Holding police accountable. Proposed reforms in Georgia

All across America, we seem to be in a wave of "excessive use of force" by law enforcement officers, especially toward young black males who are unarmed.  Notorious cases have sparked outrage and demonstrations -- and revelations, often from the growing ubiquity of cell phone cameras or police body cams that weren't available in the past.

Public outcry intensifies when these officers are later acquitted by grand juries from any responsibility, despite what appears to the public to have been clear evidence of wrong-doing and excessive force.

Let's stipulate, with great respect, the difficult job that police officers face and that the vast majority are exemplary.  They have to approach suspects without knowing whether they are armed and violent or irrational and unpredictable from drugs.    And they often have to make split second decisions that may mean the difference between life and death -- their own as well as the suspects'.

But having acknowledged the difficulty, the egregious examples -- and the lack of being held accountable -- cannot be ignored.

Here's what's happening in Georgia.   A combined investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News examined police shooting cases over the past five years.   They found that, of 171 police shootings, not a single case against the officer even went to trial.  It turns out that the system is rigged in their favor.  To quote from the AJC article by Brad Schrade,

"Georgia is the only state that allows police officers facing indictment to sit in on the entire grand jury process, listen to all the evidence against them and make a statement at the end that can't be questioned or challenged by prosecutors or grand jurors."

For example, in a recent grand jury hearing on a police shooting of an unarmed black man, the officer testified for a full hour before the grand jury, complete with power point graphics, and no one questioned his testimony.   He was not indicted.

There is perhaps some justification for allowing police officers to testify, given that they may also be the officer charging a suspect in the case.    But why the special exemption from having his testimony even questioned by the prosecutor?   This does not give the alleged victim equal opportunity for justice.

This must change, in the name of justice and simple fair play.   At least the Georgia lawmakers are talking about making some changes.

Ralph