George Floyd verdict: how the police came to oppress those they have sworn to protect and serve

The racism that some citizens face at the hands of the police is not limited to just the US. Police in India don’t have a stellar record, either
In Hong Kong, there is a larger issue: the consequences of the morphing of the force on police-citizen interactions and on how citizens relate to each other

Samir Nazareth

Published: 1:30am, 23 Apr 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial, in which he was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, raises many issues. Survivor’s guilt and children’s exposure to brutality, but also how a fear of severe legal consequences prevents members of society – including trained personnel – from coming to another’s aid, and the grip that police have over society.

Whether police can be held accountable by the same law and order that society entrusts them with, seems irrelevant.

The missed point is that members of the black community are either being killed or having their rights trampled on during interactions with the police. Being ignored is the impunity with which such events recur, such as the recent killing of Daunte Wright and mistreatment of Lieutenant Caron Nazario.

But the racism that some citizens face at the hands of the police sworn to protect and serve is not limited to just the US. Police in India don’t have a stellar record, either.

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In the case of the Hong Kong Police Force, concerns have been raised about racism in policing – a reflection of low minority representation and attitudes of ethnic Chinese Hongkongers towards minorities.

However, there is a larger issue: the consequences of the morphing of the force on police-citizen interactions and on how citizens relate to each other.

The colonial Hong Kong police reflected the population diversity but it was not widely trusted until action was taken to weed out corruption. The population density ensured constant interactions and a growing familiarity. This cordial relationship continued after the handover.

The 2014 “umbrella movement” and the 2019 student revolt was an opportunity for Beijing to mould the police in Hong Kong along the lines of their mainland counterparts.

This transition reflects the force’s changing relationship with citizens and the political and administrative branches.

That a dedicated hotline set up last year by the police, for citizens to report suspected violations of the national security law, received more than 1,000 pieces of information in the first few hours suggests a growing distrust between citizens, part of broader societal ramifications when policing mutates.

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Hong Kong Police marching in the Chinese military style

This has not been the case with the police in the US and India. The antecedents of US police are the posses formed to capture escaped slaves.

The origins were in enforcing, normalising and institutionalising social bigotry. In colonial India, the police force was instrumental in dealing with the freedom movement.

India is still ridden with the feudalism that strengthened the stature of its colonial police. By reinforcing a social stereotype and serving as the enforcement arm of the colonial administration, the Indian police protected itself from any outrage over its conduct.

Because the police forces in the US and India had their roots in social bigotry, it created a divide in how the law was administered and police came to be staffed.

Black people in America are stopped more often for random police checks than white people. Consequently, they have a greater chance of being shot by the police, from 1.81-6.51 more than for white people, depending on where they are.

Black people, who make up 12 per cent of the adult population, constitute 33 per cent of the incarcerated.

People pose for pictures in front of a mural for George Floyd on Tuesday, after the former police officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of murder. Photo: AP

In India, 32 per cent of prison inmates come from the historically socio-economically disenfranchised lower castes known officially as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, or Dalits. They make up just 26 per cent of the police force.

Similarly, Muslims, who make up 14 per cent of the population and just 3-4 per cent of the police, are the victims of the vast majority of hate crime attacks. According to Hate Crime Watch, 62 per cent of religious violence in India targeted Muslims.

But it is not only historical bias that results in the continuing perpetration of atrocities against certain communities. The phenomenon can also be symptomatic of the spoken and unspoken inclinations of the government and its leaders.

Under Donald Trump’s administration, hate crime in the US increased by 20 per cent, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Trump has been named in a lawsuit alleging that the former president collaborated with white supremacist groups to incite unrest. During the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, he dismissed some protesters as “terrorists” and supported harsh policing tactics.

In India, an analysis of 254 hate crimes between 2009 and 2018 found that 90 per cent were perpetrated under the administration of Narendra Modi, who is from the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.

About 96 per cent of the sedition charges brought against Indians have occurred since he came to power in 2014.

In Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor rejected claims of police brutality during the 2019 mass protests amid complaints that police handling had exacerbated the situation.

What is apparent is that, in a democracy, neither the law nor the promise to protect and serve are always secular. The administration of law can serve to maintain biases and even protect those in power. That there are hardly any convictions or even an acknowledgement of police brutality across these regions suggests an insidious nexus against citizens.

The ideal of a government of the people, by the people, for the people, must extend to community representation in the police with the commitment to deal with historical prejudices that affect policing.

Unless that happens, society will continue to be at risk of racism in policing and the police will continue to serve the expedient needs of those in power.

Samir Nazareth has worked in the development sector and writes on sociopolitical and environmental issues