{"id":234672,"date":"2021-04-24T15:41:09","date_gmt":"2021-04-24T12:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/americans-can-support-the-police-while-also-supporting-police-reform\/"},"modified":"2021-04-24T15:41:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T12:41:09","slug":"americans-can-support-the-police-while-also-supporting-police-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/americans-can-support-the-police-while-also-supporting-police-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"#Americans can support the police while also supporting police reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Americans can support the police while also supporting police reform<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

Screaming, crying, yells of thanking God were all heard all over the world on Tuesday after a jury found former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I, too, felt at peace hearing the verdict, and posted a message<\/a> on Instagram: \u201cTHANK GOD! Justice in the Derek Chauvin case was served. GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though I\u2019m pro-police and a black conservative who understands the overwhelming majority of police officers do their jobs honorably, I also know police must be held to account when they violate their oath, and figured most conservatives feel the same way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Never once did I think this would be a controversial take on what happ<\/a>ened. And yet, in a flash, I lost hundreds of social media<\/a> followers and received a torrent of shocking comments, such as \u201cGeorge Floyd killed himself,\u201d \u201cmy respect for you just evaporated,\u201d and \u201cif Floyd wasn\u2019t a lifelong criminal this wouldn\u2019t have happened.\u201d I was so floored by this reaction that I went on Fox News<\/a> to sound off on these responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When George Floyd was killed, there wasn\u2019t a single person I knew who said he deserved to die. But now, I was shocked to discover that some conservatives vehemently disagree with the outcome of the trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of this backlash stems from the progressive push to defund or even abolish the police in the wake of the Floyd tragedy. Polls show that all Americans \u2014 including black Americans \u2014 overwhelmingly support policing in their neighborhoods, and 20 percent of blacks actually want to see more police presence<\/a> near their homes. The left\u2019s baseless claims that all cops are racist also obstruct any nuanced discussion on the issue. Rather than encouraging real and necessary police reform, it has led to resistance to any reform at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And reform does need to happen. The fear that some African Americans feel during police interactions is real. Even as a staunch, pro-police conservative, I also feel nervous, even anxious, when being stopped by police. Recently on an episode of my podcast, \u201cOutloud with Gianno Caldwell<\/a>,\u201d I tackled this very issue with the stars of \u201cThe Real Housewives of Atlanta,\u201d Mike Hill and Cynthia Bailey. We discussed the fact that even they, with all of their celebrity and notoriety, fear being pulled over by the police and where that stop may lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The
The guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin was the right one. But defunding the police won\u2019t solve anything.<\/figcaption>
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This shouldn\u2019t be the case for any law-abiding citizen. For years, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives has been trying to change that by advocating for race sensitivity training, the increased recruitment of African-American officers, and national use-of-force guidelines. This is the kind of reform we need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sen. Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, made it clear that he, too, supports Chauvin\u2019s guilty verdict as well as meaningful change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know there is more work to be done to ensure the bad apples do not define all officers \u2014 the vast majority of whom put on the uniform each day with integrity and servant hearts,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe must all come together to help repair the tenuous relationship between law enforcement and Black and minority Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tim
Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, wants to work with Democrats on police reform. If only they will let him.<\/figcaption>
Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sen. Scott is again working on police reform after Democrats shut down such efforts last year in order to inflame racial divisions so they could win political races. I hope and pray that Democrats don\u2019t once again obstruct the senator\u2019s important push for police reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This shouldn\u2019t be a partisan issue. Indeed, to make a real difference, both parties must put aside politics and come to the table. And Democrats need to stop assuming \u2014 absurdly and erroneously \u2014 that all law enforcement is racist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Until we can have an honest dialogue with each other, the system will remain broken. That\u2019s not a country any of us should want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gianno Caldwell is a Fox News Political Analyst<\/a> and the author of \u201cTaken for Granted: How Conservatism Can Win Back the Americans That Liberalism Failed<\/a>\u201d (Crown Forum), out now<\/em>\n <\/div>\n