Friday, July 8, 2016

Shootings Scream for the Need to Hire More Carefully, Train Better

   Giving a man a badge does not turn him into a good guy. It makes him responsible to be a good guy. It gives him the image of being a good guy. But, it does not make him good.
   I do not know that all the investigation in the world makes much difference when the video of Alton Sterling's shooting seems to say it all. He is pinned to the ground. It is an execution, just as is being said.
   The pretext for shooting him might have been that he had a gun. Good luck with that. When you are a bad guy, you will justify what you've done, but no amount of self belief that what you did was right will change the fact it was wrong.
   Wrong is wrong, regardless which side of the badge it falls on.
   Philando Castile? We do not have as much evidence. Was it a little different of a situation? Was an officer too quickly spooked, shooting without good cause, but not without good fear?
   I know this: We should be gravely concerned that we are not screening candidates closely enough before pinning badges on them. We can also wonder if anything in their training leads to the officers turning criminal.
   The shooting of Alton Sterling underscores the need for reform in how officers are hired and how they are trained. People with these tendencies should not be being placed behind badges, in the first place. And, if they are hired, training should be in place steering them from ever committing such crimes.
   Can we not see that these two things are what needs to be done? What is happening screams for the need to screen candidates better, and train them better,

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