The doctrine is called “Qualified Immunity.” With very few exceptions, this policy prevents law enforcement from being punished for their crimes, including murder.
In 1967 the Supreme Court validated the doctrine, and it has inspired the need for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.
If you never heard of qualified immunity, don’t feel alone. I have been writing about politics since 2013, and this is the first time I heard the term. Its premise was to protect law enforcement and other authorities from frivolous lawsuits. However, it has become an opportunity for our nation’s racist police officers to harass, assault, and even take the lives of any citizen they choose.
Just days ago our current Supreme Court refused to reopen the 1967 case. Their reasons made no sense to me, but, thank God, I’m not a lawyer. What they did was to pass the responsibility onto the legislative branch of our nation’s government.
The truth is, qualified immunity is another obscure law which was likely attached to other legislation. Because most legislators rarely read the laws for which they vote, it may have been passed without a full understanding of its possible ramifications.
But this is not the end of the story. Unions representing law enforcement used qualified immunity in their negotiations with state and city officials to add job security and protection from prosecution to their contracts. Today, law enforcement is virtually free to act in any manner they can justify, or not.
The current protests began after a black man was tortured and murdered by a white cop in Minneapolis. He was detained because a shop owner believed he had attempted to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. After officer Derek Chauvin took Mr. Floyd to the ground, he knelt on his neck until his life ended 8 minutes and 46 seconds later.
Because the tragedy was recorded on video, the truth cannot be denied. This was second degree murder.
It’s important to note here that I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1960’s. I graduated high school in 1964. Until my junior year in high school, I had never been close friends with a black man or woman. It was at that time that I learned about the “two Americas:” one white and one black. Nothing has changed today.
Not only law enforcement, but our court system is based on racism and bigotry. The rich seldom pay for their crimes, while minorities and poor white men and women often receive the maximum punishment.
Finally, I will offer as proof one case I have written about multiple times.
In 2013 Texas teen Ethan Couch drove over four pedestrians with his new truck. He was intoxicated. All four died. He is white, and from an extremely wealthy family. He was given probation. After he was arrested again when video revealed that he violated the terms of that probation, his mother took him to Mexico to avoid punishment. Couch was eventually returned to Texas, Once again he received only minor punishment.
In January of 2020, Couch, now 22 years of age, was arrested again. He tested positive for THC and was arrested in Forth Worth. Once again he is facing a trial after violating his probation.
Couch is white, rich, and a Texan. What do you think will happen to a repeat offender? More importantly, if he was black, what do you think his punishment might be?
Op-ed by James Turnage
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The Truth With No Restrictions 