As cities across the country burn, a few police departments have figured out that the solution to stopping the riots is to listen to the people.
It has been one week since officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on the neck of the handcuffed George Floyd and kept it there until he died. That moment would be the catalyst for a chain reaction of events that would change the face of America...forever. In nearly every major city in the country, protests have sparked and America is quite literally burning. As the chaos unfolds, all sides of the political spectrum rush to put blame on anyone they can, shamefully avoiding the fact that this is happening because America's law enforcement system is broken. Some cops, however, have realized this and instead of their cities burning, they joined protesters and a peaceful revolution is taking place.
Instead of doling out baton blows and rubber bullets, cops in Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, California, Michigan, and other states, listened to the voices of their employers (the people) and made peace. Though a few of the places where police joined in with the protesters did have some conflict, the others did not, and they remained peaceful.
Forbes pointed out a few of the places where this inspiring solidarity took place:
In Shreveport, Louisiana, protests remained peaceful and an officer even went out of his way to console a troubled protester.
According to NBC News 6 reporter Jade Jackson, the protester " feared for their lives when the officer told them not to be on top of the courthouse statue."
In a video — which is no longer available on Twitter for some reason — an officer went up to the person, offered consoling words and then a hug.
“I feel your pain, ok?” the officer says. “We’re all right here with you.”
The sheriff in Flint, MI led an inspiring speech and turned the protest into a "parade."
In Portland, OR, instead of doling out baton blows and pepper spray, cops took a knee with the protesters and the protesters then began shaking hands and thanking the cops.
Even in Minneapolis, which has been the hardest hit city so far, a moment of peace out shined the destruction. When an officer got separated from the rest of his group of cops, he quickly became a target from the angry crowd.
However, a group of protesters rallied around him, and served as a human shield to prevent what could have been a public execution.
As we have stated from the beginning of the riots, this reaction was inevitable. Minorities and the poor have been pushed into a corner and ignored as the state preyed on them through a system of extortion and violence. One can only be ignored for so long before they eventually lash out.
Remember when football players were peacefully protesting by taking a knee and the country — including the Commander in Chief — collectively lost their minds? Trump even called for them to be fired for this. Now, since they were ignored and told to shut up during their peaceful protests, the inevitable non-peaceful protests have begun.
The only way to stop this is to do what these cops in the examples above are doing, and that is only on the short term. To prevent any future chaos, America's system of law enforcement needs radical change. Instead of threatening to execute suspected looters with no due process — this is the discussion we should be having right now.
