As Minneapolis politicians call for a top to bottom makeover of the Minneapolis police force, cops flee the force in record numbers, many claiming symptoms of PTSD. Even The New York Times acknowledges that crime surges in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the dearth of active law enforcement.
“Resisting is desperation,” says Mike Muse in a column at Medium.com attempting to explain “Why Black People Resist Arrest”. With police brutality, racial injustice, and mob violence in the news daily, it’s time to take a look at some of the underlying motivations.
“If communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need,” says U.S. Attorney General William Barr, the top law enforcement officer in the federal government. Should this implied threat concern residents of those communities?
The Trump administration ends President Obama’s moratorium on federal death penalty executions, despite concerns about racial disparities on death row. While the move changes the method of lethal injection to reduce pain — following the Texas model — the risk of executing an innocent person remains. What’s the role of capital punishment in an advanced, humane, society? Should small government Constitutional conservatives endorse the federal government’s ultimate power to wield the sword against its own citizens?
The Boston Globe reports that the FBI and ICE sweep photo databases at state departments of motor vehicles (DMV) to run criminal searches unauthorized by state or federal law. You didn’t sign off, granting the feds permission to access your image and information without probable cause. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complain that the law enforcement agencies have done this on their own initiative, turning the land of the Fourth Amendment — the Republic of “innocent until proven guilty” — into suspect nation.