From the Executive Director

Dialogue Is Not Violence

By Janlee Wong, MSW

The murders of NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn is a national tragedy and brings forth another emotional tsunami following the recent Ferguson and Staten Island grand jury decisions. Ismaaiyl Brinsley was a deeply troubled man with a long criminal record and a suicide attempt a year ago. He doesn’t represent anyone but himself and his rationale for his acts is completely unjustifiable. Before killing the two officers, he shot and seriously wounded an ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. Brinsley had more than his share of interaction with the criminal justice system, but did he get any help for his psychosocial issues? If he did, was it enough?

The legitimate outcry after the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and Staten Island is for change: change in our institutions and society to reduce the level of violence and to bring about more trust and understanding for everyone in our communities. Sometimes we can’t do this without letting the emotion out. Hence protests seem to promote violence by its very tone. And in a few cases, some take advantage to loot and destroy property. It is ironic that the very people that the protests are targeted at, are the same people the peaceful protesters want and need if things get out of control and violent.

For law enforcement, NASW has always pushed for specialized training on how officers handle those in communities that have a deep and longstanding mistrust of those in authority. Social workers have this similar experience of mistrust working in protective services when dealing with families where child abuse and neglect are alleged. In these cases, we work side by side with law enforcement throughout the United States. The same applies to social worker–law enforcement teams working with mentally ill, substance using, criminal and homeless populations.

We don’t agree with those who equate a protest against injustice as an invitation to murder police officers. In many instances in our history and around the world, the dialogue begins when voices are heard. Protesting is a way for these voices to be heard. Of those who I have talked to about Ferguson and Staten Island, absolutely none have started or ended with a call to violence. All have advocated peaceful dialogue and change.

At a recent forum on Ferguson at San Diego State University’s School of Social Work, to get the dialogue going, we had to share our deepest feelings about the tragedy of young men of color losing their lives in altercations with law enforcement. There was anger, frustration, fear and sadness, but no espousal of violence. Once the dialogue got going, many ideas came forth about the need for more training and trust building in our communities.

We believe all officers should receive specialized training to work with these many populations especially those populations who are the most distrustful. Social workers in all of our communities are ready and available to expand our social worker–law enforcement teams to work with these populations. Let the dialogue begin.