On July 26th, the head nurse at the University of Utah Hospital’s burn unit was wrongly arrested when she refused to collect a blood sample from an unconscious patient. As the patient wasn’t conscious and couldn’t give consent, Detective Jeff Payne had no right to demand a blood sample without a warrant. Despite this, Detective Payne demanded he be let in to take the blood, threatening to arrest the nurse if she didn’t comply. Thankfully, the nurse was not charged and was released. Meanwhile, Detective Payne has only been put on paid leave, a sign that we may not see full accountability in this situation.

This situation is clearly an abuse of power by Detective Payne. We believe it is an example of a much larger issue. Too often have we seen cases of officers abusing their power, whether it be at traffic stops or within low income communities. Instead of embodying the principles of public service, many officers act inappropriately, which ultimately harms their community. This is not a case of a few bad apples, but instead proof that the whole barrel is rotten.

Under the current system of policing, officers are unable to succeed at serving the people, as they are forced into an us vs. them methodology. This is further complicated in cities across the country with the system actively enabling officers to feel like they are above the law. Despite all of the reforms Salt Lake City has worked to implement, Detective Payne still felt he was above the law and therefore took it upon himself to enact his own ‘justice’ in that hospital. No reforms under the current system will truly succeed to the extent we need them to, which is why we must implement a new system of policing that is for the people and by the people. That system is Civilian-Led Policing.

Civilian-Led Policing offers a completely new power structure for police policy, giving control of the creation of policy, practices, and procedures to the civilians in the form of an independent Civilian Public Safety Board. This board will be representative of the community, giving the strongest voice to those who are most affected by policing through a volunteer lottery system. By limiting the term Board Members will be able to serve, the board will be able to implement scientifically backed policy which benefits their city the most. Structures within the model also will increase accountability and give necessary powers to remove officers from the department who act out of line. Read more about the model by going to the Civilian-Led Policing website.