I tend to be very supportive of police officers, including in the most controversial of circumstances. Most officers do difficult, dangerous work confronting unpleasant individuals. But sometimes there’s just no excuse for police behavior.
Such is the case of Boulder, Colo., police officer John Smyly over his interaction with Zayd Atkinson on March 1st this year. Video of the incident from Smyly’s body camera shows him detaining Atkinson without reasonable suspicion and then harassing the man. Atkinson, a student at Naropa University, was picking up trash outside his residence. Smyly politely (at first) asked Atkinson to prove he was a resident. After Atkinson showed a student ID and then asked if he had to provide more information, Smyly persisted in his questions.
Atkinson then walked away from the officer, who had no right to detain him based on the evidence he had gained at that point. Smyly should have left. Instead, he followed Atkinson, threatening to tase the student because he was carrying a trash picker. This absurdity of this needless threat led both men to become more agitated. The situation was finally resolved about ten minutes later when other officers arrived and Atkinson’s proof of residence was established.
The facts here are simple: Smyly had a responsibility to leave Atkinson alone shortly after he first made contact. He failed to do so, and in that failure dishonored his responsibility to the law.
Unfortunately, the city of Boulder’s response to that misconduct has been pathetic. As the AP reports, the city decided to reach an agreement with Smyly in which the officer “resigned his police role on May 9 but will remain an employee through February without performing any work. He will receive ‘commensurate pay and benefits’ during that period and ‘a single, lump sum’ payment for any accrued and unused vacation time when his employment officially ends Feb. 9.”
This is absurd.
City Attorney Tom Carr told the AP the deal will avoid a long appeal process and provide closure to the community. But he misses the point. The first responsibility of the city is not to provide closure to its citizens, but rather to ensure the credible conduct of those in government service. Smyly abandoned that responsibility and should have been fired without delay, if only to make an example of him. If the appeals process took time, so be it. Instead, by reaching this cozy deal, the city has shown its citizens that they are not its primary concern and that future misconduct will be tolerated.
Boulder residents have been betrayed. The city council should take remedial action.
[Read more: Trump turns White House blue]
