FRESNO (KMJ) — A national survey of police officers shows more than three quarters of them not wanting to act due to fears of repercussions later on.
The findings from the Pew Research Center determined that 76% are hesitant to use force and less willing to stop and question suspicious looking people.
It also found that 93% of respondents have become more concerned about their safety. It comes after recent high profile encounters highlighting the tensions between police officers and individual citizens.
But the Sheriff of Tulare County feels that’s not the case in the Central Valley.
“We really learned our lesson way back during Rodney King. We learned the issues of mistrust in the community, we learned the issues of use of force and the perception of the use of that force” reveals Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
He says a lot of training took place after that incident.
“Some of what I see in the Pew Survey we really don’t see here. We don’t have the civil unrest within the Central San Joaquin Valley, we’ve really done years of developing that trust in our community”.
The Pew Research Center questioned nearly 8,000 officers between May 19th and August 14th 2016.
“Here, in the Central San Joaquin Valley and even in California, we’re very up front,” adds Sheriff Boudreaux, “and I think that that really settles the tension – so to speak – with the community”.
You can view the survey in its entirety clicking here.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
