Policing the Police from a Battleground that Really Counts

As he lay flat on his back, bleeding, his only thought was, “Why?” He watched in horror as the officers rolled him over like a criminal, cuffed his hands, and left him unattended while he bled. When he later asked the officer, who had shot him why he had done it, the officer said, “I don’t know.”

That’s the story of Charles Kinsey, a black middle-aged therapist who worked at a group home in Miami at the time.

On the fateful day, Kinsey had gone out to help Arnaldo Rios Soto, an autistic man who had run away from the group home where he worked. Soto was carrying a toy truck at the time. Someone called the police saying there was a man in the street carrying a gun. Minutes later, Kinsey and Soto were surrounded by police officers, with big guns pointed at them. Kinsey lay flat on his back, held his hands high, and pleaded with the officers not to shoot him or his patient. One of the officers even urged his colleagues to lower their weapons as Soto was carrying a toy truck.

Moments later, three shots were fired; one of them landed in Kinsey’s thigh. He is lucky to be the one narrating this story himself today.

It’s Not About a Few Bad Apples

Not all cops are bad. Some love their job. They go above and beyond to serve the community. But there are a few who don’t deserve the badge.

What’s troubling is that those we consider “good cops” usually protect the few bad apples. Eighty-four percent of cops say they have witnessed a fellow officer use more than necessary force. Sixty-one percent say they do not always report severe abuse by fellow officers. Read more...