Who are the criminals you’re afraid of giving the upper hand here? Speeders? Homeless people sleeping where others don’t want them to? Kids caught with a dime b

Who are the criminals you’re afraid of giving the upper hand here? Speeders? Homeless people sleeping where others don’t want them to? Kids caught with a dime bag? If there’s a statistical reality here, it’s that hardly any of the situations in which we call on police would be likely to result in violence at all. But if you send police, that is inevitably what will happen — because violence is literally the only tool in their toolbox, the sole reason they even exist in the first place. And predictably, if you imbue people with the power to commit violence free from consequence, that is what they do. In almost every police encounter, they are the ones escalating the risk of violence. So it’s perfectly reasonable to fear for your life during a police encounter, because we see over and over and over again that there are plenty of cops who relish that power, and plenty more who will close ranks to protect them. Compliance may be the best self-preservation strategy for individuals in the moment. But it does nothing to address the systemic issue.