The Stanford study raises a host of important questions. Itâs easy to call police officers racist or point to this as evidence that the police are out to get African Americans. And that is certainly one way to see the results.
But the truth is likely both subtler and more complex.
Some individual officers may be racist. And given the broader actions of individual officers in particular high-profile cases, this is almost certainly the case.
But regardless, even if it isnât intentional, a much larger portion of officers are treating White and Black people differently. Most officers likely mean well and are simply doing the best they can in difficult situations. But whether they realize it or not and whether they mean to or not, the words they use differ. And this makes the underlying problem even more challenging to solve.