George Floyd death: What US police officers think of protests?

By Boer Deng?

BBC News, Washington?

26 June 2020

Change v status quo

status quo n. /?ste?t?s ?kw??/ ( from Latin ) the situation as it is now, or as it was before a recent change 現(xiàn)狀；原來(lái)的狀況? to defend/restore the status quo 維持現(xiàn)狀；恢復(fù)原來(lái)的狀況

"What's happening now is a movement for police reform in our country," says Mr Hopkins, who has been a policeman for 30 years.

Some of the ideas that have become popular in the larger cultural conversation, such as diverting money and duties to fund mental health and social work, he agrees with wholeheartedly, he says.

Wholeheartedly--whole-hearted-ly/?h??l?hɑ?t?dli/ adv. 全心全意地，全神貫注地

More must be done to recruit minority officers. In Dallas, there is a conscious policy to make the force reflect the?demographics?of the city it serves.

demographic /?d?m??ɡr?f?k/ 人口統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)；特定年齡段的人口

But Mr Hopkins says he also understands why there is resistance to change.

"You tend to be protective of your industry. When individuals say 'you're doing something wrong,' we tend to go the other direction, or not admit our fault in it."

Mr Billups agrees that "it's a big split. You have one?faction?that's saying there's a need for change, and then you have another faction in these departments that want to keep it as status quo."

faction n. /?f?k?n/ ?

1.[ C ] a small group of people within a larger one whose members have some different aims and beliefs to those of the larger group （大團(tuán)體中的）派系，派別，小集團(tuán)???rival factions within the administration 政府中的對(duì)立派別

2.[ U ] opposition, disagreement, etc. that exists between small groups of people within an organization or political party 派系斗爭(zhēng)；內(nèi)訌

3.[ U ] films/movies, books, etc. that combine fact with fiction (= imaginary events) 紀(jì)實(shí)與虛構(gòu)相結(jié)合的電影（或書(shū)等）

Some officers have expressed anger over the backlash on policing and calls to defund?or disband?departments (though these are not always calls to abolish?police, as some have taken them to mean).

backlash n. ??/?b?kl??/ ?

~ (against sth)~ (from sb) a strong negative reaction by a large number of people, for example to sth that has recently changed in society （對(duì)社會(huì)變動(dòng)等的）強(qiáng)烈抵制，集體反對(duì)

defund/di?'f?nd/從…抽回資金? ? ?disbandv. /d?s?b?nd/ 解散；解體；散伙

Abolish /??b?l??/vt. 廢除，廢止；取消，革除

A viral video circulated in recent weeks of members of the New York Benevolent Association, seen as a traditionally more conservative union for rank-and-file officers, venting?at perceived mistreatment of police amid the protests.

Benevolent：/b??nev?l?nt/?adj. 仁慈的；慈善的；親切的

Venting /'venti?/ n. 排氣，通氣v. 表達(dá)，發(fā)泄；給……一個(gè)出口；排放；使空氣進(jìn)入；在（上衣）上開(kāi)衩（vent 的現(xiàn)在分詞）

"Stop treating us like 'animals' and 'thugs'," Mike O'Meara, head of the union, tells reporters. "I am not Derek Chauvin. They are not him," he said referring to the policeman who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.

thug n. /θ?ɡ/ ?a violent person, especially a criminal 惡棍；暴徒；罪犯?? a gang of thugs 一伙暴徒

Derek Chauvin：當(dāng)街用腿壓死喬治·弗洛伊德的白人警察

"Everybody's trying to shame us. The legislators. The press. Everybody's trying to shame us into being embarrassed of our profession," he says. "We've been left out of the conversation. We've been vilified.?It's disgusting."

vil·ify v. /?v?l?fa?/ ?[ VN ] ~ sb/sth (as sth)~ sb/sth (for sth/for doing sth) ( formal ) to say or write unpleasant things about sb/sth so that other people will have a low opinion of them 污蔑；誹謗；詆毀；中傷

On Facebook, Blue Lives Matter - a counter group to Black Lives Matter that advocates for police interest - has over 2.2m endorsers.

endorser/?n'd?rs?/背書(shū)人

Supporters say police deserve sympathy for doing a difficult job, and that "radical"?proposals to disband departments would lead to?anarchy?and lawlessness.

rad·ical /?r?d?kl/ ?

動(dòng)詞1.concerning the most basic and important parts of sth; thorough and complete 根本的；徹底的；完全的??the need for radical changes in education 對(duì)教育進(jìn)行徹底變革的需要

2.new, different and likely to have a great effect 全新的；不同凡響的??radical ideas 不同凡響的觀點(diǎn)

3.in favour of thorough and complete political or social change 激進(jìn)的；極端的

?the radical wing of the party 黨內(nèi)的激進(jìn)派

2.?( old-fashioned ) ( NAmE slang ) very good 很好；非常好

名詞：1.a person with radical opinions 激進(jìn)分子??political radicals 政治激進(jìn)分子?2.( chemistry 化 ) 游離基；自由基

Anarchy n./??n?ki/ ?[ U ] a situation in a country, an organization, etc. in which there is no government, order or control 無(wú)政府狀態(tài)；混亂；無(wú)法無(wú)天

lawlessness /?l??l?sn?s/ 違法；不服從法律；不受法律制約

Indeed, such reforms can have mixed results. Camden, a working class town in New Jersey, has been hailed as?a model for success after disbanding its troubled police force in 2012, redirecting energies to neighbourhood patrolling.

hailed as：被譽(yù)為????patrol/p?'trol/巡邏模式

However, in the years after it disbanded its police force in 2008, fatal encounters with police rose dramatically in Vallejo, California, a town outside San Francisco.

"It's just really tough," says Robert McCormick, a retired policeman and parole officer.?"Everybody wants a simple answer, but there isn't one."

parole /p??r??l/ ?permission that is given to a prisoner to leave prison before the end of their sentence on condition that they behave well 假釋；有條件的釋放

There are many complexities even with reforms that sound reasonable, he points out.

For example, getting mental health specialists to deal with issues police are not equipped to deal with - a large chunk of?calls Mr McCormick, 72, saw in his decades on the job in the Midwest and Colorado - would seem prudent.

prudent ?/?pru?dnt/ ?sensible and careful when you make judgements and decisions; avoiding unnecessary risks 謹(jǐn)慎的；慎重的；精明的

But officers would have no way of knowing when they answer an emergency "911" call that mental illness is the issue at hand.

With nearly one in three Americans owning a gun, risks for officers can be high.

Rather than reducing funds for police, Mr McCormick thinks, there should be supplemental funds for training and alternative resources for police.

He thinks protections for police do need to remain in place, such as preserving "qualified immunity" - another concept that has come under pressure amid the recent protests.

The doctrine shields officers from being held personally?liable for violating constitutional rights of people they arrest.

doc·trine n. ??/?d?ktr?n/ ?

1.?[ CU ] a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, a political party, etc. 教義；主義；學(xué)說(shuō)；信條?2.Doctrine [ C ] ( US ) a statement of government policy （政府政策的）正式聲明

liable for?對(duì)··有責(zé)任

con·sti·tu·tion·al ???/?k?nst??tju???nl/ ?

1.[ only before noun ] connected with the constitution of a country or an organization 憲法的；章程的

constitutional government/reform 立憲政體；憲法的修改

2.allowed or limited by the constitution of a country or an organization 憲法準(zhǔn)許的；受憲法限制的；受章程限制的???constitutional rights 憲法規(guī)定的權(quán)利

Critics argue that this?thwarts attempts to?hold officers accountable, but Mr McCormick says it is necessary to protect police who are trying to do their jobs. "It says you can't sue me just for arresting you, just for doing my job," he says.

thwart v. ??/θw??t/ ?

[ VN ] ~ sth~ sb (in sth) to prevent sb from doing what they want to do 阻止；阻撓；對(duì)…構(gòu)成阻力?? to thwart sb's plans 阻撓某人的計(jì)劃

held?··?accountable?for··：為··負(fù)責(zé)

"[The police] are being attacked," he says. "But [on the other hand], it's so damned hard to get rid of a cop who's bad or not doing his job… it's pretty damn near impossible to convict a cop. That's ridiculous."

convict ?/k?n?v?kt/ [ VN ] [ often passive ] /k?n?v?kt/ ?~ sb (of sth) to decide and state officially in court that sb is guilty of a crime 定罪；宣判…有罪

Ultimately, it will be changes that take place within departments themselves that affect long-term results, thinks the Grand Council's Mr Billups.

"The key thing now is that there's changes in the department," he says. "You're talking about officers who are black or Latino. They go back to those same neighbourhoods where they're policing. [So] a lot of the young black officers see it a different way."

But more importantly, he says, it is that police departments as a whole need to "learn a new language" to evaluate the purpose and priorities of the job. "Departments need to evolve to the 21st century".