Another young man died Friday at the hands of a police officer.
On March 6th 2015, 19 year old Tony Robinson was killed by a veteran Madison police officer, Matt Kenny, who had been called to the scene for a disturbance. The facts of the incident are still being disseminated, and no clear and unbiased account of what happened has been confirmed. According to the police scanner audio, multiple calls were made to police that Robinson was causing a disturbance, running in front of cars, and allegedly assaulting some individual. Officer Kenny arrived on the scene and, feeling justified, followed Robinson into a duplex. According to police, a scuffle occurred and Robinson was fatally shot multiple times.
Madison police chief, Mike Koval, has been portrayed as apologetic by the media, and does indeed apologize in a post on his blog. But, as any observant reader will see, this message to the community of Madison is used as a public relations opportunity and functions as a tranquilizer. Chief Koval has learned from the heavy-handed police responses in Ferguson.
There’s a lot of angles one can talk about this incident. One could compare it to Ferguson or other recent events, question the validity of the deadly force used, or look at the media’s representation of Robinson. But, I was struck by the apology. Chief Koval issued a well-crafted response to the incident and I’d like to linguistically analyze what he said, reading between the lines.
Koval wrote four paragraphs; let’s look at them chronologically.
The first paragraph starts with a reference to Sir Robert Peel, who has been called the founder of modern policing. Peel helped to pass the London Metropolitan Police Act in 1829 which established a full-time, uniformed police force in the city of London. It’s worth noting that even at a time of high crime, the British public needed considerable lobbying to accept this act. Citizens were rightly concerned that a standing army would produce a means for the government to have a potential despot-like control over the citizenry.
What Koval doesn’t mention (and probably doesn’t think anyone will take the time to realize) is that Sir Robert Peel’s principles in policing have historically run in direct contrast to American policing ideology. Ever wonder why British police aren’t typically armed? That stems from Sir Robert Peel’s ideas.
Koval goes on to emphasize “the police are the public, and the public are the police” exerted from a larger Peelian principle. Koval left out some of the more striking aspects of Peelian principles such as “the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it“; or “the degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionally to the necessity of the use of physical force.”
Koval goes on, attempting to blur the lines between the community of individuals to whom this event acts as a catalyst for change; individuals who can see themselves in Tony and identify with the probability that they too might be dismissed to a cops trigger finger. Koval asserts that the Madison police share the “sense of loss” that this community, alienated and discriminated, feels.
I find this insulting.
Koval continues, portraying a semblance of effective bureaucracy; touting Madison’s review process as fair. According to Koval, the State of Wisconsin’s Division of Criminal Investigation and the District Attorney will fairly decide if Officer Kenny will be held accountable for his actions. Koval finishes this section by assuming that the public wants blood and pleads for an appeal to “due process”
Lastly, Koval portrays the police as “guardians” who “lay down [their] life for a complete stranger”. He says that “no one joins my profession hoping to do harm to anyone”. Well, if that’s true, Chief Koval, then there’s something about your profession that turns do-gooders into demons.
MPD’s Chief Koval gives Copblockers an idea of the new tactics we face as a movement. Is this the new and more savvy method of pacifying the public’s outrage towards the use of deadly force against another unarmed Black man? Has the fight to hold police accountable for their actions become a strategic public relations chess game?
Kelly is a lifelong resident of Las Vegas, who’s been very active in local grassroots activism, as well as on a national level during his extensive travels. He’s also the founder/main contributor of Nevada Cop Block, served as editor/contributor at CopBlock.org and designed the Official Cop Block Press Passes.
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1st was he a minority, because no one gives a shit if a white guy dies.
Race obsessed much?
Anyone else notice the rise in ads? Ha even copblock is just out for personal gain
I noticed a rise in nobody caring about your opinion…
But he’s right. Seems the hoodies and stickers aren’t covering it.
He can’t be right about something nobody could possibly prove, saying someone is just out for personal gain is clearly an attack on character that cannot be proven. If your website has enough traffic that you can make money from ads, why not do it? I like it, now even though idiots like you come here with bs arguements trying to derail things, in a small way you are still supporting copblock just by visiting
If you look back, they (CB) didn’t have enough to afford the site. They asked for donations. It makes them about 15k per yr in hits(or did).
So yes, money is part of the equation.
And yes, each comment I make, gives Adam and Pete a shiny nickel.
I would expect money to be part of almost any equation, saying money is their only goal because they have ads is stupid.
Agreed.
CS:
True. And I’m good with that. It’s the advertisers that get hurt when ey are paying for spots on this site…..and I never buy any of their crap.
Another BS article. At the beginning or the article, the author clearly points out, ” The facts of the incident are still being disseminated, and no clear and unbiased account of what happened has been confirmed”. The rest of the article is some BS rant with no evidence to back up the claims made by the author.
Like a link that doesn’t back anything up? Like how you roll?
Comply and you won’t be shot. There was clearly some form of confrontation. Had “I hate my mind” Tony complied, perhaps he would still be alive to file suit. It’s the hard algebra.
Don’t like, but you know I’m right.
I’d bet there is a Inopn there. If so….I’d get the union to take a “confidence vote” on the chief. It may ultimately be useless….but is sends te right message.
Yes, badges don’t grant extra rights. The color of your skin apparently does. Must be the cops fault that the black community kills each other at a rate 400% higher than others, or that the abortion rate among blacks is also 400% higher than whites or hispanics. Black Lives Matter, just not to black people.
He’s actually pretty close on several topics.(2:23)