The president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NOBLE) described the struggle of being black police officers as standing in a “gap” between their communities and their oaths Thursday.
Clarence E. Cox, III, a former Atlanta, Ga. officer, spoke on how it is difficult to witness the fatal police shootings of black men while serving as a police officer during a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.
“Sometimes we’re being humiliated now when we see some of the things that are occurring in our communities,” Cox said, referring to recent incidents of fatal police shootings. “It hurts us because we’re black and we’re law enforcement. We’re standing in the gap trying to do what we’re supposed to do as the protectors of our communities. We have to make the tough decisions because of the oath we swore to God to uphold for the communities or stand with our people and perhaps create a greater issue.”
The CBC Foundation panel, The History of Policing Black America and its 13th Amendment Roots, sought to examine how the Thirteenth Amendment has affected the way police officers guard their communities and how to fix the issue of mass incarceration in America.
Earlier Thursday, Rep. Maxine Waters wondered at the conference when the black community would finally get behind the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump.
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