In my opinion, fear is the primary motivation for the shootings. Many white officers are simply culturally ignorant of black people. Fear, mixed with adrenaline, and a finger on the trigger.
Fear of the dark, or fear of water are great examples of how our minds work. Knowledge is indeed power, and we fear what we don’t understand. Most people afraid of the dark, are afraid of that lack of information. Same with the water. We simply cannot sense possible danger, or make good decisions based on no input. Even stupid people have a relative sense of fearing the unknown.
So. You take an officer who doesn’t know much about a man, mix in his fight or flight wiring, and as he has no choice of flight, he may overreact and use what means he feels will protect himself (or herself.)
Many situations in law enforcement call for split second decision making. That decision may lead to the death of one’s self, or the death of another person. In many situations, there isn’t really a “good” or “correct” response. It’s not a fun job.
Racism. Let’s keep in mind that just because someone is racist, doesn’t mean that they would willingly murder people of whatever color they dislike. Baring that in mind, we return to fear as primary motivation.
Women. I’m not telling anyone anything they don’t already know. Females are likely half the strength of a male of equal size. A female that an officer is interacting with, is simply not going to pose as large of a threat as a male in similar circumstances. So. Again, we return to fear as motivation.
Training has a LOT to do with it. Up until very recently, officers are trained to protect themselves. There is an assumption that if an officer has their weapon drawn, whomever they are pointing it at must be a nefarious character, and the “bad guy.” So. Officers are trained to eliminate the threat, and come home to their families. The officer training people how to shoot, is hoping that the officer will survive an encounter requiring lethal force. That means putting multiple rounds in center mass. This reduces the chance of the perpetrator returning fire, or otherwise being capable of hurting the officer. This is precisely the reason that when people are shot by police, they are usually shot multiple times.
Then, there’s what I call a barking dog factor. When a single dog starts barking, usually many others will start barking too, even without knowing what is going on.
If there are multiple officers holding drawn weapons and one starts shooting, others will automatically start shooting as well. Again, even if they don’t have information on why. And again, fear is the driving force…
My opinions are based on years of experience as a LEO. There are indeed “bad cops.” As in any profession. But my interpretation of the main problem (at least currently) is fear based upon ignorance.
Another angle here, is fear in the case of the black community. Many are afraid of having a negative interaction with the police. This fear motivates behavior that can be interpreted as “guilty” behavior. Examples are trying to hide from police, or running for no reason. When someone is running, an officer will assume that the person has something to hide, and one thing at the top of their mind is a gun. So. Once a chase (on foot, or car, or whatever) is on, tensions are already raised. Then the person running and the pursuing officer are in a high state of tension. Mixing high stress, and firearms is a recipe for disaster.
So. In a way, it is cyclical. The fears that the civilians and cops have play into each other. We all know what the results can be.
I would add, that my personal experiences with women indicate that they will run, in a vehicle, but not usually on foot. Just another tidbit. Honestly, I didn’t think about that much, until crafting this response…
