Across America, police officers put their lives on the line each day to protect the public and enforce our laws. They represent the "thin blue line" that divides the criminal from the law-abiding, civilization from anarchy. It is a potentially dangerous job, and the officers who devote their lives to "serve and protect" are often underpaid and underappreciated.
But that doesn't mean that anyone who carries a badge and straps on a gun is infallible or that their actions are undeserving of scrutiny. To hold such men and women above the law would be to dishonor them and their profession. Ensuring police accountability is not only important, it is critical given the authority invested in them and the heavy law enforcement responsibilities they bear.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts knows this, and we have found him particularly sensitive to community concerns about his department and the conduct and training of his officers. But something he said recently — a rhetorical question he posed after a young officer under his command was shot during a routine traffic stop near Mondawmin Mall over the weekend — deserves to be answered.
That officer, Andrew Groman, a 3-year-veteran of the force, was shot Sunday evening in the 2600 block of Gwynns Falls Parkway. According to police, officers asked the suspect, Donte Jones, who was sitting in the back seat of a car, to show his hands, but he didn't. The exact sequence of events is unclear, but police say he was hit with a Taser and fired three shots with a handgun, one of which struck Mr. Groman in the abdomen under his bulletproof vest. At last report, he was in stable condition at Sinai Hospital. Mr. Batts is obviously upset about the shooting. So are we and so, we strongly suspect, are the people of Baltimore as a whole.
The incident took place just hours after hundreds marched in city streets. The protesters were angry about the police killings of black men in Ferguson, Mo. and Staten Island, N.Y. and the failure for the white police officers involved to be charged with criminal wrongdoing. Similar protests have taken place in many other cities, and this was not even the first public demonstration on the subject in Baltimore.
The timing was not lost on Mr. Batts who saw something troubling in the public's willingness embrace criminal suspects but not necessarily police officers, at least not with the same fervor. "We've had marches nationwide over the fact that we lost lives in police custody," he said. "I wonder if we'll have those same marches as officers are shot, too."
Will Sunday night's shooting provoke a march? Probably not — although we would reserve full judgment until all the facts are known. But that doesn't mean people in Baltimore do not appreciate what officers do for them or the sacrifices they have made. Rather, the current wave of protests here and elsewhere are a response not just to the killing of unarmed men but to a sense that justice was not done. The situation in West Baltimore over the weekend is, at least at this point, not directly comparable.
Even so, Baltimore has seen its share of public demonstrations in support of crime-fighting, taking back neighborhoods, cracking down on murderous thugs and, by extension, supporting the work of police officers. There is also a reason why this city flies flags at half-mast when an officer dies, stops traffic for lengthy funeral processions and continues to support public pensions for officers and firefighters more generous than for other city workers, not to mention those in the private sector. These are a few of the ways the people of Baltimore show their respect for cops.
Just as one can protest war and armed conflict but still support the men and women of the armed forces, so should the public be able to express concerns about possible police brutality without that being interpreted as a condemnation of all officers. It's understandable that police feel underappreciated, but they should also understand that most protesters are simply seeking to uphold the rule of law. That puts them squarely on the same side as officers who have taken an oath to do the same.
Last year, about 100 police officers died in the line of duty, and this year, the number has grown to 115 (with none in Maryland) and counting, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. That is a significant uptick but pales compared to the losses of the 1970s when more than twice as many were routinely killed on the job. In general, policing is safer today than it has been since the 1960s, particularly considering the growth in population.
Still, we are grateful for the courageous men and women willing to make such sacrifices to keep this city safe, and we likely don't express that gratitude often enough — or loudly enough. This was the second shooting of a city officer in nine months. We do not delude ourselves into believing it will be the last Baltimoreans will witness.