As we move away from the immediate aftermath of the Department of Justice findings regarding the Seattle Police Departments, we begin approaching the period of time where adjustments are supposed to be made. The mayor and the police chief have stated that they will adopt the DOJ's recommendations, media focus on this issue is now a fraction of what it used to be initially, and it is easy to assume that since these steps are being taken, that all should work out eventually.

While the procedural changes endorsed by the DOJ does address the issues besetting the SPD, it would behoove us as citizens to be watchful and get better acquainted with the problems we are facing. In the coming years, it will be important to remember that we are not just dealing with a small group of thugs in the police force; instead we need to realize that these problems stem from an increasingly militaristic culture, one that continues to imbed itself further among the uniformed ranks.

Helping to shed light on this trend and its insidious effects is none other than former SPD chief Norm Stamper, a fact that might seem richly ironic for those with a long memory.

His decision to use tear gas in order to disperse a crowd of protestors became the igniting incident in what came to be known as the WTO riots, an event marred with many instances of police over-reaction (the clip of an officer kicking a protestor in the groin came to be the defining image of the riots) and one of the first examples to show how a militarized response used against civilians should not be considered a plan of action. As a result, Stamper lost his job as police chief (to be replaced by Gil Kerlikowski, whose own tenure was irreparably marred two years later by the Mardi Gras riots, another event noted for several policing missteps).

Since that time, the scales seem to have fallen from his eyes. Beginning with his book, Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing, Stamper has been on a crusade to increase awareness of what he sees as the biggest failing of modern policing. The latest salvo in that crusade is his essay in The Nation, "Paramilitary Policing From Seattle to Occupy Wall Street." The first striking thing about Stamper's new voice is just how much he's willing to take responsibility for his actions during WTO. That candor serves to bolster the criticism he is now handing out; much easier to take these observations seriously when it's coming from someone with experience.

Initially written as a reaction and commentary on the displays of abuse found in New York, Oakland, Seattle and elsewhere in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the essay also serves as a tool to break down cop culture down to its building blocks.

Much of the problem is rooted in a rigid command-and-control hierarchy based on the military model. American police forces are beholden to archaic internal systems of authority whose rules emphasize bureaucratic regulations over conduct on the streets. An officer’s hair length, the shine on his shoes and the condition of his car are more important than whether he treats a burglary victim or a sex worker with dignity and respect. In the interest of “discipline,” too many police bosses treat their frontline officers as dependent children, which helps explain why many of them behave more like juvenile delinquents than mature, competent professionals. It also helps to explain why persistent, patterned misconduct, including racism, sexism, homophobia, brutality, perjury and corruption, do not go away, no matter how many blue-ribbon panels are commissioned or how much training is provided.

Reading that last sentence again, it is hard not to think about our current police department, how its chief has circled the wagon around his men and how long the criticisms leveled against the PD have been falling on deaf ears. The rest of Stamper's essay makes many similar points in just as definitive a manner, it's well worth a read if the ability to correct police behavior is remotely intriguing.

The Nation also posted a podcast where they talk with Stamper about his essay and what he's learned in the years after his Seattle post.

Filed in News and tagged Department of Justice SPD Report, Norm Stamper, Seattle Police Department, The Nation

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