Buffalo, NY (WBEN) For law enforcement in America, it's been a year.
In a year where one Minnesota officer has been charged with killing a man, and another officer charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black driver, a former longtime Buffalo Police officer reflects on the changes in policing, particularly when situations escalate.
Miguel Rivera of Rivera Investigations says a lot has changed. "It changes the way we look at training, it changes the way we deal at the public. In trying to appease the public and the constituents is a tough thing," says Rivera.
Rivera says being a police officer is tougher than ever, because of calls to defund and cut staffing. "People are here because they want to make a difference. They have chosen this job because it's something family members have done and they want to carry the torch and they want to serve the community. It's just tougher every time you turn around as they get a beating," says Rivera. He says being a police officer is not what it used to be.
When things escalate to the point of rioting, Rivera believes those responsible are from out of town. "I don't think the rioting has too much to do with the incident itself. It's an excuse for people to get out there. Most of the persons involved aren't from the community because if they were, they wouldn't be tearing down the community like that," says Rivera. How do you police that? "It's total devastation. The officers live there, it's their community. The families live there. It makes it an all around tough situation," adds Rivera.
