Police brutality cases in the U.S. have called into question the effectiveness of duty to intervene policies in some police departments.
Officers who were terminated after their involvement in a traffic stop that ended with the death of Tyre Nichols, pose in a combination of undated photographs in Memphis, Tenn. Recent high-profile police brutality cases have called into question the effectiveness of duty to intervene policies in some U.S. police departments.
While the idea behind "duty to intervene" is valid, a new approach is needed, say some experts, including one who is advocating for new federal and state laws that would prosecute police for standing by while a colleague abuses a suspect."This needs to be legislation because it is obviously clear that we cannot rely on police to self-police. That has failed," said Zachary D. Kaufman, the Kleh visiting professor in international law at Boston University School of Law.
"Because of the Blue Wall of Silence, which is widespread throughout law enforcement, officers feel peer pressure not to intervene and fear professional and even physical retaliation by their colleagues if they do so," he said. He said some of the officers involved in the Nichols case have either been charged or fired for not intervening, and adding a new law won't necessarily spur officers into action.Wexler agreed that it's not enough to just have a policy that says officers have a duty to intervene.
What's different about their project, compared to other duty to intervene workshops, is that previous training hasn't focused on how to intervene and how to accept intervention, she said.Beating death of Tyre Nichols renews calls for police reformThe death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by police in Memphis, has prompted renewed calls for police reform in the United States.
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