Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association
President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, the union representing Cleveland's police officers
PROFILE
Stephen Loomis
Guest
FROM Stephen Loomis
To the Point
How local cops are becoming tax collectors So-called "zero tolerance" policing has been embraced as a way of reducing major crimes by focusing on minor ones. But there's another reason: fines and fees for low-level violations are now major sources of revenue for cities that have reduced taxation. When poor people can't pay, they're assessed with penalties — often increased until jails become debtors' prisons, especially for blacks and other minorities. That's led to anger, resentment and sometimes to violent confrontations with the police. We hear how back-door municipal finance causes social chaos.
To the Point
How local cops are becoming tax collectors So-called "zero tolerance" policing has been embraced as a way of reducing major crimes by focusing on minor ones. But there's another reason: fines and fees for low-level violations are now major sources of revenue for cities that have reduced taxation. When poor people can't pay, they're assessed with penalties — often increased until jails become debtors' prisons, especially for blacks and other minorities. That's led to anger, resentment and sometimes to violent confrontations with the police. We hear how back-door municipal finance causes social chaos.
To the Point
Do Cops Need Guidance on When They Can Shoot to Kill? Continual shootings of unarmed suspects have America's 18,000 police departments re-thinking policies on the use of deadly force. Some new training programs now include "tactical disengagement," "emotional intelligence" and "de-escalation." What does that mean on the street? During training in one major city, cops can only fire two bullets before they're required to stop and assess the situation. Some rank and file officers claim politics is making their lives more dangerous -- in a debate that's raging from Baltimore to San Francisco.
Recommended
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.