Stephen L. Carter: Blame the Police, But Blame Lawmakers, Too
If we want less violence from the enforcers, we should give them less to enforce.
An LAPD officer with a baton and zip-tie handcuffs in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles on May 30.
Photographer: Eric LaRokk
In the wake of the horrifying death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, observers across the political spectrum have found their answer: Prune back the doctrine of qualified immunity, which in most cases shields law enforcement officers from suits for the way they enforce the law. The New York Times editorial board is on the bandwagon. So is National Review. Representative Justin Amash, an independent from Michigan, has introduced a bill called the Ending Qualified Immunity Act.
Well, good. I don’t much care for the doctrine either, and I’d be appalled to see it applied to shield the officer who killed Floyd from civil liability (although it might be). But when we decry only the behavior of the police, we’re overlooking a related issue, one that we might label the burden of law—an issue that’s specially worrisome during the coronavirus pandemic.