[January 12, 2017] The external pressures on U.S. police forces to fold in the face of racial controversies are enormous. We are witnessing that if race is a factor in any arrest, the police officers are forced to defend themselves from racist charges. That is why I bring to your attention, the City of Pittsburgh Acting Police Chief Scott Schubert who has the moral courage to tell us things we might like to hear.
Call it what you wish, but high-profile incidents in Ferguson, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Chicago and elsewhere have caused rifts between police and racial minorities. The “Ferguson Effect” is the term used most often to explain why police in the United States claim they are reluctant to use force when necessary and note that their colleagues are more reluctant to stop and question people.1 This can lead to less policing and a greater danger to law abiding citizens.
A Pittsburgh police officer arrested Pittsburgh Steeler’s assistant coach Joey Porter this past Sunday for assaulting a bouncer at a club and resisting arrest. Not all the facts are in at this time, but Schubert has reviewed camera footage of the incident and has some eyewitness accounts. He concluded that “the officer’s account of the incident is accurate and our officer conducted himself in a professional manner that is to be expected.”2
Given the race problems in the Pittsburgh area and increasing racial animosity over the last few years, it took tremendous moral courage for Chief Schubert to step forward early to show his support for the officer and to quickly head off any perceptions that this was a purely racial incident. By getting out ahead of the problem, Schubert has ensured that the city will not fall into the rioting that we’ve seen elsewhere.
If you talk to any police officer out of view of the public, they will tell you that they believe they are under attack and that the pressure thrives in an atmosphere where politicians are failing to lead. Fortunately, Chief Schubert has the moral courage to do what’s right and has done so in a practiced and timely manner.
Conversely, Steeler assistant coach Joey Porter appears to have acted inappropriately, unprofessionally, and perhaps illegally. He has been put on administrative leave until the incident is fully resolved. How both Porter and the Steeler football leadership acts between now and the final outcome of the case will be telling.
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- http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/11/ferguson-effect-study-72-us-cops-reluctant-make-stops/96446504/
- http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/01/10/Independent-Citizen-Police-Review-Board-opens-inquiry-into-Pittsburgh-Steelers-assistant-coach-Joey-Porter-arrest/stories/201701100161