Riff Raff: We should expect more from the Attorney General

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s call to appreciate police and shut down “the negativity toward those who protect and serve” is noble in sentiment but incredibly naive and ill serves a law enforcement community in need of responsible input to address troubling problems.

Rutledge’s office said the commentary is “a call to action … urging local, state and national leaders to join her in expressing appreciation for members of law enforcement and to help shutdown the negativity toward these dedicated public servants.”

Her essay asks us to view all police officers as heroes, and demands an end to “extreme rhetoric” that disparages this noble profession. She notes in part of the essay: “I have personally seen officers sacrifice so much and expect so little in return. I have joined in the celebration of newly sworn officers, and, tragically, I have stood with families and communities as they mourn officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“I am deeply troubled by the extreme rhetoric circulating across the country about members of law enforcement. If you turn on your television or pick up a newspaper, almost every day you can find somebody making disparaging comments about law enforcement and unfairly judging officers based on emotions fueled by rumors and irresponsible media coverage.

“This must stop.”

Indeed, police officers, state troopers and other law officers have tough jobs. And too often we citizens don’t provide enough support with respect to pay, training and recognition. I admire all young men and women who pursue law enforcement as a profession. It is a brave choice.

But the AG’s assessment makes one wonder if she’s been paying attention during the past few years. One would expect more depth from the state’s top legal officer; more awareness that the world around us isn’t divided neatly into good guys and bad guys. One would think a Republican seemingly opposed to the growth of government might consider that an increase in police authority through the war on drugs, war on terror and war on drunk driving and other well-intended civil wars has created militarized police forces and federal agencies which require ease of adjudication through the softening of civil liberties.

To be sure, if “you turn on your television or pick up a newspaper” you are likely to find reports of a person or persons injured or killed by a police officer. The number of such reports has grown in recent years and the ubiquitous nature of social media and smartphone technology has forced those of us who wish it weren’t true to accept that something is wrong. The AG knows this; she knows “irresponsible media coverage” is negligible and increased media coverage is the result of a problem and not its root. If anything, the media is finally reporting what many non-white, non-privileged Americans have known for years.

Rutledge also wants us to consider that Washington D.C. liberals are fomenting negativity toward police. However, the issue has become such a problem that the conservative/libertarian Cato Institute created a “National Police Misconduct Reporting Project” that provides a daily recap of the actions of bad cops. This is by no means a pro-Obama effort.

Also, FBI Director James Comey has said the agency will begin in 2016 counting the number of people killed by police officers. Comey, certainly not a D.C. liberal bleeding heart, said it was “ridiculous and embarrassing” that the FBI did not have more info on the growing problem.

On the other side of the equation, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports a 4% increase in the number of officers killed in 2015 compared to 2014. However, shooting deaths were down 14%. And overall, safety for officers has improved in the past decades. The number of police officers shot and killed in 2015 was 42, well below the 156 in 1973.

Encouraging us to simply reject negativity is no better than those who seek to overstate the issue of police violence to further a political agenda. AG Rutledge is in a position to encourage and/or demand a culture that produces and protects good officers, focuses on true community policing, seeks efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and pushes for a timely and transparent response when police-civilian interactions go bad.

What “must stop” is rhetoric from a person with such authority who, on this issue, chooses to be an opportunistic cheerleader rather than a real leader.