JJohn Oliver presented another blunt criticism of American law enforcement on Sunday night, focusing on police raids. The practice drew significant attention last year after police officers in Louisville, Kentucky, mistakenly raided the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a black woman, in the middle of the night and fired 32 shots at her home, killing her.
None of the policemen were charged with his death, “and if it is in some way nobody’s fault that an innocent woman was killed in the middle of the night in her own home,” said the host last week tonight, “can there is a problem with police raids ”.
Data on police raids is scarce, Oliver explained, although the police are estimated to carry out tens of thousands a year, disproportionately targeting black and brown residents. Although the practice was designed to combat active snipers, one study found that more than 60% of American police raids were for suspected drug offenses, with evidence as weak as a policeman sniffing marijuana outside the home.
Given that the police are usually armed with military-grade weapons, the raids often end in unnecessary tragedies; a New York Times investigation found that between 2010 and 2016, 81 civilians were killed in police raids.
Oliver also tore the fragility of the evidence used as a justification for searches, with many electronic warrants for signed drug searches in less than three minutes or 30 seconds even faster. “This is absurd! Even the cases at the Chrissy Court lasted more than 30 seconds, and it was a show in Quibi, a platform that we all collectively dream of with a fever, ”joked Oliver.
Although, in the wake of last summer’s protests, Black Lives Matter, some advocated reforming so-called “prohibited arrest warrants”, in which police officers do not announce their presence before entering a home, “it is important to note that a The line between touching and not touching is very, very thin, “said Oliver. This is thanks to a series of court rulings that allow the police to wait no more than 20 seconds to knock on someone’s door, as this would allow suspects throw the evidence in the toilet.
The decision “raises the obvious question,” said Oliver, “why the hell are we breaking into people’s homes in search of an amount of evidence that can be eliminated in 20 seconds? Unless someone is accused of trafficking Smurfs or stealing the most valuable goldfish in the world, perhaps we should find a different way to do this. “
Oliver also mentioned the potential costs of defending himself against armed intruders in the middle of the night – Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who believed the police were intruders, was charged with attempted murder by shooting the police (the charges were later dropped after the national attention to Taylor’s murder).
“Lives are being destroyed by police raids,” said Oliver. “And even if no one gets hurt physically, it doesn’t mean that no harm is done. Having your home violated is a traumatic experience, often exacerbated by the way the targets of invasions are treated ”.
Oliver pointed to one last glaring example of Anjanette Young in Chicago, who was handcuffed completely naked by police officers who mistakenly broke into her house in the middle of the night, and then said “you don’t have to shout” as she protested. “Screaming is not the drastic measure being taken here,” Oliver was irritated.
“People scream for many reasons – because they want peanuts, because they don’t want to get up, or just because the music tells them to. When you’re handcuffed naked in your own home, because the police have spoiled a search and seizure warrant, screaming should be a fucking Miranda rights.
“When you treat people like that, it’s clear that you have no interest in establishing a healthy relationship with the community that you should serve,” he continued. “Instead, the community must live with the knowledge that no space is truly protected from the threat of police violence. This is a message that is received loud and clear from an early age. “
Oliver concluded with a call for drastic reform and, in particular, an end to drug raids. Police raids “should only be used as a last resort to save lives that are in immediate danger,” he said.
“Because breaking into someone’s home will never be safe for those involved. At the moment, incursions are being used widely and are destroying lives, both for individuals who have been killed, injured or traumatized, and for all blacks and browns who have no choice but to internalize the lessons of this trauma.
“They deserve the respect and consideration of a police force that should protect them,” he added, “not one that just sees their lives as an opportunity for,” to name several of their examples of archival video, “movie cosplay. action, an exciting TV special, or the reenactment of a forgotten children’s song with a poisoned battering ram ”.