Series: Why We Hate the Boys in Blue, Part I

“And we hate po po/Wanna kill us dead in the streets fo sho” – Kendrick Lamar, Alright

It is nearly impossible to turn on your TV, visit a news site, or open Twitter without encountering another story of police brutality and abuse of power. It seems like each week, we have a new name in a hashtag, memorializing the life of another man or woman lost to the boys in blue. This has inspired fear, anger, and for some of us, hate. Yes, we are growing to hate the police, and it is not without cause. The facts and figures point to a terrifying pattern of police violence against people of colour, especially Blacks. Each of those facts and figures represent real lives—real human beings who live in fear of becoming another victim, another number on a chart, another body on the ground.  Over the past month, I have interviewed five young people who shared their experiences with and feelings toward the police. They, like me, had a lot to say, and it is so important that we listen to the people who live this fear. Here is part one of my three part series on police brutality.

ERIC

What are your general sentiments toward the police?

Based on past experiences I don’t have a generally positive view of the police. Police are the white noise of my life. They don’t necessarily bother me until I’m reminded they are there. I don’t talk to them. I don’t look in their direction unless I feel they are looking my way and even then I try not to be caught looking at them. I generally ignore them in hopes they don’t bother me.

What negative experiences have you had with the police?

Two times too many. Both incidents of excess actually happened in my own neighbourhood which really shifted my disposition towards the police. If I can’t feel safe in my own neighbourhood then where should I feel safe? The long and short is I was skateboarding to pass time during a power outage and ended up being both physically and verbally assaulted by officers from Toronto’s 42 and 43 divisions. [H]e hopped out of his car and the first thing he did was call me an asshole. I had never experienced anything like this so I laughed it off as a joke and turned to skate away when the officer placed his hands on me and tried to slam me on to the hood of his car without actually giving cause for arrest. (Spoiler alert: he had none). At 22 years of age this was my first very direct experience with both police and racism in one fell swoop. I later realized he was provoking me in hopes I’d give him just cause for arrest. I [was also] stopped by undercover OPP up the street from where the first incident occurred a couple months later on suspicion of breaking and entering. All I was carrying was a tripod and my skateboard. They literally hopped out of an unmarked car—by unmarked I mean a late 90’s Toyota Corolla—and carded me. I had just gone to borrow a tripod from another photographer living in the area and was on my way home.

Can there be good cops?

I want very much to believe that most police are truly upstanding community members who look to protect others from harm and misconduct but at the same time I don’t know many professions where you get paid vacations for murder and misconduct. The more I grow to see the dirty underbelly of society, [the more] I’m convinced there are a great deal of very unscrupulous people who see the role as being one with unprecedented job security, power and privilege. 

ASHLEY

What are your general sentiments toward the police?

When I was younger I though the police where the good guys and they were there to actually “serve and protect,” but now that I’m much older, I wouldn’t call the police for anything. I’d rather potentially die than to call the police and have them shoot me dead as if there was no possible way I could be the victim because I’m Black. I truly feel most white officers are racist, and most Black officers live to prove themselves to white officers, so they’re actually worse than the white ones. I hate the police with every bone in my body, and that’s sad because I know for a fact that not every officer is shady.

Have you had any negative experiences with the police?

One time I was at Pickering beach with a couple of my homies, we were in the parking lot just sitting in the car cracking jokes. We had no drugs, no alcohol; we weren’t even playing music loud because we were having a conversation. A cop car rolls into the lot, [the cops] get out their car and tell us we can’t park in there. I asked why because it was a public parking for people going to the beach. He said he didn’t need to explain anything to me and that we couldn’t park there. So my friend interjected and asked if there’s a reason only we can’t be here seeing as the lot was full of people in their cars, blasting music and carrying on. He then asked my friend to get out the car. He got out and the officer asked him for I.D. My friend asked why because he didn’t do anything, and the officer said if he’d like to continue asking questions he can from the backseat of the cop car. So we all told him to just stop, and to give his I.D. They ran his name, gave him back his I.D and said if we don’t leave now we’ll get a ticket for parking on private property. I didn’t want to deal with that, so we decided to just leave.

Any suggestions for reform?

Honestly, at this point the only thing you can do is continue to put them on blast by taping them, and get educated. Nine times out of ten, the police do exercise their power, but you can counteract that if you know your rights. Many people don’t know what they can, or can’t do, and ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to police.

JORDAN

Do you feel that policing as a whole is corrupt?

I do feel that the systemic approach of policing has been highly swayed to not favour people of colour, which in turn holds us to a disadvantage in society. Numbers don't lie, experiences don't lie, and the truth is clear as night and day that it is a flawed system. So yes, it is corrupt because it doesn't serve all people the same, which goes against the initial principles of why policing was put in place to begin with.

Have you had any negative experiences with the police?

I've been carded a couple of times, while 'fitting the description,' but fortunately those instances have never escalated to the point where it caused me physical (or fatal) harm. I do, however, feel like I was specifically targeted, even when in a group. Example: my friends and I in the summer of 2008 held a BBQ on our building's property and while we were standing around, listening to music and just enjoying ourselves, a police van and multiple cruisers surrounded the area and boxed us in as if we were drug lords and they were about to bust a criminal operation. That was when I really saw the police for what the rest of North America has and is currently seeing today.

Are people wrong for hating the police?

[They’re] not wrong in [their] thinking because [they’re] part of a culture that is unified by the common mistreatment of law enforcement because of your colour. We share the same struggle, and mentally it's exhausting and it fixates your disdain on those you're 'supposed' to respect even when in a lot of cases, that's not what they want for us. Hate is a strong word, but I understand completely why and that's no one's fault but their own. If they want that to change, they're going to have to make it a reality.

Any suggestions for reform?

Having a more intensive training on just how officers treat people of colour is one thing that needs to be addressed, but the problem is that will police departments be diligent enough to look at their program, see the flaws, and actually address them? That's the problem. There are so many agendas, either placed by the police board or individually that can't make a true overhaul of the system possible, in my eyes.

 
I want to point out that the above interviewees are all Canadian. This is not an American problem. Two are men and the other is a woman. This is not a gender-specific problem. They are talented young people pursuing careers. This is not a hoodlum problem. This can happen to any of us, and it can get worse. Don't delude yourself into thinking this isn't your problem.

See part II here.