Don’t demonize law enforcement — but police need more training and oversight

As a local kid, an entrepreneur and a Black man, I have to start off by saying that I love my city with a burning passion. Kansas City is home for me, and it has blessed me with so many memories and valued relationships. Since I have such a fervency for this city, I want it to be the very best it can be, and for the most part, I think it is. My vision is to see a city that is not only great for most people, but a city that is great for all people, no matter their color, age, sexual orientation or gender.

We have seen since George Floyd’s murder that there is a lot of racial unrest in America. These inequalities started a long time ago. We saw things such as J.C. Nichols’ real estate redlining adding greatly to Kansas City’s segregation during the early 1900s.

I own a business in the South Plaza — Yogurtini frozen yogurt. Under rules that were originally written into Country Club Plaza deeds, as a Black man, I shouldn’t be able to own my business there. Things must change on a systemic level, because laws and regulations like this still exist throughout our country.

The hottest topic today is policing. While I value the protection and the services our men and women in uniform provide as part of their hard work to keep us safe, I think we must call a spade a spade: There is a police brutality problem in America. Cop-on-Black person brutality is a serious problem — but it’s also an issue with any race or ethnicity. No form of brutality is OK, and targeting any group is not acceptable.

I would be remiss if I did not say specifically that not all police officers are bad. We know this to be a fact, and we cannot let the actions of a few taint the entire group — just like the violent actions of a few Black people cannot and should not discredit the entire Black community, which oftentimes suffers from the perception that we are dangerous thugs and criminals.

For police brutality to end, I think there are several solutions. The two that I want to focus on are policing the police and increasing officers’ training.

Policing the police is mandatory. Credible organizations of all kinds maintain systems of checks and balances to keep the balance of power intact and to ensure that actions have consequences. Within our government, there are three branches that regulate one another (or at least they are supposed to). In well-functioning businesses, churches and nonprofits, there are different departments that govern one another and hold each other accountable, in addition to answering to boards of directors. This must happen with the police as well.

These measures should be implemented immediately in police precincts in every city in America to demilitarize the police and minimize — and hopefully eliminate — brutality:

▪ body and dashboard cameras, turned on at all times

▪ third-party review of every violent encounter or discharge of a firearm

▪ a process that allows officers to anonymously report their peers’ misconduct

▪ a ban on tear gas and projectiles for anything but imminent threats

a ban on chokeholds and knees on necks

▪ an emphasis on disarming over killing

This leads to my second solution. There must be increased training to become a police officer. It takes four years to get a degree to take a desk job, six-plus years to become a pharmacist, and eight-plus years to be a doctor. With such an important, high-risk and high-stress job, why does it only require on average 600 hours to become a cop? I spent more time than that in a classroom my freshman year of college.

If we increase the training and more adequately equip our men and women in blue, police would be able to perform their jobs better, and in turn, more successfully keep our citizens served and protected.

Isaac Collins will soon open his third Yogurtini frozen yogurt shop in the Kansas City area.