Marlee Matlin speaks in this video about the necessity to bridge the gap between our community and police officers. With repeat reported police brutality, homicides, and illegal actions, people are rightfully afraid of police officers. While her objective is to share what rights exist and what people need to do in situations such as being approached by a police officer, she is also biased. Her husband is a police officer. While she mentions that in the video, it still doesn’t take away her bias.
The video description says that when police officers don’t realize people can’t hear them, it leads to them assaulting people and other tragedies. Legally, they are required to make sure that they don’t use excessive force when handling a situation. This may include macing, using their baton, or even physically pushing a person. What people don’t understand is that when officers are assaulting somebody, they must later prove that they did not use excessive force or they will be investigated further.
The video also talks about adequate training of police officers. There have been many situations where the community has put forth the effort to encourage police officers to learn how to communicate and yet they don’t because it’s not required. This is an issue, even in Rochester, NY where the community is at it’s highest per capita.
Apparently, Marlee Matlin, ACLU, and HEARD an advocacy group have teamed up to “Call on the Department of Justice to conduct training with local police departments on how to better interact” with the community.
While Marlee Matlin may be a highly respected and revered individual within the acting community, this community may not view her as a valuable individual to discuss any concerns there are. Just how consistent is Marlee Matlin on important issues within the community? She often flip-flops her perception on issues. It appears that whatever pays the most money, gets her support. Is that really the type of person that should be the spokesperson of such an important message?
