Police tactics have gotten a lot of news time in recent weeks. Not all of that ink — and film — has fostered trust.
We’ve seen stories and video from our nation’s midsection of an unarmed teen’s body on a street where it lay for four hours after a Ferguson, Mo., officer shot him in disputed circumstances, followed by photos of a militarized police response to protests.
We’ve seen stories and video of another unarmed black man in New York as he died after an officer put him in a chokehold that was against department policy. Why? Because he sold loose cigarettes.
In Chattanooga last year we saw stories and surveillance video of two local officers beating a man at a Salvation Army halfway house until he had multiple breaks in both legs.
There have been “good news” police stories, too. But they’ve churned less comment and attention. There was a recent story about a Chattanooga officer who bought a meal and gasoline for a homeless family here before he found them shelter for the night in Cleveland.