By Louis Civello
Cover Photo: (Credit – Suffolk PBA Instagram)
American police officers perform heroic actions every day. We fight crime and save lives. In Suffolk County, we like to say, “We are your neighbors, protecting your neighborhood.”
Unfortunately, anti-police rhetoric and divisive identity politics have been tearing our country apart and pulling Americans towards extreme ends of the political spectrum. This divisiveness frays our social fabric, which once hailed police officers as people to admire and respect.
Several high-ranking government representatives have participated in this reckless game by cherry-picking isolated incidents to create an erroneous platform of racism in policing. This has resulted in an unnecessary distrust of police officers.
Just when it seemed America might be moving past the hyperbole that led to the “Defund the Police” movement, President Biden posted on his X account on July 22, 2024, his support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. In his post, President Biden stated, “Sonya’s death at the hands of a police officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.” President Biden’s statement disingenuously implies that police officers treat Black Americans differently than other Americans because of the color of their skin. Such broad-brush painting of police officers is unfair to the many who strive to do the right thing for the members of our community.
This broad-brush approach seems exclusive to how radical politicians talk about police officers. Other similar professions, such as teachers or medical personnel, are treated differently in this regard. These honorable professions contribute greatly to our communities but have their share of bad apples. When we hear about a mistreated student or a medical malpractice, we don’t apply the word “systemic” nor do we make baseless claims of racism.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have been spreading the false narrative of systemic racism in American policing for years. Much of the time, police critics will attempt to equate correlation with causation. They will cite statistics that show minorities are incarcerated at higher rates than whites as proof of systemic racism. This argument ignores real root causes which include many socioeconomic factors, such as upbringing, education level, and culture. Their argument falls apart upon closer inspection. Consider the prison population in the United States is overwhelmingly male. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, over 93% of people currently serving prison sentences are men, and less than 7% are women. Does anyone believe that our police are systematically biased against men? I can assure you that is not the case. In reality, men are committing more crimes. It’s something that, like the prison racial disparity, deserves further study to understand the underlying factors so that we can work towards addressing it appropriately rather than villainizing our police.
This disingenuous messaging has fostered an atmosphere of distrust in the police among minority communities. Such false statements fool people into believing that America’s criminal justice system is racist, unfair, and in need of reform.
Following George Floyd’s death in Minnesota, Kamala Harris shared a link on her social media accounts asking for donations to a fund to post bail for arrested protesters. Her posts imply that these protesters are doing something noble, but the reality is that if a protester was arrested, they were not peacefully assembling as protected by the Constitution. Local law enforcement arrested the protesters based on probable cause of committing a crime. The Minneapolis and St. Paul riots caused an estimated $500 million in damage to 1,500 properties, including 164 instances of arson and two riot-related deaths. Many businesses never reopened, shattering the hopes and dreams of the business owners. These people were not victims any more than those who destroyed property or attacked police on January 6, 2021.
However, the media narrative surrounding the two events was very different.
Many recent criminal justice reforms have been foreseeable failures. These reforms were knee-jerk reactions by politicians to appease the angry far-left mob, often incited by pandering from far-left politicians. Bail reform in New York has been such a failure that even dangerous criminals charged with dismembering a human corpse were released without bail.
The passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would negatively affect public safety nationwide by reforming qualified immunity and lowering criminal intent standards to convict police officers of misconduct.
Qualified immunity is essential for police officers who are counted on to do their job to the best of their abilities. Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government officials from civil lawsuits for damages unless they violate clearly established constitutional or statutory rights. In other words, a police officer must qualify for immunity by acting in good faith within the scope of employment. It is not “absolute immunity” given regardless of circumstances. It does not protect or cover up for crooked cops. Qualified immunity protects government officials, including police officers, from risking their homes and life savings to frivolous lawsuits. Without it, many government officials would hesitate to act or make split-second decisions for fear of losing everything they have worked for.
For the good of everyone, influential politicians need to stop spreading the fallacy of systemic racism in policing. They need to return to the message of respecting law and order, emphasizing that police officers are there to help and protect the communities we serve. Politicians should not let isolated incidents be the sole influence when determining public safety policies. Instead, we should rely on proven methods of policing and work to address the underlying causes of crime. Police officers are the thin blue line that stands between your family and those who would do them harm. We should all demand that politicians stop trying to tear that line down for political gain.
Louis Civello is the President of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (PBA).
