Police Unions And The Fight To Reform Law Enforcement

Summary

The video script addresses the ongoing debate over police reform in the U.S., sparked by incidents like the death of George Floyd. It discusses the role of police unions in protecting officers from accountability, the challenges of reform due to collective bargaining rights, and the need for changes in contracts and laws to ensure public safety. It also highlights the complexity of the issue due to the decentralized nature of policing and the varying degrees of union influence across different jurisdictions.

Takeaways

• 🔊 Public outcry for police reform intensified after George Floyd's death, with activists demanding changes to address police brutality and racial bias.
• 🏙️ Calls to defund the police, ban chokeholds, and enforce stricter punishments for abusive officers have gained momentum in response to repeated incidents of violence.
• 🛡️ Police unions have historically secured generous benefits for officers and acted as their first line of defense against accusations of brutality and misconduct.
• 🚨 The narrative of police unions often conflicts with public sentiment, as they may perpetuate a false sense of immunity for police officers from legal consequences.
• 📜 Police unions negotiate contracts that can include provisions shielding officers from accountability, which can complicate efforts to address police violence.
• 🤝 The unique nature of police work, involving potential violence, has led to contracts that may protect officers even in cases of misconduct.
• 🛑 There is a push for reforms such as nationwide de-escalation standards and training to improve police conduct and reduce violence.
• 🏛️ The decentralized nature of policing in the U.S., with over 12,000 local departments, complicates the establishment of uniform standards and accountability.
• 🛂 Police unions argue that their protections prevent officers from refraining to act due to legal liability concerns and help maintain hiring rates and attract good candidates.
• 🗳️ The long-term impact of the unrest could influence local and state elections, potentially leading to changes in the power dynamics of police unions.
• 🛡️ Some argue that police unions should not be allowed to bargain for exceptions that place them above the law, as seen in certain state laws and federal interventions.

Q & A

What was the catalyst for the nationwide protests in the U.S.?

The nationwide protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, which led to activists demanding police reform.

What is the role of police unions in the context of police brutality?

Police unions often serve as the first line of defense for officers accused of brutality, negotiating contracts that can shield them from accountability.

Why have some people called for defunding the police?

Calls to defund the police are based on the desire to redirect resources towards community services and to reduce the reliance on police for issues that could be better handled by other professionals.

What is the significance of the term 'de-escalation standard' mentioned in the script?

A 'de-escalation standard' refers to a set of guidelines or training that encourages officers to resolve situations without resorting to force, aiming to prevent unnecessary violence.

How do police unions differ from other unions in terms of their bargaining power?

Police unions are unique in that they often bargain for exceptions that allow their members to be above certain laws, which can include provisions that shield officers from accountability for violent incidents.

What is the impact of police unions on the hiring and retention of police officers?

Police unions have helped make the job of policing more attractive by securing generous benefits, which can contribute to higher hiring rates and the retention of officers.

What are the arguments against the special protections negotiated by police unions?

Critics argue that these protections can be used to shield officers from complaints involving violent incidents, thereby enabling racial discrimination and abuse of power.

How do the contracts negotiated by police unions affect the ability of departments to enforce discipline?

The contracts can include provisions that impede the department's ability to enforce accountability and discipline, making it difficult to hold officers accountable for misconduct.

What is the historical context of police unions in the U.S.?

The initial police unions in the U.S. were founded during the First World War, but they were disbanded after the war and did not reorganize until the 1960s when civilian review boards were introduced.

What is the position of House Republicans regarding police reform?

House Republicans are planning to put forward a reform legislation proposal aimed at ending racial injustice in law enforcement.

How do police unions respond to criticism and protests against police brutality?

Police unions have been vocal in defending their actions and their members, often using social media and press conferences to counteract the narrative of police misconduct.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Police Reform and Union Resistance

Following the death of George Floyd, activists called for police reform across the U.S., highlighting the pattern of unarmed African American civilians being killed by officers. Despite a small percentage of officers involved in such incidents, there is a strong call for changes like defunding the police, banning chokeholds, and holding abusive officers accountable. Police unions, which have historically secured benefits and defended officers from scrutiny, are seen as a barrier to reform. These unions negotiate contracts that can shield officers from accountability for violent incidents, and critics argue that this protection perpetuates a false narrative and undermines public safety. Some advocate for reforms that include de-escalation standards and nationwide training, while emphasizing that public safety should be the priority in negotiations with unions.

05:00

🏛 The Complexities of Police Unions and Reform

Police unions, such as the Fraternal Order of Police, are under scrutiny for bargaining rights that seem to place them above the law in some instances. Connecticut state law, for example, allows union contracts to supersede state law, which can complicate federal interventions in cases of civil rights violations. While House Republicans propose reform legislation to address racial injustice in law enforcement, the decentralized nature of U.S. police departments adds to the challenge of establishing clear guidelines. Critics argue that unions should not shield members from legal accountability or allow dishonesty. Success stories like Camden, New Jersey, show that breaking away from union contracts and rehiring officers as county employees can lead to significant improvements in safety and reductions in complaints. The debate over the power of police unions is tied to broader discussions about racial animosity and the role of law enforcement in society, with some arguing that their exceptional status as public sector workers does not justify the protection of bad actors within their ranks.

Keywords

💡Police Reform

Police reform refers to the changes and improvements made to the practices and policies of law enforcement agencies to address issues such as racial bias, excessive use of force, and accountability. In the video's context, it is a response to the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed, highlighting the demand for changes in how police operate and interact with the public.

💡Police Brutality

Police brutality is the use of excessive or unwarranted force by police officers against civilians. The video discusses the pattern of officers killing unarmed African American civilians, which.

Highlights

Activists across the U.S. demand police reform following George Floyd's death.

A pattern of officers killing unarmed African American civilians is often ignored.

There's a very small percentage of bad police officers, according to the transcript.

Calls for defunding the police, banning chokeholds, and punishing abusive officers.

Police unions have historically fought for generous benefits and protection for officers.

Police unions often serve as the first line of defense for officers accused of brutality.

The unique nature of police work and its associated violence is highlighted in union contracts.

Critics argue that collective agreements protect officers from accountability for violent incidents.

Police unions claim protections prevent officers from refraining to act due to legal liability concerns.

Proposed reforms include a nationwide de-escalation standard and training.

Local governments should prioritize public safety over wage bills in union negotiations.

There are over 12,000 local police departments in the U.S., complicating uniform guidelines.

Police unions have the same rights and obligations as other unions, but a different history.

The creation of most police unions was triggered by the introduction of civilian review boards.

Connecticut state law allows union contracts to supersede state law in some instances.

House Republicans plan to put forward a reform legislation proposal addressing racial injustice.

Police departments have been criticized for heavy-handed crowd control tactics during protests.

Police unions have defended their actions and criticized the 'soft touch' approach to criminals.

The ability to bargain for exceptions above the law should be outlawed, according to critics.

Camden, New Jersey, saw a significant reduction in crime and complaints after leaving the police union.

Police unions are one of the last bastions of direct racial animosity in American society.

Local and state governments have the power to curtail police union power through elections.

Police unions argue they deserve special treatment as heroes who put themselves in harm's way.

Transcripts

after the death of George Floyd in

police custody in Minneapolis activists

across the u.s. took to the streets to

demand police reform I know you are

local and state police and four thousand

members of the National Guard took a

stand there's a repeated pattern of

officers killing unarmed African

American civilians and people protesting

and oftentimes that being ignored too

often some of that violence has come

from folks who we're supposed to be

serving and protecting nobody is more

opposed to the small number of bad

police officers and you have them

they're very tiny I use the word tiny

it's a very small percentage there's

been calls to defund the police band

chokeholds and to more effectively

punish officers who abuse their power or

show racial bias but before any proposed

policing reforms can actually go into

effect lawmakers and Department Chiefs

would first have to get past police

unions over the course of decades police

unions have fought to secure generous

benefits for rank-and-file officers and

helped make the dangerous job of police

work more attractive to hundreds of

thousands of officers but when their

members come under scrutiny for police

brutality and heavy-handed tactics it's

the Union that often serves as their

first line of defense perpetuated a

false narrative an anti police rhetoric

but everybody needs to remember police

officers are here to help these seniors

are not above the law in the same way

police are not above the law

there's no exception to the rule here

that should be applicable for police

union leadership

a police union represents the officers

of a given department and negotiates

employment contracts specific with the

city or town that funds the department

the union also represents officers in

labor disputes such as wrongful

termination complaints or discrimination

accusations how do you know it's

collective agreements lead to changes in

behavior most of the problems that we

have when it comes to police violence

could be changed if we were able to find

ways to eliminate the deals that police

unions have implemented to protect

police officers from accountability

police unions are different than other

unions because police work carries the

possibility of violence during the

normal course of duties this means that

protections negotiated into police

contracts can end up shielding officers

from complaints that involve violent

incidents we want to protect the safety

of the products that are made in the

u.s. we don't allow an organization that

represents the people who make those

products to be in charge of setting the

standards and enforcing them

implementing accountability discipline

and that's what we've done with these

police unions in many instances it looks

like collective agreements are being

used to protect the ability of officers

to discriminate in their use of force

police unions say that protections they

advocate for help prevent police from

refraining to act due to concerns over

legal liability and they also prevent

frivolous lawsuits and maintain hiring

rates and attract good candidates I'm

hopeful that we can come to an agreement

on some common-sense reforms including a

de-escalation standard and training that

is nationwide a lot of cities already do

this my main advice actually is to

employers is the local governments and

when you sit down at the bargaining

table you should be putting public

safety first right so their priority

shouldn't be for example minimizing the

wage bill it should be making sure that

civilians are safe

I like the concept of more training the

house does it we do it I like the fact

that we're looking for a way to van

choke holes we we do it by taking money

from from different departments they do

it in a different fashion but we're

about 90 percent they're more than

twelve thousand local police departments

were operating in the United States

during 2016 policing is a state local

issue and oftentimes it boils down to

what's in the contract and there can be

any number of provisions in there that

will impede the department's ability to

enforce accountability and discipline

police what unions have the same rights

and obligations as other unions their

history is really really different

though you know the initial police

unions in the u.s. were founded during

the First World War not an easy time to

form a union - what happened after the

war the US government kind of forced

those unions out and then they didn't

organize for a long time but what

actually triggered the creation of most

police unions in the US and the ACLU

launched a campaign in the 60s

introduced what are called civilian

review boards right so to have oversight

of policing by regular people and that

actually is what triggered police

officers to start forming unions to

prevent that civilian oversight of

policing police unions are public sector

unions similar to unions around the

country for public school teachers

firefighters and sanitation workers the

Fraternal Order of Police for example

claims to represent more than three

hundred and thirty thousand police

officers across the u.s. police unions

are an outlier in one major way it's

very unique for any union to bargain for

an exception that allows them to be

above the law Connecticut state law

actually has a provision that allows a

union contract to supersede the state

law and there are some instances where

that can even happen when the federal

government does stepping into

problematic police departments when

there have been civil rights violations

oftentimes provisions could supersede

what's been done on the federal level

House Republicans will be putting

forward a reform legislation proposal

let's talk about ending injustice racial

injustice in our law enforcement

[Music]

collective bargaining rights aren't just

set their bargaining rights police

officers work like you and I and they

should have access to that

representation if they choose to have it

so when we have reform it's a two-sided

three across the u.s. that our local

police state police Federal Police and

County Sheriff's Department's this adds

to the complication of providing clear

guidelines on officer conduct and use of

force I support unions as a rule but we

don't let everybody form a union in this

country particularly if there are bad

acts being done with that power of

unionization like protecting people from

accountability for acts of violence as

demonstrations over police brutality

intensified following Freud's death

police departments across the country

drew more criticism for heavy-handed

crowd control tactics such as using tear

gas pepper spray rubber bullets and

physical force police unions have been

vocal on social media net press

conferences defending themselves and

their actions that are being protested

nationwide there's been a message not

only from our City Hall but from the

State House that says there will be a

soft touch and the criminals know it and

while folks were protesting they were

breaking down doors climbing in windows

pulling out their weapons they're not

afraid to carry their no unions that

seek to shield their members from the

law in a basic fundamental way or seeks

to allow their members to lie to their

bosses or lied to it to others in public

on a consistent basis about when they've

killed people that it's not acceptable

to engage in that type of behavior and

that should be outlawed the ability to

bargain Forks to be above the law should

be outlawed

just like 2.21 City Camden New Jersey

who has seen a turnaround in its police

force and also in the level of safety in

the city and what they did is took a

comprehensive look at

and part of that included basically

getting out of the Union and out of the

contract and rehiring those workers as

county employees and they were able to

transform their police force and the

changes that they put in place resulted

in a two-thirds reduction in homicides

rate and a ninety five percent reduction

in a number of complaints against

officers because of the decentralized

nature of police departments in the u.s.

broad overreaching federal actions are

unlikely to have a near-term impact on

the ability of police unions to defend

bad actors within police departments

from being disciplined or terminated by

their departments police units have been

one of the last bastions of direct

racial animosity in American society if

you look at some of the statements made

by police unions in the aftermath of

these killings a lot of them are

incredulous telling you next to believe

you're lying eyes based on what you saw

in the video and a lot of them have been

very blatantly making very derogatory

statements about the african-american

community I think a lot of the biggest

changes though are up to local

governments and off to state governments

because now we have a lot of the worst

elements of collective agreements have

been put into state law and what are

called law enforcement officer builds of

Rights

Anabelle for example make it such an

officer needs to agree to the timing and

the location of their of their

investigation or interrogation after

after killing a civilian the long-term

effects of recent unrest could affect

local and state elections which could

move to curtail the power of police

unions in certain towns in cities police

unions make the argument that they are

exceptionally deserving of this

treatment because they are heroes who

put themselves in harm's way for our

safety these are not the only public

sector workers who put themselves in the

way of direct physical harm for our

benefit you know is this really the

argument does not square up with reality

you