Highlights
Reader’s Comment: In 2021 police utilized deadly force over a thousand times in the line of duty. In any given year 250,000 die in this country from medical practitioners’ errors. If true, why is the medical profession escaping the same scrutiny that cops endure?
Thousands of police officers are leaving. Violence is skyrocketing. There are cities that don’t have enough police officers to respond to 911 calls.
Both professions face the same pressures and make the same split-second decisions during times of enormous stress. Both are losing a lot of people. 500,000 nurses will retire in 2022, creating a shortage of about 1.1 million nurses.
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of directing award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.
Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization” available at Amazon and additional booksellers.
Comment From A Reader (edited for brevity)
I find it amazing in 2021 police used deadly force 1,050 times in the line of duty. In any given year 250,000 die in this country from medical practitioners’ errors. But there are no protests, no demands for justice or accountability.
We saw that during the overwhelming expectations during the pandemic medical professionals left the field due to the demands of the job. It’s similar to those tired of the scarlet letter in law enforcement. Less than .5% are doing the wrong things while on the job.
Imagine if the public demanded reform in the medical profession as they have with law enforcement. Would we see cities burning, medical facilities vandalized, protests, and demands of prosecution on every corner?
Where are the politicians and advocates since the disparity in medical treatment for minorities is well documented? Where is the media?
Edits
All articles are edited for brevity.
Article
When I was a cop, I went to a hospital one evening to take the statement of an accident victim. I walked through the emergency room door and was immediately begged by the head nurse to stay. She said that there were opposing factions threatening violence and the staff (including their security) was afraid. My shift supervisor approved.
A reader (quoted above) asks why the same level of scrutiny applied to cops doesn’t pertain to the medical profession and their 250,000 deaths a year due to errors versus 1,000 (the vast major justified) by police officers?
You could ask the same questions of accountability about biased journalism (data states that most reporters have a political preference) or religious leaders involved in sexual assaults or business people involved in fraud (remember the last recession?), attorneys and shady dealings, crooked politicians, or any other profession.
Is there a double standard for cops?
If we had videos of others doing wrong, would it change the dynamics? What we do have are videos of a small percentage of officers doing unethical and illegal acts during their 40 million yearly citizen contacts.
To be fair, the law enforcement profession is held to a higher standard than most, and when a cop does something wrong, the videos are offered endlessly. Yet I’m not aware of officers who condone the illegal use of force or purposeful disrespect towards anyone. Polls show that, regardless of demographics, Americans rate cops highly, much higher than most professions.
The medical profession is vastly overworked, especially so through COVID. Per my nursing friends, it’s stressful beyond anyone’s comprehension. Under these circumstances, it’s incredibly easy to make a mistake.
It’s the same argument made by those in law enforcement.
National Public Radio-Nurses Quitting Because They Fear Prosecution
Emma Moore felt cornered. At a community health clinic in Portland, Ore., the 29-year-old nurse practitioner said she felt overwhelmed and undertrained. Coronavirus patients flooded the clinic for two years, and Moore struggled to keep up.
Then the stakes became clear. On March 25, about 2,400 miles away in a Tennessee courtroom, former nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of two felonies and now faces eight years in prison for a fatal medication mistake.
Like many nurses, Moore wondered if that could be her. She’d made medication errors before, although none so grievous. But what about the next one? In the pressure cooker of pandemic-era health care, another mistake felt inevitable.
Four days after Vaught’s verdict, Moore quit. She said the verdict contributed to her decision.
A similar incident has caused police officers to reconsider their careers.
Kim Potter
Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who mistakenly drew a gun instead of a Taser and fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison. The sentence comes nearly two months after Potter was convicted of first- and second-degree manslaughter. But Potter is a “cop who made a tragic mistake,” the judge added. “She drew her firearm thinking it was a Taser, and ended up killing a young man.” CNN.
With thousands of police officers leaving the job, how many felt that they could easily be in the same position as Ms. Potter?
If 1 In 5 Healthcare Workers Have Quit, Where Have They Gone?
A frequently cited statistic is that nearly 1 in 5 healthcare workers have quit their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an October 2021 Morning Consult report.
The American Nurses Association predicts about 500,000 nurses will retire in 2022, creating a shortage of about 1.1 million nurses.
Gallup-Public Opinion On Health Care
Data suggests that the healthcare industry has issues with declining positives and increasing negatives.
Medical Care Problems The Number Three Cause of Death
A meta-analysis of such studies concluded that the average annual death rate from such errors in the first decade of the 2000s was in the neighborhood of 250,000. That’s more than enough to make medical care gone awry the number three cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer. Also, see an article from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Black Americans-Health Care-And Cops
Per Pew, Black Americans offer a mixed assessment of the progress that has been made improving health outcomes for Black people: 47% say health outcomes for Black people have gotten better over the past 20 years, while 31% say they’ve stayed about the same and 20% think they’ve gotten worse.
Asked about their own health care experiences, most Black Americans have positive assessments of the quality of care they’ve received most recently. However, a majority (56%) say they’ve had at least one of several negative experiences, including having to speak up to get the proper care and being treated with less respect than other patients, Pew.
Pew’s findings are similar to how African Americans see their interactions with law enforcement; mostly positive perceptions concurrent with issues regarding respect.
It’s Not Just Nurses-Cops Are Leaving
I previously posted the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics below. Note that there are approximately 700,000 sworn police officers with approximately 300,000 civilians in support. The chart below provides information on local law enforcement and excludes state and federal agencies.
The Marshall Project states that local police agencies lost about 4,000 employees per annual number comparing 2019-2021.
However, if you look at the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country lost 11,009 police officers from March of 2020 to March of 2021.
I’m currently working with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to update this data.
Chart
Chart
There is research from the Police Executive Research Forum and other sources indicating that we are losing a ton of police officers due to quitting, recruitment and retirements. Morale within law enforcement is declining considerably.
Those who remain are reluctant to engage in proactive policing. The only effort that indicates reductions in crime are proactive police strategies via the US Department of Justice and the National Academies of Sciences. Proactivity means that officers will take their own initiative to approach someone when they have the legal right to question or search. Proactive policing embraces a variety of tactics. But proactivity has major challenges.
But proactive policing is currently dead in the hearts of minds of many (most?) cops. They heard the protestors-politicians and media loud and clear. The only modality with a chance to restore peace and safety is currently off the table despite progressive big-city mayors begging police officers to re-embrace the strategy.
Conclusions
The comments from the reader are correct, the medical profession has immense problems with 250,000 yearly mistakes resulting in deaths. Many know of problems in policing but few are aware of mortality issues in the medical field. Why? Where are the endless protests to hold the medical community accountable?
In a chart offered by The Skeptic, people (based on political affiliation) estimated the number of unarmed Black men killed by law enforcement in 2019. Estimates ranged from 100 to 1,000 to 10,000 to more than 10,000 with those claiming a liberal affiliation leading the way as to higher estimates. However, all groups including moderates to conservatives grossly exaggerated the numbers.
According to the Washington Post database, regarded by Nature magazine as the “most complete database,” 13 unarmed black men were fatally shot by police in 2019. According to a second database called “Mapping Police Violence”, compiled by data scientists and activists, 27 unarmed black men were killed by police (by any means) in 2019, The Skeptic. Unarmed doesn’t mean they were not posing a danger to police or citizens.
Why is the public so eager to embrace complete falsehoods about cops?
First, we acknowledge that some in law enforcement have made major mistakes. We need to rededicate ourselves to the highest sense of honor. There are issues of respect within the African American community. Every cop understands this.
Second, regardless of demographics, the public has a very high opinion of cops “and” nurses per Gallup and other polls. The public understands that it’s incredibly easy to make mistakes while making split-second decisions under enormous pressure.
Third, the other professions noted above “are” held accountable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are enormous. Priests and ministers have been incarcerated for sexual assault. The Catholic church will never be the same. Those causing the last recession received an incredible amount of media scrutiny. Journalism lost thousands of jobs concurrent with declining trust and perceived bias.
But with thousands of cops leaving, cities don’t have enough police officers to respond to 911 calls. Violence is skyrocketing. Fear of crime is at record levels. Firearm purchases are at all-time highs. People and businesses are leaving cities.
It’s fine to hold cops accountable, but the reader asks if the level of harsh accountability is justified when compared to the “sins” of other professions; 250,000 yearly medical deaths versus 1,000 for law enforcement with the overwhelming majority justified because of armed criminals threatening cops or others.
With USDOJ data stating that force “or” the threat of force is used during less than three percent of 40 million citizen encounters and that the overwhelming majority of those polled believe that their officers acted appropriately, is it ethically proper to judge a million police employees based on the sins of a few?
Is the medical field (or other professions) ducking public accountability considering the harm they cause far outweighs the mistakes of cops?
I’ll let you provide the answers.
See More
See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.
Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.
US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.
National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.
An Overview Of Data On Mental Health at Mental Health And Crime.
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