One Simple Point: Ten Seconds In Their Shoes
As children, we were often taught that we shouldn’t judge someone until we see things from their perspective. This was summarized for us by an admonition to “Walk A Mile In Their Shoes.” Good advice, I think we’d all agree. But have we forgotten it?
The recent racially charged OIS (Officer Involved Shooting) of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia, brings to light many distressing things. I’ll leave other commentators to discuss the obvious ones. The thing that I’d like to discuss here is, perhaps, less obvious: The increasingly common penchant for uninformed “armchair” judgements of our police.
It was a bit maddening to watch major media coverage of the Brooks shooting. One after another, the resigning police chief, the Atlanta mayor, several activists and numerous “talking heads” were quick to condemn Garrett Rolf, the officer involved. And all of these self appointed judges, every single one, issued their snap “verdicts” from the cloistered and safe environment of their offices, studios or other sanctuary. Officer Rolfe had no such luxury.
Just as in the George Floyd case a couple of weeks ago, media commentary of the case places NO emphasis on a very important factor: Brooks, like George Floyd, Eric Garner and Michael Brown, before him, resisted arrest. And, not only did he resist arrest, he did so violently. Ignoring numerous pleas from the officers to stop, Brooks physically assaulted them and went so far as to take their taser, which he then proceeded to use ON Officer Rolfe. As mentioned in my 6/3/20 essay on the George Floyd case, once a suspect resists arrest, he throws the situation into an dangerous indeterminacy: ANYTHING can happen. And, what happens is often not good.
Although a taser is not usually considered to be a lethal weapon it must be realized that it CAN be. In addition to the possibility of causing a fatal cardiac arrhythmia, the taser could have been used to incapacitate the police officer, at which point Brooks could have grabbed the service weapon. If that happened, the taser would have become a very lethal weapon indeed.
In my career as a surgeon, I have had personal experience with life and death situations in which decisions have to be made in seconds. I can tell you that such situations are excruciating to go through, as is living with any mistake. But no matter how difficult or painful such situations were for me, it was NEVER MY OWN LIFE THAT WAS ON THE LINE. Officers that bear such a burden in the line of duty, in some cases many times, MUST have our understanding. And, before judging them, we need not even “walk a mile in their shoes.” Situations like those of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, happen so fast, we don’t even have to walk a FULL MILE. My one simple point is, therefore: “Before judging them, we need to spend 10 seconds in their shoes.”