Around the San Francisco Bay, we have two extremes of police officers’ public reactions to the protests over the recent deaths of black men at the hands of police.
In Richmond, Police Chief Chris Magnus joined protesters last week under the rallying cry “Black lives matter” — or, in Twitterspeak, #BlackLivesMatter. He stepped into the crowd and held a sign to that effect.
In San Jose is the other extreme. Officer Phillip White fired off a series of tweets over the weekend that moved from being critical of the protests to sounding ominous and belligerent. The most damning: “Threaten me or my family and I will use my God given and law appointed right and duty to kill you. #CopsLivesMatter.”
White has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, and Police Chief Larry Esquivel on Monday assured the community that the officer’s tweets “do not reflect the thoughts or feelings of the men and women here at the San Jose Police Department.”
We know that’s true for the vast majority of professionals on the force, but it would be naive to think the anger White expressed is unique. Proclaiming it publicly compounds the problem, however. It shows a tone-deafness to community concerns and an abysmal lack of judgment.
It’s hard to imagine White returning to active duty in San Jose, where his behavior from now on would be scrutinized in light of his own statements. Defending your life or your family is one thing, but — a “right and duty to kill you”? Really?
It’s easy to become jaded about the Black Lives Matter protests. While many marchers are standing up for a cause, others are opportunists grasping an excuse for vandalism and violence. The movement has had a high financial cost for Oakland and other strapped cities, reducing resources to meet other community challenges.
But you can’t argue with the national pattern of law enforcement’s treatment of blacks. Blacks comprise 25 percent of the U.S. population and nearly 40 percent of prison populations. According to an NAACP analysis, if current trends continue, one in three black males born today is likely to go to jail at some point.
In these Opinion pages Thursday, conservative columnist George Will declared it an outrage that the killing of Eric Garner, who was selling cigarettes illegally, was justified.
In Richmond, Chief Magnus is in hot water with his union: He was wearing his police uniform when he hoisted the Black Lives Matter sign, and state law bans political activity in uniform. Magnus says, “When did it become a political act to acknowledge that black lives matter …?”
Defining politics is tricky. But at least Magnus knows his city.
In San Jose, White’s tweets confirmed the worst fears of minority communities who fear anyone in uniform. He hasn’t helped his colleagues who struggle every day to earn the community’s trust.
