Who We Think Cops Are and Why

The recent killings of two Brooklyn police officers could not have happened at a worse time. Of course, there is no "good" time for the death of law enforcement officers. But I think everyone reading this knows what I'm talking about. At a time when the country needs to promote better relationships between minority communities and law enforcement officers, the killings, which were committed by a mentally disturbed individual in the name of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, have further divided Americans in their opinions on the role of police in American society.

In recent months, I have given a lot of thought to this very topic. As someone who has been fortunate enough to never have been stopped by law enforcement or had to report something to them, growing up, my image of the police had been colored largely by TV shows and movies. From college on, that image slowly became modified by a healthy diet of news reports, opinion pieces, and studies that exposed me to a more mature (read: complicated) view of law enforcement. More recently, I have come into contact with many clients who have had interactions with the police, and it would be fair to say that I have developed a better understanding of some of the problematic ways in which some law enforcement officers react in certain situations.