Respecting the Law and The People

There is a poisonous atmosphere across the land these days, animated and perpetuated not only by people who are obviously biased but also by people who ought to know better and should show some restraint in their public behavior and comments. Just when it seemed as if the country had moved past its habit of racial posturing one has only to refer to the recent comments of Pat Buchanan and reflect on the Cambridge MA incident in which Harvard Professor Gates was arrested out of his home for "disturbing the peace."

With respect to Buchanan, there is something almost surreal about his overwrought rants regarding notions of the beleaguered white man. His assertion that, because white men wrote the nation's founding documents, they are somehow forever to be considered more important than anyone else requires a total rejection of the contributions made by people of color from the first moments of our history - - in every war, as an industrial  workforce, as builders of infrastructure and our capitol city. His irresponsible, albeit heartfelt, fulminations serve to provide the rabid right with an excuse to engage in the worst kind of race baiting as well as an unwarranted sense of privilege.

In the Gates matter, while there was concern on the part of the police, due to a neighbor's call about a possible break-in, once it had been verified that the man inside was the owner and had a right to be where he was and had simply misplaced his house key, it was time for the police to say "alrighty then" and depart. Police have no right to demand respectful obeisance from people. Barring a physical assault, angry words, especially on one's own property, are not cause for arrest.

But there has been a drift towards allowing what amounts to "unreasonable search and seizure" at times when no physical danger exists and no criminal activity has occurred. While a Texas woman and her children looked for a toy dropped from their car, police pulled her over, searched her car and handcuffed her for not having seatbelts in place. Although she wasn't on a busy thoroughfare, was driving slowly and explained the situation, she was arrested anyway. Although she pleaded no contest to the seat-belt infraction she sued over what she felt was an over-zealous police response.

In a five-four decision the Supreme Court ruled the search and arrest were proper as they proceeded from an original infraction. I wrote my state's Governor about my concern that law enforcement might engage in a similarly aggressive response simply because a driver or occupant didn't have seatbelts in place. A letter from the highway authority said it wasn't their practice to conduct such searches. That was reassuring; nevertheless, despite obvious safety benefits I have never supported seatbelt laws for fear that a minor infraction could lead to an unreasonable extension of police authority.

There's no question that race frequently plays a part in overly aggressive police behavior. The use of terms by the black community about the problem of "driving while black" even "walking while black" testify to a widespread feeling that people of color are targeted by police departments. Significantly, however, a sense of entitlement can exist on the part of some law officers that goes beyond color and race - - a feeling that their official status privileges them in ways they do not experience in their private lives.

In one local encounter a black mother was stopped by a black officer for not having an emissions sticker on her car. She had the sticker in her glove compartment but had neglected to put it in place. Nevertheless, she and her four-year-old son were told to get out of the car in the rain and informed that her vehicle would be impounded. The issue in this case wasn't race, but rather the officer's sense of empowerment - - exerting his will because he could. As it turned out, when he called in to request a tow and explained the reason he was told to 'forget about it.' In that case common sense prevailed.

In the final analysis we as a people need to develop a more refined sense of what it means to be part of our national construct. Careless insensitive speech doesn't help address the problems we face. Rather it just exacerbates existing tensions.

And in the case of law enforcement, whether the issue is racial profiling or someone's power trip, officers of the law must be held as accountable as anyone else for their behavior. We depend on the police to protect us and we honor their lifetime commitment to serve our communities. But we must also require them to deal with the public in an appropriate and respectful manner.