Column: Police officers are peace officers, not warriors

As a result of an epidemic of shootings, police chiefs on television have become almost a daily event and they invariably appear in full uniform.

Some sport four silver stars, which in the U.S. Army signals a full general. Some have gold “scrambled eggs” on their hats and rows of “campaign ribbons” on their chests. Some chiefs are more modest choosing to wear only one star - a brigadier general. A U.S. brigade has around 4,000 combat troops. Not to belabor this point too much, the Chief of Cincinnati Police wears four stars and commands about 1,000 sworn officers.

An organization’s mindset starts from the top down. The veneration of the warrior runs deeper than the stars and oak leaves on uniforms, but such emulation begins in police academies. There is a natural continuity if the police recruit is a military veteran or a veteran officer is a member of the armed forces reserve and has been activated for combat duty. Due to the fear that citizens are well armed and ready, more and more military style equipment are issued to officers. The notion of the police officer as guardian has taken a back seat. The police warrior is in the driver’s seat.

The irony is that, indeed American citizens have access to military caliber firearms and even some potential terrorists, in cavalier manner, go about shopping for “assault rifles” at the local gun emporium on Main Street. The greater irony is that a significant number of the sniper attacks on police were executed by U.S. military veterans. Thus the fear escalates in a lethal cycle. It is not easy to take issue with the first rule of law enforcement which says that every officer has the right to go home at the end of every shift.

Nevertheless, now is the time to take a deep breath and think. One place to start is within the police agencies which are regulated organizations whose members are subject to training, performance incentives, and discipline. A deliberate conscious effort should be made to return to “police are guardians” on the first day of police academy. Emphasis must be given during all stages of an officer’s service to the importance of conflict de-escalation. Tactical restraint and conflict avoidance are newer ways of stating the same concept. On the use of force continuum, escalation in use of force must be restrained and controlled. Given the power of police firearms that approach that of the military, such killing force must be used only when necessary and proportionally and with careful distinction between threat and non-threats.

Again, there is great irony here to have to cite the customary international humanitarian laws on armed conflict because the streets of America are not battlefields. I was researching some statutes on criminal procedure in Ohio and I will report to you that Ohio Revised Code 2935.01 classifies police officers of all stripes as “Peace Officers.” Indeed they are or should be.

Charleston C. K. Wang is a resident of Montgomery.