I think we both know that there is way too much police and jails and too much budget shortfalls when it comes to community investment. Why is it easier to build a jail then to build schools? Budget wise there should be better balance. There should not be any short fall when it comes to improving people's lives.
In terms of your arguments, while well intentioned, it fails to see the extent of abuse and harm perpetuated by law abiding Black civilians. I think there is evidence all over the place that there is rampant racism to the point that people are afraid to call the police.
Look at this article here where a Black business owner called the police because of looters in his store, and he ends up being punched in the jaw while the looters got away:
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/06/09/us/ap-us-officer-punches-store-owner.html
If you look at an article like that, then what is the point of having police in the first place? Look at the level of incompetence? They are doing more harm to people who are calling them for help than any good.
There were two police killings in my area from Black people who called the police for help because of a mental episode and they ended up dead:
Ontario's police watchdog has been called in to investigate the death of a 29-year-old woman who fell from the balcony of an apartment building in To…
www.blogto.com
What does both of the above articles have in common? If the police were not called there would be two more people alive today.
Or, how about this article, elderly Black patience from a hospital is tackled by the police:
A 68-year-old Black man is seeking justice after he was struck several times on his head and left nearly unconscious by Durham police officers as he was attempting to leave an Ajax hospital with his wife.
toronto.ctvnews.ca
The above article is very horrific with me because I have elderly Black relatives. My mother is over 80 years old.
How about wellness checks?
Most recent News News business news stories and video from CP24
www.cp24.com
Nice young girl is killed because someone called the police for a wellness check on her. Here's another wellness check in the States:
Aaron Dean, the officer who shot Atatiana Jefferson, resigned on Monday, hours before he was booked on murder charges.
www.vox.com
So you call the police on someone to see if they are okay, the police can end up killing them? There is no justice for any of these police killings because police are above the law and can act with impunity when it comes to killing off Black or Indigenous people.
You have said that you support police reform, however, nothing has happened since the Rodney King riots in the early 90s and people are becoming increasingly impatient at any sort of incremental reform. Just know this, if an officer is Black and the victim is White, then you don't need a police reform for that because the Black officer is usually immediately arrested, fired, and charged and convicted with a prison sentence.
Take a look at these articles:
Body-camera video shows the boy’s father had his hands raised in his vehicle while Derrick Stafford and a second officer fired 18 shots after a two-mile chase
www.theguardian.com
Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.
www.reuters.com
A White person in another country has more rights than any Black person does in the USA. In this same jurisdiction when the victim was Black, all the family got was a measly $ 4 Million settlement and the officer were acquitted.
en.wikipedia.org
The point I am making is you don't need police reform when it comes to dealing with White victims of police brutality when there is an accidental shot from a Black officer resulting in the White victims death. However, a White police officer can unload clips of bullets or shoot someone at point blank range or in their back and get a pass in the criminal justice system time and time again.
Does that tell you a system like that can really be reformed or it's so rotten to the core that it has to be dismantled completely and there needs to be a new social contract because the legitimacy of policing, as we know it today, is shot. People are tired of lip service and seeing the can being kicked down the road to another disaster a short time later and want real change.
