Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue - Police and Power in America

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1POLICE BRUTALITY IN THEORY AND PRACTICEIN APRIL 2001, WHEN POLICE OFFICER STEPHEN ROACH KILLED TIMOthyThomas, Cincinnati served as the stage for a classic American drama.Thomas, an unarmed teenager wanted for several misdemeanor warrants,was the fifteenth Black man the Cincinnati police had killed in six years.! Afew days later, protesters led by the victim's mother occupied City Hall forthree hours. When they were forced out, the crowd marched to the policestation, growing as it went. At the police station, the demonstration escalated.Members of the crowd hit the cops with rocks and bottles, shatteredthe station's glass entryway, and removed the American flag outside. Whenthe police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, the disorder spread.2For three nights, hundreds of people, mostly young Black men, participatedin looting and vandalism.3 The rioting mostly consisted of window-breakingand sporadic attacks on White people, though dumpster fires became so commonthat the fire department stopped responding to them.4 The fight was byno means one-sided. The police made 760 arrests and injured an unknown number of people.5In what was perhaps the most disgraceful episode of the entire affair, policefired seven less-lethal "beanbags" at a crowd gathered for Thomas's funeralservice. Four people were hit, including two children. One victim, ChristineJones, was hospitalized with a fractured rib, bruised lung, and injured spleen.She described the incident: "It was like a drive-by shooting. All of a sudden, outof the blue, several police cars screeched to a halt at [the] intersection, jumpedout of cars and just immediately started shooting people with the shotguns. Nowarning. No nothing."6It's no secret that the police come into conflict with members of the public.The police are tasked with controlling a population that does not alwaysrespect their authority and may resist efforts to enforce the law. Hence, policeare armed, trained, and authorized to use force in the course of executing their3
duty. At times, they use the ultimate in force, killing those they are charged withcontrolling.Under such an arrangement, it is not surprising that officers sometimesmove beyond the bounds of their authority. Nor is it surprising that theaffected communities respond with anger-sometimes rage. The battlesthat ensue do not only concern particular injustices, but also represent deepdisputes about the rights of the public and the limits of state power. On theone side, the police and the government try desperately to maintain control,to preserve their authority. And on the other, oppressed people struggle toassert their humanity. Such riots represent, among other things, the attemptof the community to define for itself what will count as police brutality andwhere the limit of authority falls. It is in these conflicts, not in the courts,that our rights are established.THE RODNEY KING BEATING: " BASIC STUFF REALLY "On March 3, 1991, a Black motorist named Rodney King led the California HighwayPatrol and the Los Angeles Police Department on a ten-minute chase. Whenhe stopped and exited the car, the police ordered him to lie down; he got on allfours instead, and Sergeant Stacey Koon shot him twice with an electric taser.The other passengers in King's car were cuffed and laid prone on the street. Anofficer kept his gun aimed at them, and when they heard screams he orderedthem not to look. One did try to look, and was clubbed on the head. 'Others were watching, however, and a few days later the entire worldsaw what had happened to Rodney King. A video recorded by a bystandershows three cops taking turns beating King, with several other officers lookingon, and Sergeant Stacey Koon shouting orders. The video shows policeclubbing King fifty-six times, nrl kirking him in the body and head.H '''Thenthe video was played on the local news, KCET enhanced the sound. Policecan be heard ordering King to put his hands behind his back and callinghim "nigger. "9The chase began at 12:40 A.M. and ended at 12:50 A.M. At 12:56, Sgt.Koon reported via his car's computer, "You just had a big time use of force... tased and beat the suspect of CHP pursuit, Big Time. " At 12:57, the stationresponded, "Oh well ... I'm sure the lizard didn't deserve it ... HAHA."At 1:07, the watch commander summarized the incident (again via MobileData Terminal): "CHP chasing ... failing to yield ... passed [car] A 23 ...they became primary ... then tased, then beat ... basic stuff really."lo Koonhimself endorsed this assessment of the incident. In his 1992 book on thesubject, he described the altercation with Rodney King as unexceptional:"Just another night on the LAPD. That's what it had been."llKing was jailed for four days, but released without charges. He was treatedat County-USC Hospital, where he received twenty stitches and treatmentfor a broken cheekbone and broken ankle. Nurses there reported hearingofficers brag and joke about the beating. King later listed additional injuries,including broken bones and teeth, injured kidneys, multiple skull fractures,and permanent brain damage.12Twenty-three officers had responded to the chase, including two in a heli-4
Page 5 and 6: WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY•J O YJ
Page 7: (e) 2007 by Kristian WilliamsIntrod
Page 10: acknowledgmentsBOOKS DO Nar WRITE T
Page 13 and 14: ZSugE-
Page 18 and 19: forewordPOLICE AND POWER IN AMERICA
Page 22 and 23: copter. Of these, ten Los Angeles P
Page 24 and 25: way of understanding the lives led
Page 26 and 27: vidual officer, perhaps it leads us
Page 28 and 29: given incident, while excessive use
Page 30 and 31: The difficulties in measuring exces
Page 32 and 33: up, a very large number of citizens
Page 34 and 35: (5) Unintentionality."[0 lffi cers
Page 36 and 37: Between 1995 and 2000, 360 cops wer
Page 38 and 39: emember that the available statisti
Page 40 and 41: even be supported by the lieutenant
Page 42: standing of those with power-those
Page 45 and 46: specialized function, and professio
Page 47 and 48: TIlere is a further advantage to th
Page 49 and 50: and frequently drunk.In 1727,Joseph
Page 51 and 52: the town, preparing elections, impr
Page 53 and 54: In fact, the first major reform of
Page 55 and 56: of personal honor. No White man sho
Page 57 and 58: stopping slaves whenever they were
Page 59 and 60: Charleston formed a City Guard in 1
Page 61 and 62: civil rather than military activity
Page 63 and 64: and Watch. This body was responsibl
Page 65 and 66: t::Uviolence, the committee argued,
Page 67 and 68: ity by policemen, dismissing thirte
Page 69 and 70: Political corruption was not new to
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3THE GENESIS OF A POLICED SOCIETYIN
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first moment, the importance of pol
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deals could be quite profitable for
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suppressing such riots. Not that th
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influence in wards where popular su
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delphia, investigated vegetable mar
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quo (that is, to protect the intere
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To the degree that industrializatio
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This analysis does not solve the pr
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well. 1I3 A more telling difference
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down. TIlls breakdown was in each c
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4COPS AND KLAN, HAND IN HANDAND THE
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tom .... A door opens outward on th
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very much like their previous statu
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tious driving, the model of the car
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statistics tell us that police arre
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fits the unit's established modus o
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Police investigators later document
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And let's not forget the enormous r
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area: they would pull up in a squad
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The Klan would meet the bus at the
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___ stoppedin terms of what the Fre
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SELMA, ALABAMA: BLOODY SUNDAYViolen
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point. The Panthers personified eve
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were killed, and ten other people w
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5THE NATURAL ENEMY OF THE WO RKING
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The practices surrounding the enfor
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lar officer's ties to the local com
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monopoly on it. Despite the continu
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troops, fifty cops from the Metropo
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and filled it with tear gas. As the
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Nine workers were arrested, charged
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the courts, and the police could be
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all health and well-being. The main
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ment retaliation, and a formal grie
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In 1912, Herman Rosenthal, a profes
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leadership. Increasingly, the polic
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struggle for status in urban Americ
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than before. But the main effect of
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The police also returned to open el
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policy. Henry Wise, the lawyer for
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the power and rewards of the upper
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found the FOP was sympathetic enoug
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whereas even the rookie patrolman s
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This process then results in a tran
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class. The police rebellion came wh
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is an obvious threat to democracy.T
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speeches, but as the evening wore o
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The Haymarket tragedy ... marked th
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154The role of the red squads furth
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Democratic Convention, and later go
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tion. Bail would be set at astronom
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tapped, then admitted that it was b
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Department's Inspectional Service D
Page 181 and 182:
dissenting group, representing rela
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instructions on infiltrating and di
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convention," was scheduled to coinc
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170supposed to do that."1Z7 Another
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terrorism that covers virtually all
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In a typical case, Hady Hassan Omar
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a threat had already developed. The
Page 195 and 196:
For most of that day, the police we
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the McCartby reportas a "crude and
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practical consequence of the Show o
Page 201 and 202:
Such force took different forms. So
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at Rockefeller Center. Jeff Jones,
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On the tactical level, Stark notes:
Page 207 and 208:
sion and brutal tactics is dangerou
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PLAYING BY THE RULESThe Negotiated
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f-;Cl.But the city council's perspe
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formalizes the strategy of violence
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Militarization ... can be defined i
Page 217 and 218:
The nationwide craze for SWAT teams
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a--institution into believing that
Page 221 and 222:
tiUCommon features seemed to connec
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are not difficult to discern. Mispl
Page 225 and 226:
Community policing does not imply t
Page 227 and 228:
.. Narcotics En forcement Area" sig
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one to the other) . lther than inve
Page 231 and 232:
tubetter terms with the community o
Page 233 and 234:
center . . .. I don't think there's
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urglaries"; "Biber, tell me about t
Page 237 and 238:
Of course, many community policing
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in a long series of institutional s
Page 241 and 242:
Rodney Stark writes, "It is vulgar
Page 243 and 244:
the name of "gang suppression."I.1
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228ed civil rights workers through
Page 247 and 248:
the elderly and unemployed.40 Meanw
Page 249 and 250:
these clumsy efforts. All this occu
Page 251 and 252:
It is tempting to try to distinguis
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sion. Underlying the search for jus
Page 255 and 256:
0-'Ilr)[/)'"-l()et::01516[/) 17'"-l
Page 257 and 258:
'"'i'..".,..-
Page 259 and 260:
98 This grotesque overstatement ori
Page 261 and 262:
140 \X'illiam Chambliss explains th
Page 263 and 264:
-.0MIMMrn'"-10I¥0rn'"-1E-
Page 265 and 266:
tr)"1"I.."1"rJ)00rJ)E-
Page 267 and 268:
lI'1I0'"1'rJJCjg;(;:G0r...rJJb0Z18'
Page 269 and 270:
252Chicago offering one of the few
Page 271 and 272:
'-0l"-I..I"-rJJ>..
Page 273 and 274:
..,..00I000
Page 275 and 276:
o'"I0000rJlWc..?c.::o'""'rJlWf-;ozG
Page 277 and 278:
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Page 279 and 280:
M0,...I00,...rJJC)0rJJ1-
Page 281 and 282:
2D Quoted in DonnC1", I'rotectors o
Page 283 and 284:
00.-
Page 285 and 286:
lr)N...INN...VJC)g;0VJE-03132333435
Page 287 and 288:
00N'I
Page 289 and 290:
U')
Page 291 and 292:
274145 Braverman offers a clear des
Page 293 and 294:
Dominance," 17.176 Smith concurs: "
Page 295 and 296:
46 Ford Fessenden and Michael Moss,
Page 297 and 298:
...t--...I00...c...CFJ00::0]:.l;.CF
Page 299 and 300:
U"\..I
Page 301 and 302:
1 Eugene L Leach, "The Litcratllre
Page 303 and 304:
M'"""I0000,...(fJ00::0'""(fJ1-
Page 305 and 306:
00N100a--,...(J)C)0>0-(J)E-
Page 307 and 308:
(:ommunity Policing," in Victor E.
Page 309 and 310:
the United Statf>" (Pittsburgh: Uni
Page 311 and 312:
I'- ..NI"
Page 313 and 314:
1'5olire (Berkeley, CA: Center for
Page 315 and 316:
and oppressed people suffer. The Pa
Page 317 and 318:
70 J\kl:voy and Mik,l, "Republican
Page 320 and 321:
selected bibliographyI HAVE TRIED T
Page 322 and 323:
This is the most readable of the hi
Page 324 and 325:
INSTITUTIONALIZED BRUTALITY AND POL
Page 326 and 327:
Six Sociological Essays, edited by
Page 328 and 329:
Smith, Bruce. Police Systems in the
Page 330 and 331:
CHAPTER 7: SECRET POLICE, RED SQUAD
Page 332 and 333:
This collection features studies of
Page 334 and 335:
Policing Consortium. NCJ 148457. Au
Page 336:
Mika, Harry and Kieran McEvoy. "Res
Page 339 and 340:
Andrews, Avery D., 288n.4Anthracite
Page 341 and 342:
...>< California Supreme Court, 291
Page 343 and 344:
Constables of the Commonwealth(Mass
Page 345 and 346:
Ettor, Joseph, 112-113Everett cotto
Page 347 and 348:
homelessness and vagrancy (cont.)Se
Page 349 and 350:
...X "Letter from Harlem." See "Fif
Page 351 and 352:
National Commission on the Causesan
Page 353 and 354:
:>< Pennsylvania State Federation o
Page 355 and 356:
prostitution (ca nt.)See also broke
Page 357 and 358:
X Scranton Commission (President's
Page 359 and 360:
:>< Ta mmany Hall, 51, 52, 55, 250n
Page 361 and 362:
Weisburd, David, 243n.137Weiss, The
Page 363:
Even critics have a difficult time
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