Louisiana’s “War on Cops”

Last year, Radley Balko author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police forces, wrote an opinion for the Washington Post titled, “Once Again: There is no ‘War on Cops’, and those who claim otherwise are playing a dangerous game.”

Balko responded to poll data that found 58% of poll takers believed there was an actual “War on Cops” after a few shootings where police officers were targeted or killed.

Balko blamed the media and politicians for spreading hysteria through “fact-free fear mongering” when the facts indicated 2015 was on record pace to be the safest year for police officers in decades.

(Proponents of the “War on Cops” acknowledged police killings were down, but justified the phrase because of increased anti-police rhetoric.)

Previous war metaphors on poverty, drugs, and terror were used to draft public opinion in favor of policies stated to protect Americans. But the phrase “War on Cops” does not emphasize a policy to protect Americans. It is an accusation that American citizens have declared war on those sworn to protect the public, and it threatens to make endangered community/police relations extinct.

Balko’s right, “War on Cops” is a dangerous game of words, especially if the fiction is believed by police officers.

Balko stated when cops are constantly told that they’re under fire, that their every interaction with a citizen could be their last, and they’re fortunate to go home in one piece after each shift would put any human being on edge. This kind of reminder on a regular basis, the notion of war blaring in the background every minute while on duty creates a combative mindset that turns every citizen into a potential enemy combatant and the only rule of engagement is self preservation.

Balko also said, “It also makes for a miserable work life. You’re going to constantly be on-guard, on-edge, and jumpy. That isn’t a state of mind that … Seeks out peaceful conflict resolution. It’s a state of mind that makes an officer more likely to reach for his gun.”

This was the state of mind forecasted if the fiction turned into fact.

(A psychological state that already existed and is given the benefit of the doubt because of dangerous work conditions. But what defensive claim made by an officer will be reasonably doubted by a jury if their work conditions are considered warfare?)

In May 2016 Louisiana became the first state to sign a bill protecting police under hate crime laws because of the “War on cops”. The governor’s signature turned a chosen profession (that was already protected by law) into a protected class like oppressed minorities.

The passage of the bill turned the “War on Cops” into a reality in Louisiana. It was just a matter of time, less than six weeks, before white police officers in Louisiana made national headlines for killing a black male they mistook for an enemy combatant.

The “War on Terror” had an official color coded warning system that measured the level of threats against the United States on any given day. The governor of Louisiana should create a color code for the first state to have an official “War on Cops”, but instead of measuring the intensity of anti-cop rhetoric made by civilians it should measure the pulse of their protectors.

First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 7/13/16