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Thank you to Emma Camp at Reason magazine for this reporting...
Dexter Wade was run over and killed by Jackson, Mississippi cops in March of this year. That was probably an accident, but what happened next was not.
Dexter's two young daughters wondered what became of their father. His mother, Bettersten Wade, was also plagued with worry. She had argued with Dexter just an hour before he disappeared.
Bettersen was reluctant to call the police because another Jackson cop had recently been convicted of manslaughter in the death of her brother. She did not expect the cops to look kindly on her. Eventually, she called them and a seven-month investigation followed. Here's the problem...
The police investigator assigned to the case quickly learned what happened to Dexter, yet the police didn't bother to tell the Wade family. Instead, after a month the cops buried Dexter in a pauper's grave and left his family hanging in suspense.
The voluntary sector versus the tax-funded sector
Can you imagine what would happen if a company in the voluntary sector behaved the way these cops did? That company would likely face a big, damaging lawsuit. Their reputation would plummet. But tax-funded institutions face no similar consequences.
The Jackson police won't see their budget decline – they'll face no impairment of their activities – because they have a legally enforced monopoly. Indeed, it's very unlikely the cops can even be sued for this breach due to the court-created doctrine of qualified immunity.
Think about what that means. If we cannot hold the police responsible for their actions, then they have no incentive to perform admirably. Qualified immunity is a recipe that guarantees tragic events like this will continue to happen.
Fortunately, there is a bill in Congress to outlaw qualified immunity. You can help pass it by joining The 300...
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