Cahoots With The Police
Defunding Isn’t The Point
What I thought was going to be a blog-based mayoral campaign is apparently turning into “Crisis Tales by Ivan DelSol”. Once again, I’m inspired to write about my crisis of the week, since they just never seem to quit lately. Am I ever going to talk about policy ideas or anything actionable for Cottage Grove? Actually yes, in this post even. But to set the stage, I want to describe another 2020 disaster first, and this one is a lot more personal. Keep in mind that this is written during very stressful times politically and economically, all under a haze of smoke from nearby forest fires. Many of us are experiencing psychological effects sparked by the state of the world today.
[POST-PUBLISHING EDIT]
Summary of what was previously written here: This week, I had two episodes where I needed the help of police to deal with a friend’s mental health emergency. One of those episodes also involved CAHOOTS, Eugene. Both times, the police dealt with the issue in a safe and appropriate way, and my friend would have been left in a terrible situation without them. I removed the detailed story when privacy concerns were brought to my attention. That’s the nutshell, and you can skip to the end of the edit if you want.
The full story that was previously here is personal and would not have been acceptable to share without permission. Once the person involved was stabilized with professional help, I discussed the story with him and asked if it would be okay to tell it as part of my candidate blog. He agreed and encouraged this publication. He, like so many of us, has been trying to find ways to speak out in these dangerous times, and he agreed that these events illustrated some of the issues we are struggling with. I would not publish something so personal without permission.
After further consideration, I decided to remove the details from the article completely. I don’t want privacy issues to be a distraction from the main points of this post. While I have decided to bare my soul as part of my campaign for mayor I don’t want that to spread into the arena of personal details about others. For what it’s worth, whatever failings I may have as a human being, I will continue to sincerely offer myself up here so that voters can understand my philosophy and politics. One of the problems with politics in 2020 is that people don’t really know much about politicians. There is so much posturing, insincerity, and image management. One of the points of writing these pieces is to reveal not only my politics, but my personality. And heaven knows some people aren’t going to like either of those things. It’s all part of being human
[END EDIT]
While I am not a person that subscribes to the “All Cops Are Bastards” slogan, I do believe that there are serious problems with policing and incarceration in America that go beyond a few bad apples. The events of the week certainly were enough to motivate some soul-searching about my views. I know police misconduct is a reality. I’ve seen the videos, we all have. My first eye-opening experience was in Los Angeles seeing the brutal beating of Rodney King and the subsequent riots. Since then, I’ve seen and heard too many heartbreaking stories to pretend that there’s not a problem. But at the same time, if the police hadn’t been on call for me twice this week, my friend would almost certainly be hurt or even dead. Months of watching polarized views of policing on social media had to be juxtaposed with the undeniable fact that I was glad the police were there when I needed them.
Why Would We Defund Police When People Want Police?
It seems to me that all communities want to have some kind of policing, they just want to have control over what that looks like and real accountability for police that break policy. To me, that doesn’t sound like defunding the police, it sounds like reimagining the police, making sure the system is directly responsive to the communities served. In this country, we pride ourselves on civilian control of the military. It’s a foundation of our democracy. While police are not the same as the military, there are undeniable similarities. Shouldn’t those authorized to use force in our neighborhoods answer to civilians, just like those deployed abroad? Shouldn’t the public have a say in how laws are enforced within their communities?
There has to be a system for this that is effective and at the same time will not act so brutally that it provokes nationwide protesting. The system we need may not be one-size-fits-all, so why not elect community members to create local solutions that work? Elected police boards would be adaptive to the needs of each community and responsive to unique situations. A more democratic policing system that would be a public choice, subject to change if problems arise.
Obviously, I’m not presenting a very specific answer here, but at least I can be specific with my question. How can we have a police force that everyone can trust and support? For a lot of people, the real problem is a lack of confidence in law enforcement, and police accountability is the solution. Elected police boards with real oversight powers would give communities a say in how to respond to officers that break the public trust. In the recent police shooting case of Breonna Taylor, twelve million dollars, tax dollars mind you, were paid to the family of this innocent woman shot by police in her home. Only one of the three police officers involved was fired, and it seems unlikely there will be further consequences for them. I don’t speak for that community, but it seems unfair that the taxpayers would be punished for this crime. Will that outcome satisfy the outraged public? Will it discourage further misconduct by officers? Will it even satisfy the family? Will it heal the damage done to the public’s trust of the police? I don’t have the answers, but I believe that the affected community should have a direct say in the matter.
Community Controlled Policing Is A Better First Step
Before addressing the calls to defund the police, the idea itself needs to be explained. I personally think it’s a poorly named idea, because the more important part of the proposition is unsaid: refunding the community. Simply taking money away from police forces does nothing to address policing methods, crime, or the desires of the community. It is what’s done with that money that has the real potential to improve communities and policing itself. One possibility is programs that will decrease crime, like education and economic opportunities. Another is programs like CAHOOTS that take pressure off police and make available properly trained teams for things like mental health and drug emergencies. The key is actually reducing the need for policing, not simply to remove funding and continue as we have been.
Whether or not a community wants to defund police has to be taken into account. Furthermore, the best way to reallocate those funds has to be decided by the people most affected. Whether police are defunded or not, we will not solve the problem of police accountability without placing the power squarely in civilian hands. No organization should be trusted to police itself. This is why I believe the focus of improving policing should be on greater civic engagement and giving communities greater control over their own police forces. Whether that looks like defunding or not should be up to them.
What Can We Do Right Now In Cottage Grove?
Now that we’re into the third installation of my essay-driven run for mayor, I guess I’m overdue to propose something I’d actually do if elected. While I like the idea of an elected police board, that’s a massive undertaking that will require a lot of community support, discussion, and legal work. I’d certainly like to start that process, but I wouldn’t be comfortable making any promises. What I do feel confident that a mayor could accomplish is implementing a program like CAHOOTS in Cottage Grove. After seeing it in action, I know our town could benefit greatly from a similar operation.
CAHOOTS is basically a 911 response service that sends a crisis worker and a medic to calls that normally would be handled by police or the fire department. In Eugene, the program handles around twenty percent of emergency calls and saves millions of dollars every year in medical and staffing costs. They are trained to deal with a variety of medical and psychological crises without the use of force, and when they do have to call the police, they can still assist and give informed perspectives about the situation at hand.
This is a perfect fit for Cottage Grove. Everyone that lives here knows that we have our share of situations that need crisis workers more than police officers. Furthermore, we don’t have a very big police force, so having a team like CAHOOTS on call would mean police would be available to respond to the sorts of criminal activity that they are trained to deal with. We have South Lane Mental Health in town, which would be a perfect partner or base of operations for the program. I imagine we could also set up training with CAHOOTS, Eugene, or possibly even cooperate on a satellite organization. Having a crisis response team that is trained for mental health and other non-violent issues is a win for everyone involved, and I believe it’s the kind of positive change that the whole town can agree on.
Small Steps And Big Dreams
As a final note on all this, I’d like to talk about the calls from activists to abolish the police. A world without police? I think everyone can agree that it would be nice to live in a world where everyone is so safe and secure that they no longer feel they need a police force. That doesn’t happen by pre-emptively abolishing the police, that happens by creating a healthy and just world where policing becomes obsolete. Alas, that is not the world of today. The world of today is so messed up that most people believe that a society without police is an impossible dream.
Whether it’s possible or not, I think it’s an important dream to aspire to. It’s important because it’s a dream where people take care of each other and no one lives in a state of desperation. It’s important because it’s a dream where each of us are the best version of ourselves, and people don’t need to be protected from each other. It’s a dream where people take responsibility for their own actions. It’s a dream where people always treat each other with decency and respect, even when they can’t stand each other or, more likely, can’t understand each other.
Friends and neighbors, let’s keep that dream alive and, one step at a time, let’s make it a reality.
