipline, the Chief would have to report the reasoning for this outcome.  Still at issue is disclosure of disciplined officers past records.  But the files of the discipline would be mandated to be retained for 18 months after the officer is disciplined.

The NYPD thought it was a swell idea to start a Twitter campaign asking local citizens to share there photos and videos of officers engaged in policing.  The NYPD thought this would produce lots of community feel good publicity.  Unfortunately what the department got was a steady streaming of negative images. 

The Albuquerque Police Department is under intense scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice and community action groups resulting from several years of police-involved shootings.  This is simply a continuation of several other outside studies, many originated by the Agency or City, on similar use of force issues.  The main thrust is how officers are trained and disciplined, specifically on use of force incidents.

Sheriff Baca of Los Angeles County made the decision to not run for a fifth term in office.  His agency has been besieged with outside investigations, lawsuits and internal turmoil for many years now. 

It’s time to reevaluate our position in law enforcement.  Our striving for secrecy in our IA/OPS operation is only exacerbating the problem of transparency.  From the public’s standpoint we look like we’re trying to hide our failure to hold our employees and ourselves accountable.  We have to reexamine our focus in the way we provide our service to our communities.  Are we law enforcement officers or keepers of the peace!  There is a distinct difference and it can have a monumental impact on how we select, train, supervise and hold accountable our employees.  Do we want to be known as ‘warriors’ or ‘guardians?’

Update of my novel "Broken Badges."

I’ve received many comments about my first fiction novel, “Broken Badges: Cases from Police Internal Affairs Files.”  Most everyone found it a page-turner and liked the character development.  Those not in law enforcement were a little concerned that this type of misconduct occurs in policing.  Many appreciated learning the ins and outs of an Internal Affairs investigation and some of the police historical points outlined in the novel.

Most all enjoyed the manner in which the cases were written with each chapter being a separate case with its own conclusion.  It was easy to read and could be picked up at different times without retracing what had occurred before.

The “Sexual Predator” deals with the on-going sexual misconduct of one patrol officer.  The second chapter, “Colorado Adventure,” addresses the growing issue of police motorcycle groups acting like one-percenter outlaw groups.  The next chapter, “Miss Emma Mae,” revolves around a malignant street narcotic unit.  The fourth chapter, “Mental Health,” delves into the mistreatment of the mentally ill and other marginal street people by an uncontrolled duo of officers.  The next chapter, “Tangled Relationships,” looks at fraternization and domestic misconduct involving police employees.  And the last chapter, “Forgotten Cop Land,” is an unusual look at private policing of an exclusive community.

These cases follow the work of a fictional police consultant, Taylor Sterling, usually hired by the insurance carrier to evaluate the critical incident involved in each case.  This technique allows the book to deal with cases in different cities and locales.  Most of the cases are in police departments less than 300 employees.  The book looks at the chiefs and sheriffs who are good, bad or not skilled in IA/OPS investigations.  Some of you in law enforcement may swear you know the cops portrayed in the stories, but these are fictional accounts.

“Broken Badges” is available on Kindle, Nook, iBook, and through order from Public Agency Training Council, Indianapolis, IN., and Deeds Publishing, Atlanta, GA.  If you've already read it, I would appreciate a review on Amazon.