Recent events, especially in Minnesota, have triggered an avalanche of reactions
both here in the USA and abroad. Most of the complexities of these events are
unseen; ulterior motives, hidden agendas, and a haze of misinformation, where we
the people are often left frantically grasping at conjectures and wild speculations.
Some of us, however, informed by real-life experiences from the not-too-distant
past, can calmly and clearly assess a trend—a sort of hurdle in the ongoing ever
morphing social experiment we call Democracy.
Our current foreign entanglements in the Middle East may overshadow recent
domestic events, but they will not disappear them.
First some credentials: I was a federally trained police officer, and also had
training in military police intelligence. The organizing principle of our training was
the Constitution; in fact, we took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution
against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
During training one day, the instructor announced that we were on standby-alert
for possible mobilization and deployment, by the Commander in Chief, President
Johnson, to Detroit, Michigan.
The 101st Airborne Paratrooper Division, some of whom I trained with, was
deployed under the Insurrection Act, to assist the National Guard and the Detroit
Police department.
During the Detroit Uprising, as it came to be known, 43 people died; 1,189
were injured, over 1,400 structures were burned, over 500 buildings were completely destroyed, and 5,000 residents reported to have been left homeless.
Of the people killed, a few were killed by the actions of civilians: shopkeepers defending their livelihood, for example, one by the Army, 11 by the Michigan National Guard
and 22 by the Detroit police department. To me, these numbers are not
merely a one-dimensional body count report, but rather they also reflect the level
of screening, training and experience of each law enforcement group.
President Johnson was so perplexed by the magnitude of the travesty that had
occurred in an America that he perceived as being more united and law-abiding,
that he signed Executive Order 11365 establishing the National Advisory
Commission on Civil Disorders, while parts of Detroit were still smoldering.
The Kerner Commission, as it was called, was bipartisan. The findings were
revealing. Three factors stand out: the existence of de facto segregation in the
population, escalation of tensions by way of police brutality and a pervasive
philosophy of white supremacy within the department and elsewhere.
As I view and review many of the videos circulating of the agents’ actions in
Minnesota, my own experience as a federal police officer serves as a kind of
beacon, bringing me deeper into the realities of the human side of being a law
enforcement officer. Many questions arise; what were all the conditions of the event—daytime, nighttime, sense of security of the location, familiarity with the
neighborhood; were there established allies or unfriendlies within the
neighborhood? Do past experiences at this location inform or slant the officers’
approach? What level of training were the police officers operating under? What
level of skills, both natural and learned, were the officers bringing to, or lacking in,
the situation? What were the states of mind of the police officers involved? Is he or
she having unusual stress in the family or on the job? What drew them to this
particular career?
And the shootings; we were trained to only unholster our gun when we intended to
use it … not brandish it to bluff or threaten. The very presence of a gun in the hand
introduces and greatly increases the probability of lethal force.
One glaring example of this is the various videos documenting a horde of
immigration and border agents swarming on Alex Pretti, resulting in his death — a
homicide, yet to be determined whether intent or recklessness was a factor. There
are cries of murder by some witnesses and some even say it had the appearance of
a summary execution.
Just from the videos, the mental state of some of the agents appeared to me to be
what we called in the military, a berserker/blind rage syndrome. It is a dissociative
disorder; a violent overreaction, disproportionate to the situation. Often, amnesia
accompanies the period of violence … situational awareness is replaced by tunnel
vision — logic and consequences are abandoned.
The human elements of these confrontational aggressions appear to be quickly
stuffed into the same bag as the body of evidence, then ushered off the public stage
and whisked into a procedural fog. What’s left for the public forum is a fill-in-the-
blank narrative where the storyboards are shaped by the initial shock,
indignation — righteous or otherwise — and the guesswork of the storytellers.
This, in no way, exonerates the individuals involved. They are not let off the hook.
The questions that loom larger in my mind are — how did they get hooked? What
was the bait?
The answer to that lies somewhere in the purview of the highest corridors of
bureaucracy, where the architects of political gambits stay up late at night.
Recruitment and Training: before being accepted into a law enforcement position
in the military, one is administered a General Technical entrance exam, a
vocational aptitude assessment, before being offered a specific job. One might be
more suitable as a clerk, medic, or cook, for example. ICE’s Enforcement and
Removal Operations Deportation Officers, as seen in streets across the
country, are often not required to take this exam.
The current training for New Hampshire state troopers is 16 weeks at the police academy
after four weeks of pre-academy training, then three weeks of specialized instruction, then 13 weeks working directly with a field training officer, a kind of supervised on-the-job training. You must be at least 21 years of age.
Currently, our governing body has been fast-tracking, with no apparent imminent
danger or threat, the process to be trained and put in the field as an ICE agent. The age
requirement has been dropped from 21 to 18; training reduced from 13 weeks to eight
or even six weeks, $50,000 sign up bonus, student loan repayment or forgiveness up
to $60,000, job offers at large-scale career expos extended to some applicants in as little as six minutes, and reports of recruits sent to training before background checks
… more like a fast track to incompetence.
In recruiting for any employment, an in-depth job description would include not
only duties to perform but also working conditions and physical/emotional
demands. While I was on the job in the military, my life was threatened both
verbally and physically dozens of times. I was, at one point or another, kicked,
slapped or punched in virtually every part of my body … it was part of the job. We
were trained not to take it personally and get into a power play during an incident
that then escalates to where all parties involved begin to feel unsafe.
Training aside, these jobs, that we, the people, are funding, are those of public
service. We all recognize public servants in our local communities; the volunteers
at school functions, firefighters, people who organize clean-up days around town
to reduce pollution, pick up garbage, and so on … these are humble campaigns.
So, as our democracy seems to be sputtering along and the Constitution groans under the weight of misplaced powers, what can we do?
First and foremost is to recognize and refresh the fact that we the people are the
source of power that is delegated to those who represent us in the service to our
country. We have not lost that power … perhaps our collective power has grown
flabby and would benefit from more vigorous exercise.
We can petition the government for all training manuals and documents of official
procedures of hiring ICE agents. We own that material.
And show up, where and when it matters, as a gentle reminder to public servants
that, in these times, there is no place that is not looking.
Glenn, a Hancock resident, observes, researches and writes about cultural trends with an eye on solutions. For more civilized discourse and constructive dialogue on this topic, Glenn can be reached at glennevkidz@yahoo.com