In recent years, the number of violent crimes in the United States has shown an upward trend year by year, and the news of violent law enforcement by the police in the United States has also been frequently reported. Abuse of violence, racial discrimination, selective law enforcement... They all seem to have become the label of the American police.
In fact, just as American society is made up of different ethnic groups, the American police are a diverse group. How can the American police have the power to kill ordinary people? What kind of existence is the Chinese in this group? The reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network connected Fan Xin, a Chinese who had worked as a police officer in Los Angeles County, California, and through his eyes, opened a window for the police, the "most powerful professional group in the United States".
"The police have more power than judges"
According to Fan Xin, before becoming an American policeman, you have to pass a series of exams, including law, tactics, driving, shooting, fighting, etc. "Every exam is like crossing a mountain, thinking that the next step will be a horse Pingchuan, but next time there will be a bigger 'disaster'." "There are two ways to get out, one is to give up on your own initiative, and the other is to be eliminated and leave in front of other students."
The police academy is like a mold, repairing and polishing all the trainees in the same way. Like most Chinese, Fan Xin was originally introverted and low-key, but at the police academy, his values were hit like never before. "That environment doesn't allow you to be humble, you have to say, 'I can do it, I'm the best.'" If someone is better than you, you have to compare him to him, otherwise you will be eliminated. "When you're done training, you're going to be a different person —a tough, arrogant, unobtrusive American cop." ”
The U.S. law enforcement system has given the police greater power. "Although different police ranks are different, they are essentially front-line law enforcement officers." Fan Xin said that the police represent the supreme right to execute at the scene of the incident, and anyone must obey the instructions of the police, "for example, if two people quarrel, after I arrive at the scene, they can no longer argue, I let whoever speaks can speak, let who shut up who has to shut up, otherwise they will be handcuffed and taken back to the police station." ”
U.S. police don't have a clear scope of law enforcement, from family conflicts and neighborhood disputes to traffic violations to home robberies and even terrorist attacks. Fan Xin said: "If I don't have other affairs today, I will stop someone running a red light; but if I am on an urgent mission, I will not care about these things." For example, I am on a patrol, and if there is a robbery nearby, I will rush to the scene of the robbery immediately. ”
Due to the decentralization of federal and local power in the United States, the status of different agencies in the law enforcement system is also parallel. The authority and jurisdiction of state, county, and city police departments vary, and there are large and small sizes, such as the Los Angeles County Police Department where Fan Xin once served, which has more than 10,000 police officers, the San Gabriel City Police Department has only more than 50 police officers, and some police stations even have only a few people. The police stations are not affiliated with each other and are run by the local government. This gives the U.S. police more autonomy.
"Who is the most powerful person in the American justice system?" Not the judges but the police. Fan Xin said that judges can only convict people through layers of court procedures, but the police have the power to use deadly weapons and can kill people when the law allows. Front-line police must make a decision in a short period of time based on the situation at the scene, whether the handling method is appropriate is related to their personal professional quality, one is whether the situation at the scene can be accurately judged, and the other is the high moral quality of the individual.
On March 2, 1991, Rodney King, a black los Angeles man, drove drunk on the highway, was found and stopped by patrol officers for speeding, the police used weapons in the process of trying to control him, the first electric shock Rodney did not fall, the police pulled out a baton and slammed his body and head continuously. According to later statistics, the police swung a total of 56 batons, 23 of which did not hit. In Fan Xin's view, the police made a clear mistake - some police officers failed in the baton use test the day before, so "a baton did not knock people down, had to continue to fight, and then he fell down, and beat endlessly." Under California law, police officers can't beat ordinary people for no reason, they can only do it if the other party attacks the police or resists arrest, and the other party must subdue the other party with one shot, not multiple shots. "It's not legal to poke or kick the other person again when you're already in control."
Secret "political incorrectness" among U.S. police
In early April, a 26-year-old black man in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was stopped by police while driving, and a clash ensued, and the police pushed him down and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. This incident once again aroused public indignation, and for many days, people held up placards such as "Black Lives Are Lives Are Lives" and "Justice Is Done" to protest the violent law enforcement of the police.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, almost all ethnic, ethnic, age, class, and gender groups in the United States have been subjected to unjust police enforcement in different historical periods, from the early 20th century when the white working class in the North became victims of discriminatory law enforcement, and in the 1920s, new york and Chicago and other big cities used "extrajudicial means" against Italian immigrants, to 1943, the Los Angeles Police Department labeled Mexican teenagers obsessed with "Zoute suits" as "Zott suit riots". After 9/11, law enforcement agencies racially characterized American Muslims.
Although police violence has been experienced by almost all groups in the United States, the main victims are blacks. According to a 2019 survey by the Pew Center, 84 percent of blacks said police treat blacks far worse than whites, and 63 percent of whites do the same. In addition, 44 percent of black adults said they had experienced unfair law enforcement by the police, compared with only 9 percent of whites.
"It does exist in the United States (the police department)." Fan Xin said that when the police were on duty on the street, if a car ran a red light, stopped and looked, if the driver was an Asian woman, guess that she may not have seen the red light, maybe she let go. If the driver was a young black man, driving a luxury car with tattoos on his body, he would immediately wonder: Was he drunk or in a hurry to do something bad? The police will immediately pull out their guns to prepare for the driver's crime and investigate the driver's criminal background. Although this method of law enforcement is "politically incorrect", it is a tacit practice among the US police.
It only takes 10 seconds to call the police, and waiting for rescue can cost you a lifetime
Fan Xin entered the police industry in 2000. At that time, although there were conflicts between China and the United States, President George W. Bush's attention was almost occupied by Afghanistan and Iraq; Trump, who claimed to "make America great again", was still oscillating between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
Even so, the proportion of Chinese in the police force is still far lower than the proportion of Chinese in the local community. "Asians are the largest group in the region, making up 40 percent of the population, but the percentage of Asians in the local police is well below 40 percent, or even less than 10 percent." Fan xin worked in the Los Angeles County Police Department for 6 years until he left in 2006.
In the 10 years since Fan left the U.S. law enforcement system, the ratio between white and non-white police officers has become increasingly unbalanced. Public data shows that from 2007 to 2016, in addition to large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, more than two-thirds of local police stations were more "whitened" than their communities, and most police station personnel adjustments did not keep up with the trend of urban demographic changes. This means that in today's increasingly diverse population, people will encounter law enforcers who are different from their skin color more and more frequently.
Police officers have very different views of violent law enforcement than the public. In a 2016 Pew Center survey of about 8,000 police officers, two-thirds of them said most violent law enforcement incidents were isolated incidents and did not represent widespread conflict between police and specific groups. In another survey of the American public, 60 percent held views contrary to the police community.
Even within the law enforcement system, police officers from different races have different perceptions of the same issue. 57 percent of black police officers believe that violent law enforcement against black people is common, while only 27 percent of white police officers and 26 percent of Hispanic police officers think so. In addition, 92 percent of white police officers believe that American society has made the necessary changes to give blacks equal rights, but only 29 percent of black police officers think so.
In recent years, American society has become increasingly polarized, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the social economy, with the dregs of racism and populism spreading, and hate crimes emerging in an endless stream. In such a social context, how should Chinese in the United States protect themselves? Fan Xin believes that everyone must always maintain a strong sense of crisis, because "there is no time when it is completely safe."
"There is a saying in the United States, 'It only takes 10 seconds to call 911 to report a crime.'" U.S. police respond very quickly, and before you can speak after dialing the police, the police system knows where your address is. Fan Xin said, "But waiting for the police to rescue you may exhaust your life, because if you encounter a vicious criminal, you may be killed before the police arrive." Therefore, Chinese Americans must have the awareness and ability to protect themselves at all times. ”
Beijing, April 20 (Xinhua) --
Source: China Youth Daily