POLICE REFORM IS DESPERATELY NEEDED

We as a country need a lot of prayers. Things have got to change because things are getting completely out of hand. The mentality of many people is one that either welcomes or permits things that should not be tolerated, overlooked, or sheltered. I am referring to the injustices that are occurring with no accountability being administered.

Statistics show that police shootings of Blacks from 2017 to 2020 were as follows:

2017             223

2018             209

2019             235

2020             226

These figures were the 2^nd highest when compared with white people (which was the highest), Hispanics, and other groups. But the difference is there were more shootings of unarmed Black people than the white group.

In a special series called America Reckons with racial Injustice-Fatal Police Shootings of Unarmed Black people Reveal Troubling Patterns by Cheryl W. Thompson and NPR contributor Emine Yocel. The following disturbing facts were revealed:

• At least 6 officers had a troubling past before they were hired which included drug use, domestic violence, being fired, and being forced out.
• Several were convicted of crimes while on the force, These crimes included battery, resisting and obstructing, firing and rehiring someone who got in trouble with the law.
• More than 2 dozen have citizens complaints or use of force incidents. An officer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida had 82 reviews but no violations, and an officer in Vineland, NJ had more than 3 dozen use of force incidents in a 5 year period.
• Several officers violated department policies and were cited for ethics violations. In Highland, Fl. An officer steered business to his company and in Arizona, a state trooper misused state property.
• 19 Rookie officers with less than a year’s service on the force committed shootings.
• More than a quarter of these occurred at traffic stops
• 24 shootings involved people that had a mental illness ranging from people age 15 to 62.
• 60% occurred in the South
• More than 25% occurred in Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana.
•  Killings led to 30 judgments and settlements equaling $142 million.

Some of the major problems that prevent accountability and justice are:

• Law enforcement agencies fail to hold officers accountable and allow policemen to be in positions where they can shoot again instead of putting them behind a desk.
• The criminal justice system refuses to prosecute.
• Police unions protect their own. The unions, in the name of due process, have made it difficult to remove officers whose records indicate they’ve engaged in serious misconduct.
• City officials and police supervisors negotiating contracts is a problem.
• Recruitment officers ignore warning signs. Records of firings, dismissals, misconduct, domestic violence, etc. are overlooked or waived.
• Standards have been lowered.
• Permissiveness has gotten completely out of hand. There are several examples of police officers committing multiple offenses shooting unarmed people and not being prosecuted for murder or manslaughter charges or receiving a light sentence by a sympathetic jury. Philip Stinson a former police officer who is a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio said it is hard to prosecute officers charged with murder or manslaughter because juries sympathize with the officers and legal standards are discarded.
• It has been suggested that more Black prosecutors and Black jurors are needed.

As you can see, we are confronted with a monumental problem. In a sense, we a dealing with an almost satanic, and evil mentality. Evilness and wickedness are so engrained in this country that it almost takes your breath away.

A reprogramming of how law enforcement and the justice system is run is desperately needed. This and a lot of prayer by the remnant of believers in this country.

The problem as I see it is quoted in the Bible in 2 Thessalonians. 2:10-12 Amplified version where it is written. God has allowed a strong delusion that men will believe lies so that those who refuse to believe the truth will be lead to destruction. So many lies have been fed to people and those who either don’t know the Bible or refuse to do any fact-checking are eating the lies up.

As Malcolm X said, “People are hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray. “And once that happens it is difficult to bring them back to reality and the truth. This is because in their mind they feel they are in the right and doing no wrong. And if they are doing no wrong, there is no need to repent. And it is this prideful attitude and refusal to entertain the truth and know that their actions have consequences and that is going to be their downfall.

For one day they will have to stand before God on judgment day. If they could only read what is written in 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God says if my people which are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land. And I wish they could read John 3:16 where it is written For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

If they only knew that God loved us first by offering up his supreme sacrifice his only begotten son Jesus Christ so we could be justified again and be atoned for our sins, they just might change their ways. But all of us who believe must pray without ceasing for those who are lost. And we must make sure that our actions back up our words so that we do not appear as hypocrites to the world by saying one thing but doing another.

Let us all show others and God in us. Let us gently lead people to the Lord by showing them Godly characteristics like the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22,23 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Let us hold up Jesus higher than any other name as our standard-bearer because he perfectly pleased the Father in thought, purpose, and action. And as we grow in grace, let us try by our actions and words to be the aroma of Christ that will please our heavenly Father.

As we pray, let us acknowledge that only God can change hearts. As it is written in Ezekiel 36:26 and 27, I will remove their hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh, and then I will put my spirit in them and they will know my commandments and do them. May God’s Holy Spirit do a mighty work in the hearts of those who don’t know Him. We believers trust you Lord, for you are El Shaddai Almighty God and there is nothing you cannot do.

CONCLUSION

There is a lot of corruption in this country which will require a lot of prayers. But we believers will not focus on how big our problems and challenges are but instead we will tell our problems how big our God is.

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.