By Steve Pomper
Cops are experiencing an excruciating frustration with mainstream media. Political and media leaders create and promote an anti-police false narrative, and then even well-intentioned journalists make assumptions based on that erroneous foundation.
Media are asking for a better way to change American “police culture.” They’re making a deeply troubling assumption. An assumption akin to asking the notorious loaded question, “When did you stop beating your wife?”
The obvious problem is assuming there is a problem with “police culture”—whatever that is. The term has a whiff of negative stereotyping to it when used critically. Media ask about changing police culture because, along with too many others, they evidently believe the problem with police-community relations lies solely with the police.
Objective statistics and academic studies continue to find police officers are not “killing unarmed black men at an alarming rate.” It’s just not happening. Too many people are choosing to believe the myth perpetuated by self-serving politicians, activists, academics, Hollywood, and media czars. This is a powerful and unfair political alliance, attacking the police, and covering for domestic terrorists engaged in a violent socialist revolution.
Today’s American law enforcement officers are some of the best trained cops in the world. But the enemies of the rule of law and equal justice say the way police conduct law enforcement is wrong simply because they don’t like when police work is done correctly. Just because the left doesn’t like the way police officers enforce the law doesn’t make all police use-of-force automatically wrong.
Rush Limbaugh had the hosts of The Breakfast Club radio program on his show this morning. Charlemagne asked him why this was the one incident that united the American people in condemnation when there have been so many black people killed at the hands of police.
I’ll answer that: It’s because most of the other incidents were done properly. But either people don’t know why it was proper, because they don’t understand police work. Or they don’t care and believe every single time a white police officer kills a black man (unarmed or not) it’s “murder.”
They can’t or won’t see the huge difference between what happened to George Floyd and what happened to Michael Brown. This is a very difficult chasm to bridge especially when the media and some politicians promote the rampant police brutality myth. No wonder so many people believe it.
People who refuse to believe—or even consider—the facts shown by the data that cops are not routinely abusing people must then rely on emotion and bias. I’m not talking about subjective interpretation of data; I’m talking about looking at raw numbers.
Why does the media repeat a false narrative when the actual numbers are so easily available? Why, when they could read scholarly articles refuting police brutality as police culture written by academic luminaries such as, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, and Victor Davis Hanson?
Here’s a telling example of media bias. CBS in Pittsburgh quotes Police Chief Scott Schubert describing, “ANTIFA, they’re the ones who are fueling a lot of this.” But, here is CBS’ title: “‘Damn Shame’: Pittsburgh Police Chief Says White Males Dressed In Anarchist Attire Hijacked George Floyd Protests Downtown.” [bold mine]
Since when do the mainstream media describe Antifa as “white males?” To be fair, the chief also said, “white males,” but that’s just an objective description of most Antifa members. But I’ve never before heard the media allude to Antifa as white supremacists. Did CBS leave “Antifa” out to conflate leftist domestic terrorists with “white supremacists?” Wouldn’t that only deflect the blame and enflame the violence?
There’s just too much objective evidence in FBI statistics that racism is simply not rampant in American police departments today. You can ignore that fact, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Regarding George Floyd’s appalling death, it wasn’t necessarily attributable to racism. And whether or not the officer was racist, it’s clear the issue here was a clear lack of humanity. Without further investigation, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t have treated any person with this brutality.
This is no defense of the officer’s evil act, but automatically attributing racism simply because he is white and George Floyd is black, is also evil. If you believe that, aren’t you saying that all white cops are racist? If so, then aren’t you thinking like the domestic terrorists and criminals who are rioting, looting, and now killing people, including cops?
There is no evidence that racism is broadly institutional or systemic in police departments. In fact, there’s clear evidence the opposite is true. If that’s not good enough, how about the results of a study conducted by a liberal, black, Ivy League professor?
In 2016, Harvard professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. conducted a major study of racial bias in police uses of force. Among other interesting findings, he established that “officers were more likely to fire their weapons without having first been attacked when the suspects were white.” Of his study’s findings he concluded, “It’s the most surprising result of my career.”
In my flipping the media’s question back to them, what about their intentional conflating of so-called peaceful protesters with rioters and domestic terrorists—and then morphing rioters into white supremacists? On camera, I saw a cable news reporter downplay the violence and property destruction while the flames grew in the background behind the reporter. Welcome back, Baghdad Bob.
Changing a “police culture” that doesn’t need to change (this doesn’t mean it can’t improve; all organizations should always strive to improve) won’t help society; it would help society to teach people to understand what, how, and why the police do what they do. Now, I’m not talking about teaching the rioters comprised of assailants, arsonists, political insurgents, and thieves. They know exactly what they believe in: violent revolution.
I’m talking about the average person who doesn’t know any better who believes the lies told about police by the mainstream media because that’s their only news source. Although, all Americans could use this education. Even police supporters don’t always get a cop’s complex job. It’s not their fault; mainstream media isn’t giving them any balance, only the anti-police perspective.
Part of the problem is people will see high-profile police use of force and think it is “wrong” because it looks bad even though officers performed as trained. Force doesn’t look good and never will. With the Floyd incident, there is nearly universal agreement between the public and police about this apparent crime. But much of the public doesn’t know why there’s a difference here—why this was a crime. City and police department leaders should teach the public the differences.
And now I’m afraid society will have to contend with some conflicting information as it emerges. Last week, the Western Journal reported “George Floyd Autopsy Finds No Evidence of Asphyxia or Strangulation, Family Plans Second Examination.” FOX News has reported that, at the family’s request, noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden will conduct that second autopsy.
Baden’s results of that second autopsy indicate Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation. Depending on how this discrepancy is handled, look out for continuing terrorism. Remember, there is one side of the political spectrum that believes it is not allowed to lose—anything. Not elections, not court verdicts, and not autopsy reports. They are not happy unless the people who want to tear down America are the ones who get to define “justice.”
Regardless, police officers across the country will continue to deal with the violent aftermath of what appeared to be depraved indifference by a cop, the depraved inaction by the Minneapolis mayor, and the depraved violence committed against communities by rioters and domestic terrorists.
In fact, last night several police officers across the country were shot and another cop was run over by an insurgent driving a vehicle. One particularly heinous act from Las Vegas reported a terrorist walked up behind the officer and shot him in the head. Anyone who still thinks this has anything to do with George Floyd’s death is irrational. Just ask his brother.
And now all Americans will have to deal with some outrageously irresponsible politicians exploiting the civil unrest for political gain—who cares who gets hurt. It’s unconscionable, but politicians and media continue to spray gasoline on a nation on fire when they should be pouring water on it.