In response to ?Opinion: For Ian?s sake ? change? ---- Update: This letter was sent to the
Hamilton Spectator on January 15, 2014. Although they did not publish it, they did write
two more stories about the fragile mental health of police officers in the three days
following. It originally appeared here on the Toronto Media Co-op ---- In response to the
anonymously written piece by 'a concerned cop' (View original article
here:http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/4301925-opinion-for-ian-s-sake-change/) I would
like to offer the following points. ---- The op-ed published by the Hamilton Spectator was
just as likely to have been penned by the Hamilton-Wentworth Police public relations
department in order to elicit public sympathy for police and increase pro-police
sentiments, as it was to be written by a local officer struggling with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD). That said, this is only one hypothesis, which I can neither
currently support nor refute, and thus I will assume that an actual local officer did in
fact submit it.
Myself? I will also remain anonymous, not due to the potential impact on my career, like
the reason Concerned Cop cited for anonymity, but for my own actual safety.
Considering the limited explanation surrounding Sergeant Matthews? death in the media, and
consistency in referring to it as a 'death,' rather than a suicide, this single op-ed was
able to shape the narrative in a way that it can neither be questioned (due to an
anonymous source), or even debated, seeing as it would appear in bad taste to refute the
version provided by another officer, who sees Matthews as struggling with PTSD like himself.
To elicit a sense of patriotism, the article starts with nationalist imagery associated
with Matthews? funeral framing him as a hero. Concerned Cop then goes on to list all those
people likely impacted by his death. Clearly the difficulty his friends, family, and those
who cared for him now face, cannot be denied. However, it's not reason alone to erect him
to the status of hero. Their pain is real and they are of course deserving of emotional
support, as we all are in rough times.
?Concerned Cop? then plays on this sympathy (who can't relate to grieving a lost
loved-one?) and goes on to describe a police force struggling with the traumatic aspects
of their work and lack of respect by the community.
There is no doubt that cops see their share of crisis, human suffering, and death, as do
paramedics, firefighters, nurses, doctors, crisis workers, mental health workers, and
countless other professions. The difference being, of course, the approach with which
those other professions take to such crisis. The other professionals listed are there
strictly to assist, not to enforce, detain, or incarcerate, wherein police brutality often
occurs.
If only we didn?t regularly hear about people with mental health and addictions issues
being gunned down, racial profiling, patterns of a cop repeatedly killing members of a
specific race, human trafficking officers having sex with the people they are there to
assist, and harassment of the homeless and criminalized youth. There is a reason that cops
arresting someone with ?appropriate force? recently made the headlines. This so often is
not the case. How long will we believe, it?s ?just a few bad apples??
It has been well documented that occupying a position of power over others reduces empathy
for them, promotes violence against them, as well as justification for that violence. For
police, this justification is bolstered by the racist, sexist, and classist attitudes
endemic in policing. (This justification needs to exist for them to feel comfortable in
their role as enforcers). The trauma Concerned Cop speaks of wherein someone experiences
it vicariously through another?s account of it is a result of empathy for that person and
identification with that person. This empathy and identification is incompatible with the
enforcer attitudes listed above.
Though I don't doubt there are people that police encounter on the job that they do
identify with and have empathy for, (think middle-upper class people with the privilege of
education, home ownership, health benefits, and RRSPs), a general level of empathy for
those they more regularly interact with would only get in the way of their role as
enforcers. Cops are paid (quite well, I might add) to clear the streets of 'undesirables,'
such as those of us struggling with poverty, homelessness, addiction, mental health
issues, and other such struggles the working class regularly faces. The harassment and
subhuman treatment with which these folks often encounter with police is likely to be
contributing to their own trauma symptoms. However, without the access to healthcare those
with health benefits receive, they are more likely to be marginalized and incarcerated
than provided the supportive therapy which Concern Cop demands for police.
He complains that it is unacceptable that Employee Assistance Plans for police only
provide phone support and limited hours of therapy. Perhaps cops struggling should use
some of their large salaries to obtain counselling if they feel they need it. Undoubtedly,
managing their own PTSD might decrease some of the violence they impose on the rest of us.
Though arguably, if we really wanted to put a dent in the creation of traumatic
experiences of Hamiltonians, we might do better to limit police power, take away their
guns, do not give them tasers, and require some semblance of accountability beyond the
pathetic level offered by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The SIU is a body that
exists to investigate police action and to hold them accountable. However, it often fails
to do so.
As the Toronto Star reported in 2010, in 20 years, the SIU did at least 3,400
investigations, laid criminal charges in only 95 of them (less than 3%!), only 16 officers
were convicted, only three sentenced to jail time. However, Concerned Cop claims he is
overly scrutinized.
It's very sad indeed to watch the traumatic experiences of others for any professional,
though there's something quite worse than that. What?s worse is actually living those
traumas. This is the case for many people in Hamilton on a daily basis, much in part due
to economic inequality, a system enforced by police. Not only do they maintain the status
quo for the wealthy that benefit from the current state of things by squashing dissent and
spreading fear of standing up for our rights, but their existence also makes things worse
in still another way.
So much of what the police respond to could be far better handled by concerned neighbours,
community members, or other types of unarmed professionals willing to co-operate with each
other. As long as the police are there to call in crisis situations, we rely on them when
we are likely far better equipped to handle it ourselves with the support of those around
us. If we banded together to take care of each other, including everyone in our
communities, so much trauma could be prevented.
Imagine the difference for someone hanging on by a thread between having armed cops show
up to intimidate them into compliance, or having friends and neighbours gather to express
concern and offer assistance.
So when Concerned Cop complains he worries people may ?spit in his food,? I think he
should be thankful he can afford to buy food or go to restaurants. When he says that he
has been "kicked, punched, screamed at, and spit on," I say that so have we, and without
the power of a gun to defend ourselves hanging from our hips. And when he says, "no one
else is coming," to help him at the scene of the crime, I counter that a call into his
radio would materialize several more cops with more weapons. Do not lie to us, Concerned
Cop. We are not stupid.
When he says his family struggles and worries about him, I do not doubt this is true,
though knowing the greater prevalence of domestic violence in police families, that may
not be their only policing-related concern. In all fairness, Concerned Cop does allude to
taking frustrations home and impacting loved ones. However, that doesn?t quite speak to
the extent of violence some police enact in their own homes using the privilege and power
bestowed upon them.
The have access to weapons. They are less likely to be arrested. They know where shelters
are located, have access to databases, and knowledge of the court. Cops are trained in
intimidation, restraint, and investigation. Survivors of domestic violence by police face
an incredible battle.
It is for reasons such as these that when we are painted an idealistic picture of the
police that we must remain critical, seeing through propaganda, and putting the picture
into the context of the police brutality that does occur.
What's perhaps most frustrating about Concerned Cop?s stance on Matthew?s suicide is the
liberty he takes in creating the narrative of 'why' this happened. It is not his place to
say that Matthews took his life due to the trauma he witnessed. And perhaps it?s not mine
either, but I now feel compelled to offer alternatives.
Perhaps Matthews was being bullied by his peers, policing being a brotherhood known to be
fraught with machismo. Another possible reason for Matthew?s suicide is guilt. Perhaps
Matthews no longer felt good about his role as a cop.
The fact that he ended his life at central station, surrounded by his coworkers certainly
suggests his death may have been related to policing. He could have undertaken this in a
multitude of ways, and in privacy as many tragically do, but he chose to expose his peers
to this act. That leaves me asking, "Why?"
What exactly was Matthews? message to fellow police and Hamiltonian?
Anonymous
Coming up in Hamilton is the International Day Against Police Brutality on March 15. In
the spirit of this day, we are calling for the first annual demo on the streets of
downtown Hamilton ? in solidarity with struggles against the police globally, and as a
manifestation of our own antagonism against the police locally. For more information see
http://m15hamilton.noblogs.org/
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