Millions of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, have an inaccurate view of law enforcement officers.
The anti-police movement, aided by sympathetic politicians and media commentators, accuses all police officers and police departments of promoting racial oppression and white supremacy. This false stereotype of “trigger-happy racist police officers” has unfortunately gained way too much acceptance and undeserved credibility.
In an illuminating video produced by the American Police Officers Alliance, crucial information is provided that will be helpful in countering this dishonest portrayal of America’s police officers.
This video is the sixth in the organization’s excellent series on the anti-police movement. It not only provides useful information, but encouragement to those interested in crime prevention and support of law enforcement.
The video highlights an October 2020 survey that indicated that millions of Americans, liberal and conservative, think that police officers kill between 1,000 and 10,000 unarmed black men each year.
Certainly this perception has many negative results. It increases racial division, breeds severe mistrust of law enforcement, motivates some to participate in riots and destruction, and leads many people to advocate for extreme policies that improperly restrain the police.
All of the above weakens the ability of the police to combat crime, and that disrupts our society’s need for safe neighborhoods and safe communities.
As it turns out, the number of unarmed black men killed by police each year is not 10,000, and not even 100. The actual number of unarmed men killed each year by police is 39 (25 white men and 14 black men).
The number 14 is small, but of course even 14 deaths are a tragedy.
But when perception is so far from the truth, when anti-police propaganda obscures the truth, it leads to terrible results – riots, bad policy such as “defund the police,” and a breakdown of unity among the people.
As the video’s narrator emphasizes:
“Ultimately, the best and only antidote to all the lies is the truth. Supporters of law enforcement must be vigorous and unflinching in telling the truth, spreading the word, educating, explaining, and advocating in support of our nation’s police. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick, but it is the only way to counter the lies of Antifa, the anti-police movement, sympathetic politicians, and their friends in the media.”
