A police officer is prosecuted for murder because a prisoner died of a broken neck sustained while riding, shackled, in a police van.
The first court case resulted in a hung jury. Who knows the actual specifics in the case? What we do know is no prisoner should end up with a broken neck while in police custody. So, how do we protect the policeman’s right to criminal justice while reducing the risk a prisoner will end up with a broken neck while in police custody? How do we fill the void?
The answer lies in trust. We trust every policeman to do the light thing. Sustaining a broken neck, while in police custody, is not the right thing.
One way to build trust is to build a reputation for doing the right thing every moment of every day. Our system recruits young adults to train as police officers. We don’t leave time for these recruits to build their reputations in a world where they are not protected by the trappings of a police force. Police officers are offered full retirement after a couple decades of service. How about recruiting police officers from the group of candidates who are at least 40 years old? These individuals have built reputations, in the community, without the protection of police training, police solidarity, police insularity, and the power of a uniform. Recruiters have far more opportunity to estimate how a forty-five year old will react than they do a 20 year old.
Once a police officer is on the job, we need assurance the officer will do the right thing every moment of every day. This “doing the right thing” is a far different standard than a criminal standard. We could implement a “Good Person” regime where allegations of police errors, or actions, are subjected to a level of community judgment which would preserve, and enhance, community trust in our police officers while leaving each police officer with a salvageable life after being involved in an unacceptable incident. In my expectation, no “Good Person” decision would condone the continued employment, on any police force, of an officer who was present when a shackled prisoner sustained a broken neck. My novel, Tunnel Vision, features a Good Person Act where villagers apply a village standard to every allegation of individual responsibility for some wrong. I invite you to read Tunnel Vision and reflect on ways to help us better trust our police services and all government systems.