Suits And Badges

Anyone who has ever worked with cops understands not only their tribal nature, but where they actually fall in the hierarchy of government power.

It isn’t where you think.

Government power, contrary to popular and media belief, lies not with the badges, but with the elected and appointed suits to whom law enforcement officers report and from whom their agencies receive budgetary allocations.

Even in those relatively rare situations (e.g., county sheriffs) where there is direct election of the chief law enforcement officer in a jurisdiction, that agency still receives its funding via other organs of state power (e.g., the state legislature, the county legislature, Federal law enforcement and highway safety grants, etc.).

So as you review recent events and feel justifiable outrage at the conduct of uniformed officers, never forget the following:

Police officers always act in precisely and exactly the manner that they are permitted to act by the suits, be they in the management of their agency, its chain of command leading to the highest elected executive branch official in that jurisdiction, in the legislative branches that fund that agency, or any combination thereof.

I say again: