Three Things To Read This Week
1. “San Diego police union launches misleading attack ads ahead of special election,” and faces allegations of darkening a Black candidate’s face in an opposition mailer.
For KPBS in San Diego, Jill Castellano and Jennifer Bowman report that the city’s “law enforcement unions have funneled more than $160,000 into the upcoming San Diego County Board of Supervisors special election, propagating misleading advertisements that paint the race’s most high-profile candidate as a threat to public safety.” For example, “the ads declare that Montgomery Steppe is a ‘police defunder,’ despite her reportedly voting to increase the police budget every year she has been in office.” And, “a former state assembly-member, who accused the law enforcement groups of using ‘racial dog whistles,’ claimed the unions darkened Montgomery Steppe’s skin when they printed her image.”
The head of the San Diego Police Union said that “the biggest fight we have [with Montgomery Steppe] is over the PrOTECT Act…”, which, as San Diego Union Tribune’s Michael Smolens explains, is the “proposed law for the city of San Diego intended to limit so-called pretext stops. That’s when an officer enforces a relatively minor traffic law, like pulling over a car with a broken tail light, in order to investigate potentially more serious crimes.”
What’s particularly troubling here is not only that the police union is weaponing misinformation to attack a political candidate, but that the policy that the union despises most—ending pretextual stops—is popular with likely voters nationally—and almost certainly with the citizens whom union leaders are sworn to serve and protect.
The Vera Institute of Justice recently published findings from a survey of 2,402 likely voters, which showed that “a majority of voters across different regions and urbanity” support a ban on pretextual stops. Indeed, most Democrats and most Republicans support a ban.
In other words, since attacking a candidate who supports banning pretextual stops is extremely unlikely to cost that candidate votes (after all, most people agree with that position, even if the police union hates that reality), the San Diego police union used “misleading” fear-mongering and potentially even darkened a Black women’s face on a political mailer. That strategy might cost the candidate votes, but it is also exactly the kind of behavior that costs law enforcement the public’s trust.
2. Connecticut Police Union Turns On Police Department Leaders Who Pushed For Accountability Following The Department’s Fake Traffic Ticket Scandal.
Here are two things that happened recently in Connecticut. First, an official audit found “a high likelihood that almost 26,000 traffic citations were fabricated between 2014 and 2021—and that more than 30,000 more tickets were questionable.” Then, as Connecticut’s local News12 reports, the Connecticut State Police Union issued a “vote of no confidence in its police leadership”. Why?
One might assume that police leadership buried its head in the sand instead of acknowledging the scope of the problem; refused to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement agencies investigating the matter; and shirked their duties to hold officers accountable and provide transparency to the community. And, under those circumstances, of course, a no confidence vote in leadership would make sense.
Yet, that’s not what happened in Connecticut. Colonel Stavros Mellekas, the chief of the State Police force, launched an internal probe and is cooperating with the outside investigations. He’s said publicly that the ticket scandal is “unacceptable” and has pledged to “hold … individuals accountable.” Finally, he’s modeling transparency, announcing his intention to release a database of the 130 officers accused of taking part in the fake ticket scandal.
So, why is the Connecticut State Police Union upset? Union leaders are upset because the chief plans to release the names of the officers, and that he is “tarnishing the reputation of Connecticut State Police.” Instead, the union “expect[ed] our command staff to stand up and defend the good names and reputations of our troopers in our agency.”
Just to reiterate, these officers are accused of issuing fake tickets “for their own personal benefit [because] Troopers who appear productive are often eligible for federally funded overtime.”
What the Colonel did here—acknowledging the colossal breach of trust, modeling transparency, and promising to hold individuals accountable—is exactly how a leader should act to defend (and, frankly, rebuild) the good name and reputation of the agency.
3. Examples Of Police Misconduct Undermining Community Trust:
“Dallas cops laughed after disabled military vet was denied restroom, urinated on himself.” For the Dallas Morning News, Kelli Smith reports:
“The Dallas veteran, Dynell Lane, told [police] oversight members two uniformed off-duty Dallas police officers working security at Serious Pizza refused to review his medical paperwork around 2:15 a.m. June 10 after employees said he couldn’t use the restrooms. Lane, who said he was disabled while deployed for the U.S. Army, called 911 but officers didn’t arrive in time. He said he had a urine and bowel leak issue and left the restaurant.
…
After Lane left the restaurant, body-camera from one of two on-duty Dallas officers shows them enter Serious Pizza. They approach the two off-duty officers working security in their DPD uniforms. The on-duty officers ask about someone who reported "they pissed themselves." “So you guys made a guy pee himself?” one of the on-duty officers says, then brings a fist to her mouth as she laughs.
One of the off-duty officers smiles and says “yeah” and looks at the other off-duty officer, who appears to say “He called 911? He called 911?” The officers say Lane called 911 about the officers, and one off-duty officer says, “He called 911 on us?” the officers respond “yeah” and the off-duty officer yells “ahhh!” and slaps his knee as he laughs loudly. The other off-duty officer smiles.
“He got mad you guys wouldn’t let him use the restroom and then he calls back and said it’s OK he doesn’t need to pee anymore because he soiled [himself]” one of the on-duty officers says before the other one appears to shut off their body camera.”
Mr. Lane, the veteran, told the Dallas Morning News that after being “wounded during deployment in Afghanistan and Kuwait as an army sergeant [and[ medically evacuated out of combat. [that he] no longer lives a normal life. ‘My life has changed, drastically changed, and has been a constant fight having to explain myself about my disability just to get assistance … This battle leaves me in a constant depression and suicidal at times because of the shame of asking strangers for help while in public.”
“6 Ex-Officers, Some Of Whom Called Themselves ‘The Goon Squad,’ Plead Guilty To State Charges In Torture Of 2 Black Men.” For CNN, Dakin Andone reports on the former Mississippi police officers who “pleaded guilty to all state charges against them stemming from the torture and abuse this year of two Black men, one of whom was shot in the mouth.” As CNN detail, the six officers—who are charged with a combined 13 felonies, with some of whom referring to themselves as “The Goon Squad ‘because of their willingness to use excessive force and not to report it,’ according to a federal charging document”—“kicked down the door of a home in Braxton, Mississippi, where the Black men were living … handcuffed, kicked, waterboarded and tased them and attempted to sexually assault them over nearly two hours, before one of the deputies put a gun in Jenkins’ mouth and shot him…. [and] ‘repeated [the] use of racial slurs in the course of their violent acts…”
“Former Police Chief Jailed For Child Sex Abuse Charges.” For Georgia’s Macon Telegraph, Micah Johnston reports on former Warner Robins Police Chief who was “arrested last week on child sex abuse and incest charges… allegedly involving a teenager… Investigators believe the alleged abuse happened in Houston and Pulaski counties and that it may date back to early last year.” The Georgia Bureau of Investigation obtained arrest warrants for the former chief, and the Houston County District Attorney’s Office “will prosecute the case.”