by Don Hall

In the ongoing debate about policing in this country, the pandemic gives us a clue as to part of the problem.

Whether you fervently believe that America's police are fundamentally racist thugs, that the system is rigged toward white supremacy, or that BlueLivesMatter, we all have to agree that there is a serious issue at hand.

For all the outcry at the unjustified (and unjustifiable) murder of George Floyd, a Latino man (Mario Gonzalez) was pinned and murdered in nearly the same way one day before. No one caught that on video. In July 2018, a white man (Timothy Coffman) was murdered by police in the same manner with no protest forthcoming. At some point, the presence of racism has to give way to the real problem: officers out of control with little regard for race or crime.

One of the least accepted suggestions as to where that issue emanates from is the 'bad apple' theory. The idea that it isn't the system or the unions but the hiring of a percentage of policemen who are thugs, racist or otherwise. A small but potent number of cops who think they are above the laws they are paid to uphold.

The question in this suggestion is, if it is a number of 'bad apples' spoiling the barrel, how do we identify them before they cause homicidal harm?

Looks like the pandemic has exposed them.

Significant numbers of police officers across the country are refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, ignoring mandates and leaning on their unions to back them up.

In big cities across the country, law enforcement agencies gave a hodgepodge of responses to questions about vaccination rates. Many reported rates lower than or comparable to the rest of the population. In some places officers are not required to report having been vaccinated.

The vaccine reluctance among officers comes after a year in which Covid-19 was the biggest killer of law enforcement in the United States, accounting for at least 145 line-of-duty deaths, according to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. That's more than double the number of officers killed by heart attacks, shootings, drownings, car crashes or other causes combined -- one of the deadliest years for law enforcement in history.

"There has definitely been some hesitancy among a group of officers, much like you're seeing in the rest of society," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Washington nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum.

"I think there's a general concern, principally among younger officers, that they think they need to know more."

A Denver Police Protective Association survey found 57% of its members aren't vaccinated. 

SOURCE

'Defund the police' is a losing message and 'Abolish the police' is dead in the water. Congress is having difficulty getting anything passed to address the issue but a good start would be to summarily fire any officer in the country who refuses to get vaccinated. If not shitcan them at least take them off the street.

There are a multitude of reasons people do not want to be vaccinated. Distrust of the government, blind allegiance to Trump, fear and ignorance. Those reasons are unimportant when it comes to police officers. They are the face of authority. That authority comes from the government. If these officers refuse to acquiesce to the requirements of legal authority, they are the 'bad apples.' They believe that they are above the law.

I live in Las Vegas and I'd bet serious chips that if you looked into the 'abuse of power' records of the same officers refusing vaccination, the Venn Diagram would be conclusive.