Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Police rules in need of change

There were no manslaughter charges brought against the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. The grand jury determined that the officers were justified because they said they were in danger. And one of those officers, Jon Mattingly, emailed fellow officers to claim “we did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night.” He also called police officers “warriors” and expressed contempt for civilian oversight.

Police rules of engagement are structured to prevent the death of officers. What is missing is sufficient forethought for collateral damage. Using SWAT to serve no-knock warrants in the dead of night creates the very danger that officers cite in their justification to use lethal force. They go in heavy and with a warrior mentality. As evidenced by the current social upheaval, the collateral damage is no longer tolerable.

The rules of engagement must change. Police standards of perceived danger should not allow them to operate in a manner risking civilian casualties. There must be civilian oversight and control of law enforcement for the same reasons that civilian control of the military is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. And as with the military, open contempt for civilian control must not be tolerated.

Do no-knock warrants and a militarized police force serve society? Civilians need to determine that. It is not moral to disregard the death of innocents. It is wrong to let police think of themselves as warriors lest they make war on the populace. No more Breonna Taylors.