INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS COULD HAVE AVOIDED CONFRONTATION

BETWEEN COP AND font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"">JAYWALKER

Copyright © JUNE 18, 2010mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"">

By Christopher C. Cooper

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bold""> A June 2010 video recorded event captures a white Seattle Police Department
officer cocking his arm back and punching a black female in the face. The 17 year-old female is physically
interfering with the arrest of her friend who violated the City’s jaywalking
statute. Rfont-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#262626"">elations
between the Seattle Police Department and black and Mexican communities in the Seattle
are tense. font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold"> In recent months, two
Seattle Police officers are seen on video beating a handcuffed man of Mexican
descent and that one of the officers is heard shouting racial epithets. Recall that in that incident the man
had been wrongly detained and had not committed a crime.

color:#262626"">That an alleged jaywalking event escalated to a physical confrontation indicates failings by the Seattle Police Department in its
training curriculum and that some Seattle officers may not have the requisite
interpersonal conflict resolution skills and or “the” courage needed to perform
uniformed police patrol duties. The
former and latter also call into question whether Seattle Police Department
applicants’ are properly screened as to their Psychological suitability to carry
a gun and wear a badge (e.g., how well do you handle interpersonal stress
events?). While mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"">It does not appear that
the officer in the jaywalking event acted with racial animus, it is important
to keep in my mind that the scientific data and practical police experience
show that black and Mexican communities are often policed
-–problematically---different[ly] from white communities. mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#262626"">

color:#262626"">When an eviction of an elderly wheelchair bound woman escalates to the woman being shot and killed by a NYC police officer as in the shooting
death of Eleanor Bumpers, or when questioning of person pursuant to alleged
marijuana use ends with a young man shot and killed by the police, we as a
society must ask inquisitive questions:
Do our police officers possess in their tool box the requisite
interpersonal conflict resolution skills to effectively deliver police
services? Certainly the next
question must be: Are our police agencies employing screening methods to screen
out from hire as police officers, men and women who lack the (1) temperament;
(2) problem solving ability; (3) analytical
ability; (4) courage; (5) respect for human life; and last but
not least (6) the Integrity needed by a person to be an effective police
officer?

color:#262626"">It is not enough to resolve the jaywalking event by attributing it to a lack of training and lack of employment screening. It is necessary that
we as a society hold police officers to the same standard to which we hold
civilians. The writer remembers
advising two young men who were arguing one late night on a crowded street that
it was necessary for them to part. However, one of the men cocked his arm back
and struck the other in the face.
The writer appropriately placed the assailant under arrest.

The writer remembers a white victim of a robbery, an old man who angrily shouted at
him saying that he would not talk to black officers.yes""> He shouted to the writer (me) that he (myself) was to call
for a white officer to take the police report.yes""> An appropriate response by an officer in this instance is
one of professionalism and courtesy.
Police work in America’s big cities (and arguably Seattle has grown to
become one) requires thick skin.

Seattle, like Chicago [and many other U.S. cities, not all] have in the past several
years focused on arming police officers with Pepper spray and Tasers rather
than arming officers with more training in problem solving\crisis
de-escalation. Having Tasers and Pepper Spray discourages some (not all)
officers from using good interpersonal conflict resolution skills. The results
of Taser issuance in particular has been disastrous, to include that Tased
persons have died and that near rioting occurs when officers without
interpersonal conflict resolution skills respond to calls-for-service with
Tasers. Often the persons tased are alleged to merely have disrespected a
police officer.

As officers we are taught how to employ what is often called a “Continuum of
Force” paradigm. This means that
assuming that if our department properly screened us for psychological faults
that would have made us ineligible for police service, we are ready and able to
employ a paradigm of force that we learn in the police academy. This paradigm is employed with an
officer’s ability to perform a split second analysis that enables the officer
to know what type of response is needed; how much force to use; and when to use
force. The officer who cocked his arm back and punched the jaywalker may have
showed a lack of understanding of the continuum of force paradigm and an inability
to appropriately assess a police event.

A “solid” and effective beat cop (in a big city especially) is the street corner politician who has the gift of gab.yes""> He or she possesses social skills necessary to manage
conflict between citizens and conflict to which the officer may become
involved. As to the latter, the
extent to which the officer becomes involved is often based on how well the
officer can handle interpersonal stress and his own anger. Being spat upon and called profanities
is a part of the job. Men and
women who are unable to control their anger should not be allowed to carry a
gun and badge. The writer
remembers a white victim of a robbery, an old man who angrily shouted at him
saying that he would not talk to black officers.yes""> He shouted to the writer (me) that he (myself) was to call
for a white officer to take the police report.yes""> An appropriate response by an officer in this instance is
one of professionalism and courtesy.
Police work in America’s big cities (and arguably Seattle has grown to
become one) requires thick skin.

When the crowds are forming, people shouting and chaos a possibility, the
emotionally fit, courageous big City cop keeps a cool head.

bold""> Writer: National Black Police Association (NBPA) Spokesperson Dr. Christopher C. Cooper (PhD), was a United States Marine
and Washington D.C. Policeman; Now a Civil Rights attorney in Chicago.

mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"">E-mail: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

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