Street Smart

Several people have asked me my thoughts about the death of George Floyd from a law enforcement perspective. I thought about that and realized that, because of my experience, I initially looked at that video much differently than most people. I hope I can explain this effectively.

I want to make something abundantly clear before I explain my thoughts. I believe that what happened to George Floyd was a tragic, criminal act. None of the thoughts I’m about to share are intended to minimize what happened.

When I first saw the video (please keep in mind that my first viewing was very brief and without audio), I didn’t view it in terms of “white officer versus black man.” Experience has taught me to evaluate a person’s behavior rather than their ethnicity, so my initial thought was, “I wonder what that guy (Floyd) did.” Most of what I saw at first took place behind a vehicle, so all I could see was Floyd’s body from the shoulders up. Officer Chauvin was kneeling on his neck. I could tell that Floyd was handcuffed because of the positioning of his shoulders. Chauvin’s actions seemed strange to me because officers are taught to break contact and cease any force when a resisting person is effectively subdued. My next thought was that some sort of struggle was taking place behind the vehicle and out of my view. I’ve seen handcuffed arrestees actually reach concealed weapons or contraband while handcuffed, so I just assumed something like that was happening. Another video clip showed that a struggle took place as Floyd resisted the officers’ efforts to place him in the police car. That, for me at least, explained how Floyd ended up on the ground. My thought then was, “If only he had gotten in the car!”

It wasn’t until I saw additional video of the officers standing around and heard the audio that I realized all that had happened. Floyd’s autopsy revealed the presence of fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana in his system. Those substances undoubtedly impaired his judgment and may have been a factor in the way this event escalated. The subsequent judicial proceedings will address all of that. However, based on what I saw, Floyd’s resistance was passive and could have been easily overcome with minimal force. It was a tragic event that never should have occurred.

Again, to be clear, there is absolutely no justification for Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds! My wife and I have 57 combined years of law enforcement experience and have discussed this quite a bit. Nothing in our collective experience can justify or explain what occurred (based on a few reports, we believe there might have been some personal conflict between them). Law enforcement safely/effectively deals with people behaving like Floyd thousands of times a day, regardless of race. Floyd could have, and should have, been arrested, in a safe manner. Nothing good came out of this incident, but at least Chauvin is off the street.

I understand the peaceful protests taking place across the country, but strongly disagree with the violence and rioting. People who are sincerely and peacefully protesting and recommending change are being overshadowed by a bunch of opportunist thugs. The violent protestors are laying the blame for this and other events on all of law enforcement. That sort of argument is absolutely unfair and inaccurate. That sort of logic is also, ironically, a bigoted perspective.

There’s a movement now to defund police departments across the nation. I think the effort is foolhardy, but also unnecessary. The unfortunate truth is that most officers are going to shut down on their own; no input from their respective departments will be necessary. I’m not sure if most people realize that a police officer’s salary is not dependent on the amount of work they do. There are no bonuses in law enforcement. Cops that work hard do so because they care. Cops now believe they’ve been abandoned by their communities and by their leadership. They’re thinking twice about being proactive and some are leaving law enforcement altogether. Communities are going to suffer as a result, and the minority communities will likely suffer the most. It’s a sad truth that, because of the backlash against law enforcement, nobody will be rushing to your 911 call! My buddy used to derisively say about unmotivated cops or weak police leaders, “There are no mistakes on a blank sheet of paper.” Unfortunately, that’s going to be the mindset of cops nationwide for quite some time to come.

It bothers me that law enforcement is being portrayed as a bunch of out of control racists. That simply is not true! Are there racist cops? Sure there are! After all, we get our officers from the same place we get our criminals. Society. Law enforcement entities nationwide have gotten good at conducting background investigations to identify potential problem officers. Still, some do slip through the cracks. Could law enforcement do a better job? Absolutely! Always! When I was still working, we had a policy of conducting very self-critical debriefs after a significant incident. The purpose? To identify what we did right so we could do it again, and also (more importantly) to identify what we did wrong or could have done better. Today’s cops are professionals… not a bunch of thugs. Don’t judge all by the actions of a few.

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls. He can be reached by email at [email protected].