On this, the sixth anniversary of my son, Erik’s, execution-by-cop, America is in serious danger of exploding into chaos.
The horrific murder of five Dallas police officers and the wounding of another seven this week triggered a profound sense of deja vu. Three years ago, I predicted this would happen, if cops continued to shoot and kill “civilians.”
From Chapter 10, pg. 181-182 of my novel, “The Permit”:
“…A spark like young Steele’s murder-by-cop, at precisely the right time and place, will blow Vegas to smither-frickin-reens. ….[H]ere’s the issue that makes this a national security concern… If all these factors come together under the right circumstance—something as abominable as Steele’s execution—all hell will break loose, and uncontrollable violence will spread across the country. …We’d have a full-blown revolution on our hands. Whole cities would be torched, and we’d incur thousands of casualties. The stock market would crater, people would be afraid to go to work…. Hell, son, America as we know it would cease…to…be!”
We’re not there yet, but we’re close. The wild beasts born of cops killing, then lying and covering up their crimes, are on the loose and may not be tamed anytime soon.
I do NOT condone the targeting and killing of police officers! But I damn sure understand why it’s happening. As our nation mourns the five officers killed in Dallas, let’s not lose sight of the fact that cops are killing an average of 3.3 people per day, every day of the year—and getting away with it 99 percent of the time.
Since 1 May 2013, police officers have killed at least 3,702 people. As of yesterday, they’d killed 610 so far in 2016—and the total climbs every year (killedbypolice.net). Think about that: Those sworn to protect and serve Americans, the citizens who pay for cops’ salaries and benefits, have killed more of us in 3.5 years than al Qaeda terrorists murdered on 9/11.
Yes, the majority of police officers truly are good people, professionals dedicated to protecting and serving, and they’re rightly being hailed as heroes today. But good lawmen are being targeted and killed, because they’ve looked the other way, tolerating ruthless killer-cops in their midst. All in the name of a mindless, Mafia-like code of Blue Silence and illogical solidarity that infects every police department and law enforcement agency in the United States.
The blood of five police officers killed and seven wounded in Dallas last week, as well as that of many more who died over the past decade, is on the hands and souls of heartless killer-cops like William Mosher—who murdered my son in cold blood—Bryan Yant, Jesus Arevalo, Derek Colling, etc. And the gutless cops who panicked and killed Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castille in Minnesota last week must bear some responsibility for the tragic deaths of those five officers in Dallas. Whether cops, politicians and media pundits admit it or not, the murders of Sterling and Castille by badged executioners triggered Micah Johnson’s deranged killing spree in Dallas.
Until cops stop killing “civilians,”
every uniformed police officer in America is in danger.
It’s time to stop the silly hand-wringing, kumbya calls for “calm” and “standing together,” and politicians mouthing pablum promises to DO SOMETHING, even if it’s ridiculously ineffective and unconstitutional. It’s time to implement real solutions, such as:
* True third-party investigations of every cop-caused fatality, ala the National Transportation Safety Board model (see “Law Enforcement is Fifty Years Behind Aviation“).
* A protocol similar to the Aviation Safety and Reporting System whereby good cops can anonymously report the misdeeds of their badged colleagues.
* Federal statutes requiring all law enforcement officers wear body cameras and carry (and pay for) personal liability insurance. Penalties for noncompliance include immediate dismissal. If a bodycam “fails” during a fatal encounter, or its video mysteriously disappears, the officer would be considered guilty of manslaughter, at the least, and subject to criminal charges.
* Zero tolerance for preemptively killing citizens “suspected” of being a threat, solely in the name of “officer safety.” Further, cops involved in cover-ups of an officer-involved shooting or other serious misdeed automatically would be dismissed, banned from the law enforcement field and subject to racketeering charges.
* Mandatory annual recertification of every law enforcement agent in the nation, to include psychological re-screening and several hours of education about the Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights. As part of this yearly process, officers having multiple use-of-force complaints and/or a shooting on their records would be subject to dismissal in the name of public safety.
* A federally funded crash program to develop, test and field nonlethal means of subduing “suspects”. The program should focus on electromagnetic and/or electrostatic technologies that accurately deliver a nonlethal, disabling effect at some distance. I saw a prototype of such a system in a Huntsville, AL, lab 11 years ago. If a nonlethal weapon like that had been in Officer Bill Mosher’s hands on 10 July 2010, instead of a .45-caliber Glock 21 semiautomatic, my son would be alive today.
* Repeal of “Qualified Immunity” statutes that protect cops from prosecution. Although QI sounds reasonable, these well-intentioned laws have been severely perverted to the detriment of countless citizens who have been denied justice, after a cop kills. QI is literally a get-out-of-jail-free card foisted on American citizens by unprincipled police unions and politicians who failed to foresee its obscene unintended consequences.
These must be the absolute top priorities for politicos to tackle…IF they’re serious about ending the senseless killing of both citizens and police officers. God help us, if elected officials and law enforcement leaders decide to hunker down, ride out the current crisis, and kick the issue of dangerous killer-cops down the road…again.
William B. Scott
