George Floyd death: What US police officers think of protests 

By Boer Deng 

BBC News, Washington 

26 June 2020

Change v status quo

status quo n. /ˌsteɪtəs ˈkwəʊ/ ( from Latin ) the situation as it is now, or as it was before a recent change 现状；原来的状况• to defend/restore the status quo 维持现状；恢复原来的状况

"What's happening now is a movement for police reform in our country," says Mr Hopkins, who has been a policeman for 30 years.

Some of the ideas that have become popular in the larger cultural conversation, such as diverting money and duties to fund mental health and social work, he agrees with wholeheartedly, he says.

Wholeheartedly--whole-hearted-ly/ˌhəʊlˈhɑːtɪdli/ adv. 全心全意地，全神贯注地

More must be done to recruit minority officers. In Dallas, there is a conscious policy to make the force reflect the demographics of the city it serves.

demographic /ˌdɛməˈɡræfɪk/ 人口统计数据；特定年龄段的人口

But Mr Hopkins says he also understands why there is resistance to change.

"You tend to be protective of your industry. When individuals say 'you're doing something wrong,' we tend to go the other direction, or not admit our fault in it."

Mr Billups agrees that "it's a big split. You have one faction that's saying there's a need for change, and then you have another faction in these departments that want to keep it as status quo."

faction n. /ˈfækʃn/  

1.[ C ] a small group of people within a larger one whose members have some different aims and beliefs to those of the larger group （大团体中的）派系，派别，小集团  •rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2.[ U ] opposition, disagreement, etc. that exists between small groups of people within an organization or political party 派系斗争；内讧

3.[ U ] films/movies, books, etc. that combine fact with fiction (= imaginary events) 纪实与虚构相结合的电影（或书等）

Some officers have expressed anger over the backlash on policing and calls to defund or disband departments (though these are not always calls to abolish police, as some have taken them to mean).

backlash n.   /ˈbæklæʃ/  

~ (against sth)~ (from sb) a strong negative reaction by a large number of people, for example to sth that has recently changed in society （对社会变动等的）强烈抵制，集体反对

defund/diː'fʌnd/从…抽回资金     disbandv. /dɪsˈbænd/ 解散；解体；散伙

Abolish /əˈbɒlɪʃ/vt. 废除，废止；取消，革除

A viral video circulated in recent weeks of members of the New York Benevolent Association, seen as a traditionally more conservative union for rank-and-file officers, venting at perceived mistreatment of police amid the protests.

Benevolent：/bəˈnevələnt/ adj. 仁慈的；慈善的；亲切的

Venting /'ventiŋ/ n. 排气，通气v. 表达，发泄；给……一个出口；排放；使空气进入；在（上衣）上开衩（vent 的现在分词）

"Stop treating us like 'animals' and 'thugs'," Mike O'Meara, head of the union, tells reporters. "I am not Derek Chauvin. They are not him," he said referring to the policeman who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.

thug n. /θʌɡ/  a violent person, especially a criminal 恶棍；暴徒；罪犯 • a gang of thugs 一伙暴徒

Derek Chauvin：当街用腿压死乔治·弗洛伊德的白人警察

"Everybody's trying to shame us. The legislators. The press. Everybody's trying to shame us into being embarrassed of our profession," he says. "We've been left out of the conversation. We've been vilified. It's disgusting."

vil·ify v. /ˈvɪlɪfaɪ/  [ VN ] ~ sb/sth (as sth)~ sb/sth (for sth/for doing sth) ( formal ) to say or write unpleasant things about sb/sth so that other people will have a low opinion of them 污蔑；诽谤；诋毁；中伤

On Facebook, Blue Lives Matter - a counter group to Black Lives Matter that advocates for police interest - has over 2.2m endorsers.

endorser/ɪn'dɔrsɚ/背书人

Supporters say police deserve sympathy for doing a difficult job, and that "radical" proposals to disband departments would lead to anarchy and lawlessness.

rad·ical /ˈrædɪkl/  

动词1.concerning the most basic and important parts of sth; thorough and complete 根本的；彻底的；完全的 •the need for radical changes in education 对教育进行彻底变革的需要

2.new, different and likely to have a great effect 全新的；不同凡响的 •radical ideas 不同凡响的观点

3.in favour of thorough and complete political or social change 激进的；极端的

•the radical wing of the party 党内的激进派

2. ( old-fashioned ) ( NAmE slang ) very good 很好；非常好

名词：1.a person with radical opinions 激进分子 •political radicals 政治激进分子 2.( chemistry 化 ) 游离基；自由基

Anarchy n./ˈænəki/  [ U ] a situation in a country, an organization, etc. in which there is no government, order or control 无政府状态；混乱；无法无天

lawlessness /ˈlɔːləsnəs/ 违法；不服从法律；不受法律制约

Indeed, such reforms can have mixed results. Camden, a working class town in New Jersey, has been hailed as a model for success after disbanding its troubled police force in 2012, redirecting energies to neighbourhood patrolling.

hailed as：被誉为    patrol/pə'trol/巡逻模式

However, in the years after it disbanded its police force in 2008, fatal encounters with police rose dramatically in Vallejo, California, a town outside San Francisco.

"It's just really tough," says Robert McCormick, a retired policeman and parole officer. "Everybody wants a simple answer, but there isn't one."

parole /pəˈrəʊl/  permission that is given to a prisoner to leave prison before the end of their sentence on condition that they behave well 假释；有条件的释放

There are many complexities even with reforms that sound reasonable, he points out.

For example, getting mental health specialists to deal with issues police are not equipped to deal with - a large chunk of calls Mr McCormick, 72, saw in his decades on the job in the Midwest and Colorado - would seem prudent.

prudent  /ˈpruːdnt/  sensible and careful when you make judgements and decisions; avoiding unnecessary risks 谨慎的；慎重的；精明的

But officers would have no way of knowing when they answer an emergency "911" call that mental illness is the issue at hand.

With nearly one in three Americans owning a gun, risks for officers can be high.

Rather than reducing funds for police, Mr McCormick thinks, there should be supplemental funds for training and alternative resources for police.

He thinks protections for police do need to remain in place, such as preserving "qualified immunity" - another concept that has come under pressure amid the recent protests.

The doctrine shields officers from being held personally liable for violating constitutional rights of people they arrest.

doc·trine n.   /ˈdɒktrɪn/  

1. [ CU ] a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, a political party, etc. 教义；主义；学说；信条 2.Doctrine [ C ] ( US ) a statement of government policy （政府政策的）正式声明

liable for 对··有责任

con·sti·tu·tion·al    /ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃənl/  

1.[ only before noun ] connected with the constitution of a country or an organization 宪法的；章程的

constitutional government/reform 立宪政体；宪法的修改

2.allowed or limited by the constitution of a country or an organization 宪法准许的；受宪法限制的；受章程限制的  •constitutional rights 宪法规定的权利

Critics argue that this thwarts attempts to hold officers accountable, but Mr McCormick says it is necessary to protect police who are trying to do their jobs. "It says you can't sue me just for arresting you, just for doing my job," he says.

thwart v.   /θwɔːt/  

[ VN ] ~ sth~ sb (in sth) to prevent sb from doing what they want to do 阻止；阻挠；对…构成阻力 • to thwart sb's plans 阻挠某人的计划

held ·· accountable for··：为··负责

"[The police] are being attacked," he says. "But [on the other hand], it's so damned hard to get rid of a cop who's bad or not doing his job… it's pretty damn near impossible to convict a cop. That's ridiculous."

convict  /kənˈvɪkt/ [ VN ] [ often passive ] /kənˈvɪkt/  ~ sb (of sth) to decide and state officially in court that sb is guilty of a crime 定罪；宣判…有罪

Ultimately, it will be changes that take place within departments themselves that affect long-term results, thinks the Grand Council's Mr Billups.

"The key thing now is that there's changes in the department," he says. "You're talking about officers who are black or Latino. They go back to those same neighbourhoods where they're policing. [So] a lot of the young black officers see it a different way."

But more importantly, he says, it is that police departments as a whole need to "learn a new language" to evaluate the purpose and priorities of the job. "Departments need to evolve to the 21st century".