By David Byler, The Washington Post, June 3, 2020
For decades, the police have enjoyed deep support and trust from the American people. Per Gallup, most Americans have said they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in police every year for more than 25 years. Law enforcement officers are constantly lionized in entertainment. And most Americans who have interacted with the police in the past five years say they had a “satisfactory” experience.
But on May 25, the Minneapolis police betrayed that trust by killing George Floyd. This is hardly the first time that violent actions by police officers has convulsed the country, and it’s too early to say exactly how Floyd’s death — or police conduct during the ensuing protests — will change the relationship between law enforcement and the public. But reformers should be cautiously optimistic: Underneath those persistently high approval numbers, there may be real appetite for change.
Americans venerate the police, but that doesn’t make them blind to law enforcement’s problems and failures. According to a Yahoo News/YouGov survey conducted during the early days of the protests (May 29-30), 61 percent of American adults believe that race was a major factor in George Floyd’s death. Even among Republicans, who might agree with President Trump’s harsh “law and order” approach to policing, a solid 39 percent say race played a major role in Floyd’s killing.
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