Police Accountability and 'Broken-Porch' Policing

Gavin Long’s July 17 attack on six Baton Rouge police officers, which left three dead, has intensified an already volatile situation between black communities and law enforcement. At the crux of that shaky social contract is a question: Who has to pay for their actions, and who doesn’t? From the perspective of many African Americans, it appears that the law too often bends toward redress for injured or killed police officers, but less so for black people harmed or killed by police.

The morning of Long’s attack, The Advocate’s editorial board reminded readers that hard questions remained about the video-recorded killing of Alton Sterling on July 5 by two Baton Rouge police officers. If the early reports of Long’s motivations are true, then he attempted to answer those questions with a gun.