Repost: This Has To Stop
Originally posted on October 3, 2006.
I have to come back to the Chasse death already because I need to come back to the officers involved.
In previous instances of officer-involved deaths, much discussion ensued from official corners about training of officers, and various re-examinations of that training inevitably followed. But we need to be clear on something now.
This isn’t about training. It’s about common sense, and common human decency.
These officers should not need training of any kind whatsoever to have known it might have been a good idea to actually tell the paramedics that James Chasse had been having trouble breathing.
These officers should not need training of any kind whatsoever to have thought that maybe their best and safest bet was to make sure James Chasse got to a hospital. Hell, that would have been the right course of action just from the standpoint of covering their own asses.
These officers should not need training of any kind whatsoever to have understood that no matter the circumstances, once they have someone in custody, their job is to protect and to serve that person, and that means thinking first of their health and well-being, not thinking first of getting that person to booking and moving on with their day.
This isn’t about training. It’s about being human.