It is horrible that a few police have killed a few people under suspicious circumstances. George Floyd and Tyree Nichols are two examples of cops going rogue. In October 2021, The United States had 954,549 people in different law enforcement agencies. Those people had tens of millions contacts with nice people and the worst of humanity. Several cops have told me that 99% of the police will never shoot their weapon at someone. Almost that many won’t even draw their gun during their entire job.

            A retired female Chicago cop told me even a nice person can and will become hardened and treat even nice people as a criminal. It is well known that a cop and an animal get more excitable and aggressive when chasing a prey. Most of the cop-caused deaths have been after a chase.

            In 2021, 73 cops were killed by gun fire. The odds of a cop getting wounded or killed are extremely low because few are going to find themselves in such a position during their active duty time. However, in the past few years cops have been getting killed while doing mundane things like sitting in a car or walking on a sidewalk. Fifty-six more were killed by accident. That is 129 killed in 2021. How many more were hurt is not recorded nationally.

            A cop recently told me he is very cautious about pulling over a vehicle with blackened windows. He first checks the plates and then has the driver exit the vehicle before he gets out of his car. He still doesn’t know about passengers.

            Cops usually have a tiny part of a second to decide whether to shoot or not, and a cell phone or something else could be a gun when seen in the dark. Better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.

        The Mayors and Police Chiefs of most cities in America are faced with a criminal gang problem. In many cities these are “street gangs” numbering less than a dozen to more than a hundred per gang. Some have an area of a block or two to several neighborhoods. All need some activity to support them. The most common are drugs, street crimes and burglary. Now gun sales and store robbery has gained popularity. Along with those crimes go shootings of other gang members and bystanders.

            In most cities special police squads have been organized to combat the problem. These squads concentrate stopping their criminal activity by arresting them, harassing them, and interfering in their business. The harassing is where these squads start getting into trouble. They become overzealous in those activities and beat, sometimes to death, gang members and others who may not be in a gang.

            The choice is a difficult one since gangs have become so prevalent and invasive. Regular detectives in each division are not capable of solving the problem along with all of their other responsibilities. These special anti-gang squads are the answer but a major change is needed. Instead of putting detectives in the squad forever, causing them to become hardened and willing to cross the line, keep their appointment to three years or less. The leaders could be longer ensuring continuity of contacts and plans.

            The beating of Tyre Nichols might not have happened if that simple rule had been in effect.

I have only seen a no knock warrant executed on television shows. Almost all were fictional. I completely understand the reason for their use. A few years ago one show’s depiction was a researched legal warrant issued to an address with the last number being a 6. However a 9 had spun around to be a 6 and the police hit an apartment with a couple and kids. No shots were fired but the couple, two adolescents, and a baby were roughed up and their apartment destroyed.

No knocks are given so evidence can’t be flushed or burned or the inhabitants given time to arm themselves. That is a very critical reason for one.

Another episode showed a mistake in writing the warrant and the police burst into the address on the warrant, but not the intended one.

The death of Breonna Taylor is another example of a lapse of police intelligence. They didn’t check to see if her new boy friend was the same man as her old one from six months ago and was in jail. Both episodes and reality in Louisville indicate the police did not take proper care. Too many people had a finger in getting the intelligence and not checking to verify the boy friend, confirming the address, and having one-person start and end the process by verifying everything all along the way. She died from laziness within the department.