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George Floyd's Death Raises Animosity Towards Police
George Floyd was an African American man murdered on the 25th of May 2020 by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin. Footage of his death showed the moment when the police officer knelt on his neck for over seven minutes, ignoring the bystander’s plea. In addition to the recent African American death due to police violence and abuse of power, his death devastated the nation. Public outrage in the United States triggered demonstrations and riots against police brutality and racism and raised civilians’ hatred toward police officers.
Police Brutality Increases The Loss Of Civilian Trust In Law Enforcement.
The US police have occasionally used destructive forces over the years, especially on African Americans. During Martin Luther King Jr’s time, civilians knew that the police were abusing their power by harassing people brutally and invading their homes. Although this happened long ago, organized civil rights movements and protests were demonstrating a cry against police brutality. They still contributed to the increase in trust loss for law enforcement today.
Assuming an attitude or belief of something towards someone or a group of people is known as an acquired belief through environmental factors. Environmental factors contribute to capiophobia, which is the fear of the police. Stories about police officers shared in a family concerning police brutality, racism and harassment have often become adopted by children in the home and passed forward as a standard way of perceiving law enforcement. If grandparents, parents, and older siblings often speak negatively about the police, younger children or young adults adopt the same mindset by inheriting the same belief based on stories they hear from people they trust.
Americans Experience A Rise In Civil Unrest.
Protests and riots were held under the banner of “Black Lives Matter” after the murder of George Floyd, which triggered a rise in the wave of civil unrest among citizens in the United States. The civil unrest broke out the following day, the 26th of May 2020, with a cry to dismantle the police in the city. The commotion caused numerous protests in Minneapolis city and approximately 140 cities across the country due to racial injustice and police brutality.
The civil unrest spread to the damaging of properties and looting by protesters who also set a police station in Minneapolis on fire. The national guard had been activated in more than 30 states by early June, while numerous cities had imposed curfews to put an end to the agitation and looting.
The Fear Of Police Spreads Rapidly Following George Floyd’s Death.
The loss of trust due to police brutality has brought about extreme fear and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement in America. A working paper illustrates how the fear of police destroys civilian engagement and crime reporting changes with police; Comparing data across eight different cities and detecting a massive decline in the ratio of 911 call volume compared to the shootings immediately after George Floyd’s death.
The rate of 911 police-related calls was flat, while the shooting rate was high. This problem measures how civilians are affected by Floyd’s death, thereby decreasing their willingness to call the police.
Relationship Damage Currently Remains Unrestored Between Civilians & Law Enforcement.
The aftermath of Floyd’s death has tampered with the civilian-law enforcement relationship in the United States. Although public opinion about racism and discrimination shifted after the protest, with a significant increase in supporting the movement for Black Lives Matter and recognizing institutional racism, the civilian-law enforcement distrust relationship remains unrestored. The police department and all levels of law enforcement need to be ready to reform and rebuild the civilian-law enforcement relationship with trust and accountability to restore this lost relationship.
Report Neighborhood Police Brutality, Hate Crimes, Racism, Or Harassment Anonymously.
You can make a difference by reporting police brutality, hate crimes, racism, harassment, or other criminal activity to your local authority. Suppose you are afraid of the police or law enforcement and don’t want to report a crime directly to your local police authority. In that case, you can choose to report suspicious criminal activity safely by using any of our domestic or international privately owned anonymous crime reporting resources below.
Reporting anonymous crimes often leads to a more honest report of the crime from people living with capiophobia because they are not interacting directly with law enforcement, the trigger of the phobia itself.
References:
Ang, D., Bencsik P., Bruhn., J & Derenoncourt E., (2021). SSRN: Working Paper: “Police Violence Reduces Civilian Cooperation and Engagement with Law Enforcement.” https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3920493
