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

So we'd had to use force to make him respond to our commands, tomake him lie still so we could neutralize this guy's threat to other peopleand himself.The force we used was well within the guidelines of the Los AngelesPolice Department; I'd made sure of that. Anel, I was proud of the professionalism[the officers had] shown in subduing a really monster guy, afelony evader seen committing numerous traffic violations,III1In three paragraphs, Koon employs minimization, blame, redefinition, unintentionality,counterattacks, competing victimization, and the Hero Defense, Asis usual, his little story stresses the possible danger of the situation, and elsewhereKoon emphasizes the generalizable sense of danger that officers experience:"[Wle'd all thought that maybe we were getting lured into something.It's happened before. How many times have you read about a cop getting killedafter stopping somebody for a speeding violation?"IIHThe danger of the job is a constant theme in the defense of police violence.It is implicit (or sometimes explicit) in about half of the excuses listedabove. By pointing to the dangers of the job, the excuse-makers don't onlydefend police actions in particular circumstances (which might actually havebeen dangerous) , but as often as not take the opportunity to mount a generaldefense of the police. This is a clever bit of sophistry, as cynical as a MemorialDay speech during wartime. It's one thing to make a banner of the bloodyuniform when discussing a case where the cops actually were in danger, butquite another to do so when they might have been in danger, or only thoughtthat they were.rIlle fact that policing is risky, by this view, seems to justify in advancewhatever measures the police feel necessary to employ. This point lies atthe center of the Hero Defense. Its genius is that it is so hard to answer.Few people are: indifft':feul lv the dealh of a police officer, espeCially whenthey feel (though only in some vague, patriotic kind of way) that it occurredbecause the officer was selflessly working-as former Philadelphia citysolicitor Sheldon Albert pu t it-"so that you and I and our families and ourchildren can walk on the streets. "105 The flaw of the Hero Defense, however,is both simple and (if you'll pardon the term) fatal: policing is not so dangerousas we are led to believe.THE DANGERS OF THE JOBIn 2001, 140 cops were murdered on the job. Most of these (71) were killedin the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.The remaining 69 deaths represent 65 separate incidents, most commonlydomestic disturbances and traffic stops. Additionally, 77 officers died inon-duty accidents. 1 06The 2001 figures are exceptional, skewed by the fact that more copsdied in one day than in the entire rest of the year combined. Outside of theWorld Trade Center attack, only three officers were intentionally killed in theentire northeastern United States. If we bracket the anomaly of September11, we get a more representative picture of the dangers police face: more officersdied in accidents (77) than were murdered (69) .1 07 This is not unusual.18