April has been quite the month for US law enforcement. They have convicted the most unpopular man in the country, gassed a soldier, killed three kids and still have a week to go. I have one question for them: “What are your May plans?”

Although it may not seem this way, the United States of America (USA) still has the best police system in the world. I am referring to law enforcement/citizen ratios, human rights accountability, and resource allocation per officer.

They, however, are in a crisis. Their image is under attack and they are appearing trigger-happy, belligerent and inefficient. Is this a fair assessment?

I do not think so. I was trained by them and I found them very restrained and well prepared for their challenges. However, I am not a black citizen living in America.

Sometimes you are judged for a few unfortunate decisions out of a million sound ones and other times you are judged on the few times you are caught in the million bad decisions. It is a hard determination. Hype determines public opinion, not academic study.

Let us look on this month of April and assess it based on what we know vs what we believe and see how fair is the public opinion.

Let us start with the 13-year-old child named Adam Toledo. He was killed in a shooting with a cop. He was armed, but there is some ambiguity as to how long before the shooting he had the gun.

Firstly, this is a tragedy because this is a child. I do not think that any of us at 13 years should be making decisions about our mortality. That is why you have parents and they should ensure that you are under supervision. If the parents realise that they cannot manage there are state facilities that can take the child.

However, was the shooting justified?

Well, he had a gun and despite him being a child he is equally dangerous as an adult once he can pull a trigger. Child soldiers in Africa are younger than him and they kill like machines.

Despite this, you still have to satisfy standards relating to risk at the time of the shooting. The video I saw has him pitching the gun in the split second he was shot. Any decision was taken to shoot will involve a reaction of at least a third of a second to fire. The decision to reverse the instruction will also take a similar time. So it could be viewed as explainable if it is all taking place in a split-second decision-making process.

That is what I saw and I have studied reflex in combat for 30 years. The issue, though, is why was the decision made. I cannot verify in the videos I have seen if the gun was pointed at the officer or if there was some other reason the officer was of the opinion he was in mortal danger.

To me they are both victims because that cop will never be the same again. I am sure he did not leave his home to kill a child. He will be judged over the years by people watching one video from 10 angles on a decision taken in a split second from one angle. What I want is the punishment of the man who put the gun in that child’s hand.

Think on that!

Then there is the teen female who got killed whilst attempting to stab another female.

Well, this is hard. It is a female victim and a teenager. I would likely not have fired though, as she was too close to the other person, but my decision would likely have resulted in a stabbing.

The officer took a decision and it possibly saved a life. Some say he should have used a taser. Well a taser is not really ideal for sub-second defence. It is simply slower than a gun and not likely to cause the immediate shutdown required to stop a stabbing that quickly. Still a tragedy for all concerned, we are talking about a female who is a minor. The officer, even if cleared, will be a changed man, a destroyed man.

Now let us talk about the pepper spraying of the soldier. It sort of reminds me of a recent assault on an ex cop and legend by a serving member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) without any rhyme or reason. Both incidents were caught on camera. Both were avoidable.

The video showing the officers in the incident involving the soldier in America is one that could be used to train police officers how not to operate. All I saw was belligerence, antagonism, anger and arrogance.

There was significant opportunity to de-escalate the conflict and the only people who needed to be restrained were the arresting officers. This video is living proof that there is a problem with anger management that needs to be addressed in at least that police department.

Then there was the arrest and fatal shooting of a young man who resisted whilst being handcuffed and attempted to flee in his vehicle. Well the reason given is that the officer made an error and instead of drawing her taser, she drew her gun. That reason is not acceptable.

I commend her honesty, but once you put on a police uniform you are responsible for people’s lives. You need to invest the time to practise with your equipment.

Interestingly, though, I have seen on video people getting into their cars and coming out with guns and killing the police. I have often wondered why people are being allowed to do this.

Also, why are these killers oftentimes white people. Nobody of any complexion should be allowed to resist arrest, jump into a car and come out with a gun. I totally understand why deadly force could be applied if you believe the person is going for a gun or is going to use the car as a weapon by running over people.

Why do these officers continually allow white offenders to shoot them or run them over. I am confused. They are certainly not allowing the black offenders to do it.

Most recently, there has been the conviction for the death of George Floyd. Well it is well deserved and stopped a riot. But be careful of the appeal. Let me give you an example that explains my concern.

Lieutenant William Laws Calley Jr was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 500 civilians in the village of My Lai in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. After the appeal, he served three years of house arrest. He walked free after the senseless slaughter of innocent women and children despite receiving a life sentence.

This Derek Chauvin case has all the tools needed to build an appeal that speaks to public opinion and public officials influencing the jury. Be careful, it is coming.

This conviction puts an extremely good group – ie American law enforcement – in an extremely peculiar position and decisions have to be made that reflect the crisis. Maybe it is time to remove sanctions imposed on law enforcement officers when arrested individuals escape from them.

In Jamaica, it can result in criminal charges and dismissal. If the resistance results in death then the offence cannot be minor rubbish like a fake $20 bill or retailing cigarettes. Just let them bloody well escape. It is no big deal and it is not worth the possible death or injury to the accused, the officer, or the bystander.

That is why police chases were banned for traffic offences. Not worth the risk. This may sound ridiculous, but it would have saved George Floyd’s life and Eric Garner’s. The beginning is to remove the sanction. It is just the reality.

This month is sad for all. There is no winner when these types of incidents occur.

Organisations must stop trying to benefit from it. Stop encouraging resistance to lawful arrests. Or, if you feel that strong about police arrests, lobby for the removal of law enforcement arrest powers and let every man fend for himself.

However, if we are going to continue to have a police force that can arrest then we cannot be in support of resisting lawful arrests, knowing fully well that it can result in the death of young misguided people. Daunte Wright never had to die. I agree, the officers’ blunder was the cause. But it began with him resisting arrest. If there was no resistance the entire incident would not have occurred.

Nobody is winning by encouraging these activities. Or are they?

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com