LANSING, Mich. — Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Associate Deans Michael C.H. McDaniel and Tracey Brame, and Professors Tonya Krause-Phelan and Lew Langham each are offering their thoughts on police reform in the wake of the death George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Brame, [cooley.edu] who has expertise in civil rights and policing, spent several years as a public defender. She has also spent hundreds of hours on racial justice work in Alabama, where she conducted research, interviewed inmates and their families, and compiled statistics on racial bias in jury selection.
“Until the few local police officers who view fellow citizens as enemy combatants are routed out, we will continue to see issues of racial disparity as witnessed in the death of George Floyd.”
Krause-Phelan, [cooley.edu] who teaches criminal law at the law school’s Michigan campuses, has lectured on a variety of criminal law topics, including the militarization of local police agencies. She has worked as both a private criminal defense practitioner and as an assistant public defender with the Kent County Office of the Defender in Michigan.
“Over the past several decades, politicians and lawmakers have declared war on the public. Whether they call it the war on crime, the war on drugs, or the war on violent crime, the fact is they label it war. As a result, funds and resources have been allocated to law enforcement agencies around the country to fight these ‘wars.’ Funds and resources are given to law enforcement agencies for things like SWAT gear, armored tanks, Humvees, and other military-style equipment. When law enforcement looks and acts like a militarized force, it’s not long before they start thinking like a militarized force. As a result, they view the public -- those they swore an oath to serve and protect — as enemy combatants. When you add racial discrimination and implicit bias to the militarized mindset, the result is the abhorrent police brutality, excessive force, and homicidal conduct the world is now witnessing in real time.”
Langham [cooley.edu] began his 25-year career with the Michigan State Police as a uniformed road trooper. After earning his J.D., he served as legal counsel to the governor for legal issues related to criminal justice, prisons, homeland security, and civil rights. Langham also served as a liaison between the governor and various interest groups, and advised the governor on all policy or departmental issues related to the Michigan State Police, Department of Corrections, Homeland Security, Military & Veterans Affairs, and Civil Rights.
“The U.S. Constitution guarantees that no person or group will be denied equal protection under the law and that the rule of law should be applied and enforced equally. Police officers throughout this country are trained to protect the life and property of the people they serve. They are granted a vast amount of authority in how they go about serving that public each and every day. Somewhere along the way, some of them have forgotten or totally disregarded that preservation of life means the preservation of life for all the people they serve, regardless of race.”
McDaniel [cooley.edu] is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy and retired Brigadier General. He joined the WMU-Cooley Law School full-time faculty as a professor in the Constitutional Law Department in 2010, and developed an LL.M. program in Homeland and National Security Law. He teaches courses on the use of military force in the United States.
“There is definitely a problem in the fringes of many of our nation’s more than 12,000 police departments as it pertains to racial bias. In addition, policing has evolved over time relative to the forces officers face in the field. We also realize there have been unintended consequences of filtering surplus military equipment to local departments. With all of this said, it does not mean that those few ‘bad’ officers get a pass, and there must be continued training and review of all policing policies as it has to do with racial bias.”
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