Part of the BLM's problem is that it has encouraged or ingrained an adversarial relationship, intended or not, with police. This has no doubt precipitated more uses of force by police in response to belligerent or antagonistic suspects/individuals over minor incidents. It seems now they are attempting to engage law enforcement to some extent, but they've already engendered ill-will among police officers because of the broad, vocal opposition to police over the past year. There is also the failure of some BLM leaders/members to accept that there are instances where deadly force is warranted. There's a world of difference between a black kid getting shot for shooting or pointing a gun at police and what happened with Freddy Gray. Yet many BLM protesters seemingly fail to understand that. There was an article in the Daily Beast the other day about how several leaders in BLM refuse to accept deadly force in basically any circumstance. Another problem is the failure/refusal to accept legal outcomes regardless of legitimacy. Unfortunately, there are situations where the "just" outcome isn't legally viable.
I've read through parts of the agenda and see an issue with one particular part in particular. Community representation in many cities or neighborhoods is going to be impossible to mirror exactly because of the large number of black males who have: 1. criminal history, 2. drug use, 3. desire to be a cop. I know black cops who have family who refuse to talk to them because of their profession. Places like Camden, Detroit, or Baltimore (and other poor, majority black cities) would likely have a hard time getting a police force that is directly proportional. The same goes for females but overall trying to expand the demographics of law enforcement is always a goal. Most agencies want to have better representation of their communities. Our problem is the applicant pool.
(I'll try to add some more later after work.)
While I understand what it is you're saying, I think you fail to understand or recognise where this adversarial relationship with police stems from.
Black people just didn't develop a strained relationship with police for no reason. Police brutality has been real and it has been a problem particularly in poor communities for many decades particularly around the Civil Rights Movement. (And prior to that Slavery) Many of this generation will have known family members, friends, other members of their community, whether directly or otherwise - who have been victim of police brutality with no justice been found.
I'm not even American and one of my "cousins" (family friend) was almost beaten to death by police officers while he was handcuffed in the 90s, because he was "resisting". They got away with it. And they have been getting away with it for years, not just with black people but we are perceived to be the most violent, threatening ones.
As a result there is a real fear & hatred of the police - particularly if you are a black male - that other races just don't understand. It's a constant thought and it's tiring to constantly be conscious & aware of your race and how you are perceived by other people that only people of ethnic minorities understand.
The only difference as we've seen in cases like Freddie Gray, Tahir Rice etc is that its much more difficult for the police to get away with it, and BLM isn't going to allow it to continue because cases of civilian death that occurs will now be up for scrutiny to find out the truth if it was indeed warranted or not.
It's been far too easy for police officers to say they feared for their life and they thought the suspect had a weapon, or they were resisting.
If the police are doing their jobs correctly, if the facts support the report and any subsequent autopsy of the body, then yes while it's a tough pill to take the death cannot be anything other than warranted.
However in the last year or so since BLM has really picked up pace, we've found far too many inconsistencies between police reports, eyewitness statements, and any video evidence.
BLM is not perfect by any means, but finally there's a body that stands up for the voices of community members who had no voice before and have had to suffer in silence with no regard for their treatment.
By no means am I excusing or embracing violence against the police and it's certainly not the aim of BLM to encourage force against the police. It's more a mutual understanding that both sides understand the pain felt when they lose one of their own from an unjust means at the hands of someone who had no right to do so.
