Recently I learned of a concept that has been around longer than I have, but only lately has started to gain widespread attention: Copaganda. As you probably suspect, it’s a portmanteau of “cop” and “propaganda.” It’s all about using media and culture to give police a positive image. There’s nothing wrong with depicting police officers as the good guys; after all, they are supposed to Protect & Serve, and fight crime. Unfortunately, as news stories from not just the past few years but going back decades have shown, the police do not always behave as they should. Our country’s militarization of police departments has put a lot of cops in a warrior state of mind. Instead of the stereotypical Officer Friendly, we have a heavily armed and armored brute who has a lot in common with Judge Dredd.
Copaganda goes all the way back to Dragnet. It continues through shows such as Adam-12, Hill Street Blues, Cops, Law & Order, NCIS, Blue Bloods and Paw Patrol. The final example shows how the media want to get us trusting the cops early. Children’s books and comic books always present law enforcement in a good light. We grow up trusting police officers because our earliest view of them is often the stereotypical Nice Cop, the fearless paladin defending the public.
In nearly every movie that features police, they are the fearless heroes protecting the citizenry. Even if they are not perfectly saintly, they are shown in a positive light – and if a cop does rough up a suspect, hey, the @s$hole asked for it. Seldom are cops depicted as being corrupt or needlessly violent. When cops do behave badly, it is for the common good and thus justifiable. Remember in RoboCop when the titular character blew away a bunch of hoodlums in a drug factory, with complete impunity? Paul Verhoeven actually intended his movie about a cybernetic supercop to be a satire on police brutality and excessive force.
Police shows and movies depict police departments as being more diverse than they actually are. In the U.S., only about 15% of police officers are Black, though one would hardly know that from US movies and TV. Also, in police shows the majority of criminals are people of color, often Black. Never mind that whites commit more crimes than Blacks, since they are the most populous race – for example, whites are responsible for the majority of mass shootings since 1982.
In D&D terms, police officers are supposed to be lawful good. They are certainly lawful (for the most part), but sadly in the USA they are becoming more lawful neutral or even lawful evil. Increased militarization of police departments is making them less like your friendly neighborhood constables, and more like the Imperial Stormtroopers of the Star Wars universe.
Many police departments around the country are turning to social media posts to help counter negative narratives and boost images, showing white police officers posing with Black children holding “Black Lives Matter” signs. Videos of police officers kneeling, hugging protesters, or offering snacks to little Black girls and boys get boosts from police allies and activists, as well as the general public. The focus of these videos is supposed to be on the kind nature of individual police officers, but it’s important to remember that these friendly officers have guns on their hips and hold qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that effectively shields cops from accountability for misconduct, such as when they use excessive force.
The news media are not helping. During the protests against police brutality that began with the tragic death of George Floyd, local and national news outlets focused on the occasional violence, ignoring the fact that 97% of all Black Lives Matter protests were non-violent. Corporate media gleefully licks the boots of police officers, downplaying their misconduct while exaggerating the violence and mayhem of protesters.
As I pointed out in my previous essay about “Defund the Police,” we need to rethink law enforcement in this country – profoundly. Cops are necessary, but they don’t have to be a necessary evil. They should be thoroughly on the side of Good. They should adhere to the slogan Protect and Serve.
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