The movement to defund police combined with the overall sentiment that sweeping change is needed for all of law enforcement has apparently left cops with some issues of self-confidence and apparent self-pity over their uncertain futures.
All of this was unfolding against the backdrop of nationwide protests following the horrific police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Lousiville as well as the botched law enforcement coverup of the vigilante lynching of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, among a long list of other victims.
Robert Harris, a Los Angeles police officer and leader of the department’s union, told the Washington Post that “the morale is low” at the LAPD because of what he described as mistreatment from an ungrateful public.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported that the LAPD was investigating more than 50 instances of police misconduct reported from protests over Floyd’s death and against police racism and violence.
Led by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 ambitiously aims to end police brutality, hold police accountable, improve transparency in policing and create meaningful, structural change when it comes to how law enforcement does their jobs.