https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/03/beat-cop-militarized-policing-cia/

My favorite cop wrote a column.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/05/buffalo-officers-suspended-shoving-man/

«“Fifty-seven resigned in disgust because of the treatment of two of their members, who were simply executing orders,” Buffalo Police Benevolent Association president John Evans told WGRZ.»

I think this speaks for itself.

(For when I come back three years from now: police unions are the problem + “we were just following orders”.)

Aaaaaand the follow-up: https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/exclusive-two-buffalo-police-ert-members-say-resignation-was-not-in-solidarity-with-suspended-officers

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1268381115338948608.html

Interesting stuff happening below the surface.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/de-escalation-keeps-protesters-and-police-safer-heres-why-departments-respond-with-force-anyway/

«Couper [former police chief of Madison WI], the creator of the Madison Method [a less confrontational approach to dealing with protests], said, “It’s this whole attitude of, ‘We keep order because we kick ass, and it’s us against them.’ (…) We’ve got to root those people out and say, ‘Look, this is the job that we expect. This is how a democracy is policed. If you can’t buy into it. I’m sorry. You just have to find another job.’”»

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-minneapolis-police-chief-promised-change-george-floyds-death-shows-hurdles-11590971860

«Like Ms. Harteau before him, Chief Arradondo had a starkly different vision for the department than Lt. Robert Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis since 2015. Like his union counterparts across the country, Lt. Kroll has been a fierce advocate for greater autonomy for officers.

Lt. Kroll has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement as a terrorist organization. In his racial discrimination lawsuit, Chief Arradondo, who was then a lieutenant, accused Mr. Kroll of calling former U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison a terrorist. Mr. Ellison, a Democrat who is now Minnesota’s attorney general, is both Muslim and black. In the same lawsuit Chief Arradondo accused Mr. Kroll of wearing a leather motorcycle jacket with a white power badge sewn on it.

Mr. Kroll couldn’t be reached for comment but in the past has publicly denied charges that he is racist.

The union chief also opposed a 2019 ban by Mayor Jacob Frey on aggressive “warrior-style” training for police, which doesn’t emphasize de-escalation during encounters with civilians. The ban went into effect, but controversy has continued over whether officers are following it, according to local media.

Ms. Harteau, the previous chief, said in an interview that the union was the biggest obstacle to making changes at the department.

“The police federation will have a greater impact on the police culture than a chief ever will,” said Ms. Harteau.

She criticized the union for standing up for officers in even the most egregious cases, and said that the union’s “silence is deafening” in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s killing.»

WSJ has some good articles if you stay off the editorial page.

Knowledge I hope never to need.

Beau of The Fifth Column (@BeauTFC) Tweeted: Twitter Exclusive: Let’s talk about journalist @KillerMartinis… https://t.co/aQ3yR4i4tU https://twitter.com/BeauTFC/status/1266943429801578496?s=20

I think she means “must not be”, and I agree.

Jeannette Ng 吳志麗 (@jeannette_ng) Tweeted: A scroll through Hong Kong’s protest art will tell you that stories & junk pop culture can inspire plenty.

But they’re not manifestos.

We can’t be the substitute teacher who puts on an episode of X-Men instead of teaching about civil rights movements https://t.co/RxtAcC8csY https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1267119819251503104?s=20

Finally looked this up.