by David Clarke
As Attorney General, I have repeatedly made clear that racial profiling by law enforcement is not only wrong, it is misguided and ineffective—because it can mistakenly focus investigative efforts, waste precious resources, and, ultimately, undermine the public trust …
Particularly in light of the recent incidents we’ve seen at the local level—and the widespread concerns, about trust in the criminal justice process, that so many have raised throughout the nation—it’s imperative that we take every possible action to ensure strong and sound policing practices. We must instill the absolute highest standards of professionalism and integrity.2
Note that on December 9, Holder confirmed the lies of the Black LIES Matter movement, even though there was no evidence that these deaths were caused by racial profiling, which has yet to be defined by cop haters. It is one of those nebulous terms that the Left intentionally throws around to incite anger and emotion in black people.
Eric Holder’s USDOJ research arm, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), conducted a study in 2013 of police traffic stop data. The NIJ concluded that “differences in traffic stops can be simply attributed to differences in offending.” Additionally, federal data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that “blacks violate traffic laws at higher rates than whites in every offense including driving with an invalid license.”
Rather than rely on the findings of the very study he asked for, race provocateur Holder went on a witch hunt to mischaracterize and slander the integrity, honor, courage, character, commitment, and sacrifice that truly define the American police officer.
I was not willing to give Eric Holder the benefit of the doubt after he initially threw law enforcement officers under the bus when emotions were high. When he doubled down on his rhetoric in this speech, however, I became more disgusted by his scurrilous claims that law enforcement officers hit the streets every day with some nefarious intent in their hearts to deny people of their constitutional civil rights and indiscriminately shoot black males as if it’s some sort of sport. It was irresponsible for someone in his position to be so dismissive of the actual facts. He knows what due process is and what it looks like. But though he claimed to want “justice for all,” apparently that didn’t include police officers.
Facts matter. Words have meanings. Ideas have consequences.
Holder knew that, but he wasn’t alone in his carelessness. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said that basically police kill black people with impunity. Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, said, “It feels like open season on black men in America, and I’m outraged.” This kind of divisive politics extended all the way up to the White House: the fictitious “war on women” pitted men against women; class warfare pitted the wealthy against the poor; the Black LIES Matter rhetoric pitted whites against blacks. Again and again, the liberal elites tried to convince Americans to feel that their enemies were other Americans. That reopened the racial wound, leaving everyone feeling vulnerable.
Eric Holder and Barack Obama are smart men. They know that their words reverberate through the culture. However, they continued to side with the criminals instead of the police … to grave results. What happens when you tell Americans that their police are misguided, racist, and irresponsible?
Well, a funny thing. People believe you.
Black Americans began feeling justice wasn’t served in cases that involve black people, and they got scared. Actually, they also got mad. After all, it would be a scary thing to think that police were targeting you, right? The facts didn’t bear that out. But what happens when political elites pair with media elites and the truth never reaches Americans?
Eleven days after Holder’s speech, we found out.
That’s when the Baltimore resident decided to take matters into his own hands. In his Instagram, he said exactly why he killed two innocent police officers in cold blood. What’s so surprising is not that some malcontent misinterpreted the facts of police shootings but that the attorney general, the president of the United States, congressmen, and the media spread the same lies, misinformation, and distrust.
When I was interviewed after the two officers were shot, I said, “War has been declared on the American police officer.” I went on to say, “We might be reaching a tipping point with the mind-set of officers, who are beginning to wonder if the risks they take to keep communities safe are even worth it anymore. In New York and other places, we’re seeing a natural recoil from law enforcement officers who don’t feel like certain people need to have their backs.”
The “certain people” knew I was talking about them—the people who created this fake crisis in the first place, including Cop-Hater-in-Chief Obama. This statement garnered much eye-rolling among the liberal press, but I was too incensed to be diplomatic. I wasn’t going to stick my head in the sand about the fact that it’s open season right now on cops. Some accused me of using over-the-top rhetoric, but the American police officer knew it instinctively.
New York police union president Pat Lynch knew this. “There is blood on many hands tonight—those that incited violence on the streets under the guise of protest, that tried to tear down what New York police officers did every day,” he said. “That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor.”
These harsh words were deserved and more. After all, this same mayor said he worried that his (black) son would be safe. “And not just from some of the painful realities of crime and violence in some of our neighborhoods, but safe from the very people they want to have faith in as their protectors.”3 Police officers—both black and white—rightly interpreted these remarks as slams on their professionalism and integrity. Even worse, they believed these remarks created an atmosphere that caused these two officers’ deaths. Lynch didn’t stop there. “It is your failed policies and actions that enabled this tragedy to occur. I only hope and pray that more of these ambushes and executions do not happen again.”
When de Blasio heard the news that the police officers had died, he went to the Woodhull Hospital to pay his respects. The mayor had to go through a hallway filled with grieving officers to reach the families. Many officers silently turned their backs away from the mayor as he passed. It was a chilling moment, but there was more to come.
About twenty-eight thousand people were lined up for blocks along Brooklyn’s Sixty-Fifth Street to grieve and honor the memory of Officer Ramos. As de Blasio’s image appeared on giant video screens, one cop called out, “About face!”4 That’s how, at the largest NYPD funeral ever, many people sent a loud and clear statement: police officers are sick of careless politicians making us out to be the bad guys.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was unhappy about the silent protest at Ramos’s funeral and had urged cops not to do it again, but at Officer Liu’s memorial, the scene repeated itself.
It was a rainy day—not a driving rain, but more than a mist. The wall of police officers was out the door of the funeral home and extended as far as I could see. I was driven right up to the front, which I felt bad about. Those officers had been waiting in the rain for hours, and I was cutting in front of them to show my respects. I explained that I couldn’t stand in line because of a television appearance, and the police officers were super kind. “No, don’t worry about it,” they said, motioning for me to go inside.
I made my way inside where the body was laid and had the chance to meet Ramos’s widow and his sons. It had been a couple weeks since his funeral because many of Officer Liu’s family members had to fly in from China. “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said to Officer Ramos’s widow. It was the only thing I could say. Words couldn’t actually convey the grief I was feeling.
I then expressed my condolences to the family sitting in the first row. They had a Chinese-speaking interpreter beside them to help them understand what people were saying. I’m sure people said the same words again and again—I’m so sorry.
The interpreter explained
who I was to the various family members, and they nodded their heads. His mother hugged me and in broken English thanked me for coming. Then his dad—obviously distraught—shook my hand and wouldn’t let it go. I felt bad because I’d skipped the line, and then I was delaying progress. He probably didn’t understand what a sheriff was, but we had a moment between us that I’ll never forget. As I left, I looked at the thousands of police officers standing outside Aievoli Funeral Home in the rain to pay their respects, and I was overcome by my appreciation for this blue fraternity.
Once again, when the mayor made his remarks, they turned their backs away from a large video feed. Those police officers knew that my “war has been declared on the American police officer” statement was regrettably not hyperbole. History has shown that my prediction has tragically come true.
One of the next battles in this war against the American police officer happened in Dallas. There, during a Black LIES Matter protest, a heavily armed sniper killed five police officers. According to Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown, the shooter told the police during the ensuing standoff that “he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings. The suspect said he was upset with white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”5
Again, ideas have consequences.
But there was an unintended consequence of this fake race crisis that liberals didn’t anticipate: it’s getting black people killed. For those of you who work at CNN, here’s how that works: When you make the jobs of thousands of police officers more difficult by spreading lies about the profession, it makes police work harder. In cities like Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, and Baltimore, crime is skyrocketing even though it had declined or remained the same for years.
In September 2015, the New York Times showed that Milwaukee and St. Louis were on pace for their highest number of murders in more than a decade. Baltimore was recording much the same trajectory. Compared to the same time during the previous year, gun violence in Baltimore was up more than 60 percent; Milwaukee homicides were up 180 percent; in St. Louis, shootings were up 39 percent, robberies 43 percent, and homicides 25 percent.6 These citywide statistics were staggering. Notably, shootings in one East Harlem precinct were up 500 percent.
The “experts” interviewed by New York Times reporters had different explanations for the incredible spikes of violence. They speculated that the increase was due to rivalries in gangs, the ubiquity of guns, a “culture of violence,” and drugs. However, none cited evidence that any of these were actually on the rise over previous years.7
“The most plausible explanation of the current surge in lawlessness is the intense agitation against American police departments over the past nine months,” wrote Heather Mac Donald, who pointed out that murders of police officers rose 89 percent in 2014.8
Exactly.
FBI Director James Comey said, “I spoke to officers privately in one big city precinct who described being surrounded by young people with mobile phone cameras held high, taunting them the moment they get out of their cars.” He added, “They told me, ‘We feel like we’re under siege and we don’t feel much like getting out of our cars.’ I’ve been told about a senior police leader who urged his force to remember that their political leadership has no tolerance for a viral video.”
The Ferguson Effect
Mac Donald called this “chill wind” blowing through law enforcement departments across America the Ferguson Effect, and it’s obvious to everyone but liberals. The “experts” in the New York Times article ignored the one thing those three cities shared: Black LIES Matter had targeted them with intense scrutiny and criticism. Consequently, fewer arrests were made in St. Louis and Baltimore, and more murders were being committed. (Notice how those two go hand in hand.) In Milwaukee, Police Chief Ed Flynn said that after all of the media and activist push-back surrounding what was deemed as “aggressive” policing techniques, the department decided to focus on “building empathy.”
Building empathy? Does Flynn moonlight as a greeting card writer at Hallmark or did he just forget he was chief of police? Either way, he’s missing out on a vital understanding of human nature. The criminal underclass is not going to respond well to his overtures. They are predators in search of prey. Passive policing is a recipe to get more cops—and more black people in poorer neighborhoods—killed.
I’ve not had much respect for Flynn since I saw his true colors. On April 30, 2014, an employee of Starbucks within Red Arrow Park called the police because a guy was lying on a bench outside the entrance. He was either sleeping or passed out and seemed to be a homeless person. Christopher Manney, the beat officer for that section of downtown, responded to the assignment.
Cops are frequently put in situations that don’t fit within their core competency or skills set. For example, if a man is acting erratically in the roadway, we send in police. Why are we sending a cop? It seems we might send a mental health professional instead, right? If there’s a burglary in progress, that’s obviously a mission for the cops. But society is not set up in a way to effectively deal with complicated situations, and the police are sent in. Naturally, their instincts and training kick in and these situations can go sideways fast. This is exactly what happened with Officer Manney.
He carefully approached the man on the bench, not knowing if he’d have to do CPR or be attacked. He got out his nightstick and tried to rouse the man. He helped him up to a sitting position, then to standing on his feet. He started patting the guy down, which is permissible for police to do if there’s reasonable suspicion that the guy might have a weapon. Since homeless people are notorious for having weapons—to protect themselves from other homeless people—Officer Manney was well within his right to pat the guy down. The Supreme Court (Terry v. Ohio 1968) established this precedent.
While he was patting him down, the guy grabbed the nightstick and started beating the officer over the head with it. He was really bringing it. We later found out the guy, named Dontre Hamilton, was a schizophrenic who’d been kicked out of his home by his family, who feared him. All Officer Manney knew was that he was getting clobbered, and he feared for his life.
The cop pulled out his gun and emptied his magazine into the assailant, and the man died of his wounds.
Why did he empty his entire magazine? I don’t know. When you are in a life-or-death situation, the trauma affects your body in certain ways. That’s why on-the-scene accounts of the incidents are frequently wrong and confusing. I don’t even think Officer Manney realized he’d shot him that many times, but the press had a field day with a “police shoot unarmed man” narrative.
The prosecutor took eight months to make a decision—an unreasonable amount of time to determine the fate of the officer. The whole time Officer Manney was worried about whether he’d get charged, but no one cares about the mental health of the cop. Even worse, in the meantime, Ed Flynn fired Manney.
“Based on the comprehensive internal investigation conducted by the Milwaukee Police Department, I charged Officer Manney with a violation of our Core Value 1.00, Competence, in reference to his out-of-policy contact with Mr. Hamilton which ultimately led to his within-policy use of force,” he said. “Based on the totality of the circumstances … I signed an order terminating Christopher Manney from his employment with the Milwaukee Police Department earlier today.”9
Being fired from the police department is like being dishonorably discharged from the military. It’s a humiliation from which many never recover. Manney was facing this, even though he’d done nothing wrong. He did what he was trained to do. In all of my years, I’ve never even heard of an “improper pat down.” Even if there was such a thing, that should’ve been up to the court to determine. Flynn acted before the district attorney reviewing the case ultimately came back and said that Manney had acted reasonably. At the end of the day, Flynn sacrificed this guy’s career for political expediency, and it was despicable.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the almost four decades that I’ve been wearing the uniform of my community. Police are not perfect. That doesn’t come as a news flash to most of you, but the Black LIES Matter crowd needs to be reminded: police don’t have to be perfect; we have to be excellent. I repeat excellent, not perfect. Most officers reach excellence every day, but—humanity being the way it is—perfection is an unobtainable goal. Even though our police forces are comprised of just ordinary human beings, take a hard look at American police officers if you want to see how society can improve over the years. In the 1950s and ’60s, police were turning dogs and fire hoses onto truly peaceful protestors. But we changed. We changed ourselves. Today, we are more professional, more educated, and better trained than in any time in our history. Sadly, self-serving politicians want to transform this profession into something we’re not: social workers.
We didn’t create the tinderbox of cultural problems that are rampant throughout cities. Failed urban policy has led to the rise of an underclass, defined by generational poverty, government dependency, fatherless homes, failing schools, and questionable lifestyle choices. The government props up an underclass that takes property by force, settles disputes by violence, and refuses to raise its kids.
Police walk the beat in an already simmering situation. Police officers are not responsible for this, and elected officials know it.
I have had enough. I’m not going to let people who have not been a cop one day in their lives try to transform us. It’d be like me trying to reform the medical community after a botched surgery. By the way, did you know medical errors killed 250,000 people in 2014, yet Barack Obama has not put together a task force with a charge of completely transforming the medical profession? In that same year 990 people were killed in police use-of-force incidents. This is not to downplay the number of people killed in police interactions; it is meant to demonstrate the political hyperbole that the police are killing too many people. No, hospital procedures are.
