Mr. Sloan assured me that he would look into this incident and that *he* would be calling me back. I ended the call on a positive note and expected to hear back from him after he looked into my concerns. I felt confident the four (4) things I requested were reasonable and would be provided:
A) The reason why the officer started flashing his lights at my husband
B) The reason why the officer decided to STOP my husband
C) The reason why this officer was disrespectful to my husband and behaved in my opinion, as a bully
D) An apology to my husband and the “guarantee” that this will not result in retaliation
The next day, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, I receive a call from your police lieutenant, which now prompts this formal complaint and appeal to The Office of the City Commissioners for further investigation.
The lieutenant informs me the purpose of
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They showed a lack of professionalism, disrespect, abuse of power and authority. I would like them to be reprimanded and retaught the proper way to talk to people, especially older residents. I demand an apology from Mr. Sloan and the lieutenant who improperly handled my concerns. This lieutenant needs further training on how to properly and effectively handle citizen’s concerns and/or complaints when they are about police officers. If, however, they have been taught to behave this way then I would like a written apology from The Office of the City Commissioners and an assurance that none of your employees will act in such a rude and inconsiderate way in the future. Accountability in the police department is key to healthy law enforcement and community relations. I would like to see the “process” changed so that residents can offer suggestions or file a complaint at any City building such as the library, City Hall, Oakland Community Center, Fire Department or anywhere less intimidating and uncomfortable and not be forced to walk into the lion’s
Officers are known as public servants, they are held at higher standards than everyday citizens. According to Wyatt-Nichol & Franks(2009) when officers behave unethically, it is a violation of public trust and damages the image of law enforcement everywhere (p. 40). Officer should receive in-death training of cases that make headlines within the newspapers or media. For example, the Freddie Gray or Eric Garner case could be used in scenarios with the steps taken to avoid any ethical dilemmas they could possibly run into. Updated training should be conducted every 6 months for ethics alone in addition to the yearly training that’s already in place. The civilian review board can recommend more training of officers that engage in unethical behavior or misconduct. Intense training, followed through with morals is important factors to avoiding the civilian review board and their process in reviewing investigations against officers. When all training officers receive has been overlooked and failed to comply. Police officers should be held accountable for their actions, through training officers learn to understand their position and need within the community. Although training is offered yearly and on an as need basics, officers are held to a high standard within their community. Some tend to lose sight of their mission of daily duties which are to maintain order and
Police corruption is not a new problem in society and there is not a standard way to deal with it. Police officers have enormous power and responsibility and are asked to make difficult decisions. There is not an exact guide to behavior for police officers so their discretion can lead to corruption (Monkkonen, 1999). The existence of police corruption in America has created a negative public view of law enforcement. Police corruption has deteriorated the relationship between law enforcement and the community. In the past four years, more than 500 officers in 47 cities have been convicted of various federal crimes. Local and state authorities in 32 other jurisdictions are either engaged in active investigations or prosecutions of dirty cops (Johnson,1998) .
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
Smithson v. Nordstrom, Inc., 63 Or App 423, 427 (1983). Five factors help determine if conduct was “outrageous”: (1) if there was a “special relationship” between the officer and Aleena Nikel, (2) if Aleena was a “vulnerable” person, (3) if Officer Manden had “ulterior motive,” (4) if the incident took place at a “public venue,” and (5) the “character [or nature] of the conduct.” House v. Hicks, 218 Or App at 363
...olving officers, officer transfers, disciplinary actions against officers, and various civil and criminal claims against individual officers or against the police department as a whole.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) presides over one of the most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Policing Oakland is a challenging task by any measure and there have been many allegations that officers have employed inappropriate policing tactics. (Guardian article). After a gang of rogue police officers in the 1990s was accused of framing and beating suspects, the department was placed on a court-ordered monitor by a district judge. As part of a Negotiated Settlement Agreement, OPD is required to complete a list of “tasks”. The department has received other independent recommendations for reforms. There was a clear lack of accountability in the departments past, which created the impetus for reform. For the purposes of this paper, accountability entails establishing expectations, verifying performance, assessing blame, and sorting responsibility (Romzek 241). In this paper I ask, “Will accountability related reforms be institutionalized?” I evaluate the need for these reforms and use two applicable tasks to analyze reform success. I argue accountability-based reforms has penetrated the police culture and will be institutionalized because of internal support and decentralization, which improve collaboration and present an opportunity to engage with the community.
Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to by society. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.
We must take actions to reform police behavior! The problem is not the police nor the people of the United States, but the Federal Government system in which we all have to abide by. In order for a police reform to be implemented, the system has to be fixed and reconstructed. The people of the United States want to feel protected by the police, but on the other hand, they receive limited training on how to effectively interact with the people in the community they serve. Police officers are ordained by the power of the government. Police reform should start by giving proper training to new recruits and veterans, enforcing community policing and police accountability.
All police officers should be required to wear a body camera and a microphone that should be turned on at all times. These body cameras and microphones would eliminate lies told by police officers, and would create a true picture of the crimes. Court systems should not just provide any public defender to those who cannot afford a lawyer. Social status should not interrupt the due process of law. Public defenders should be trained to be adequate lawyers and provide adequate service to their clients. As Muhiyidin D 'Baha stated, we need a citizens’ review board that has subpoena power, so as a community we can monitor officers and review their actions to prevent events such as the death of Walter Scott from happening. The biggest thing that should occur is trust should be restored with our community and officer. Somehow we have to make sure that officers respect our communities and our people, and in return we must trust them to protect. We have to erase the idea of officers fearing black men because of the color of their skin, and we have to not fear officers due to other officer killings. There has to be some balance and understanding between officers and communities, where they trust us and in return, we trust them. Finally, we should honor and protect the fourteenth amendment, which states equal protection. Obviously, we do not have
What happens when officers forget their role and responsibilities? They abuse their power and go beyond their duties crossing lines that should not be crossed for instance in Saratoga New York a police officer tries to conduct and illegal vehicle search, when the civilian refuses, the officer slaps him and takes the keys. This type of conduct should not be tolerated and officers should constantly be reminded of the consequences of such actions. One thing in particular that can be observed is that in most videos the officers are not alone yet the other officers knowing their partner are wrong do not intervene, this pattern shows that the officers are not being trained properly. Proper training can easily avoid such conflicts for example in the case of Saratoga New York another officer could have deescalated the situation by letting his partner know that what he is doing is illegal, this simple action could had avoided a lot of problems. The majority of police officers do an excellent job but is the few that do not do a good job the ones ruining the image and reputation of the force, reminding officers of their duties and paying attention to their actions can make a difference in job performance while helping keep good community
Police accountability is an effective way to regulate police officer’s behavior. Police accountability is applied in different ways and with different approaches. Some of these approaches include routine supervision, regular performance evaluations and early intervention systems. Police accountability is implemented by using external and internal controls. External controls include citizen complains reports and internal controls consist of early intervention systems. On the other hand, early intervention systems enhance a police officer’s accountability and overall performance. Police accountability refers to holding each police officer individually, as well as the agency as a whole, accountable for effectively enforcing
Many departments now meet regularly with neighborhood groups, allow citizens to participate in citizen police academies, and conduct forums to give citizens a better understanding of the duties of police officers and their actions. Some police departments require and encourage officers to get out of their patrol vehicle and initiate positive contact with the people on their beats (Shusta, Levine, Wong, Olson, & Harris, 2011). All of these efforts are important and relevant to community policing, which helps to remove and diminish negative images of police officers. Citizens are more willing to work hand in hand with police officers who are approachable, engaged, and take ownership of the neighborhoods they serve, which is what community policing is all about.
When an officer acts irresponsibly or violates policy, what happens to them? Who conducts these investigations? Are these officers held accountable and if so, how? Yes, police officers are to uphold the law and policies of the department and the internal affairs division takes care of these cases. If officers are reported to have committed any criminal acts, then an investigation ensues in the internal affairs division. Investigators who work in the internal affairs division are required to investigate any suspected wrongdoing within the department. (Dempsey, Frost, & Carter, 2014) states that these cases are “the most important cases to eliminate”, however, that can only take place if those involved can make admissions that these corruption cases are an issue (p.247). They will need documentation of any these cases as well as to examine
In our times, the police have become the criminals. Some police are using their power to do bad things, and society has come to fear police. The law enforcement system needs change. The courts have failed the police, and the police have turn to other means of justice. We must stop the corruption in the police force.
♦ Hold regular local meetings with police to raise concerns and talk about what to do to make things better.