Editor's Note: (Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer, is an associate professor in the department of law and police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He is the author of "Cop in the Hood" and "In Defense of Flogging." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.)
(CNN) Enough.
It is too easy to disassociate words from horrible actions. But words have the power to inspire, inflame, provoke. Or else we wouldn't say them. When words inspire others to kill, however deranged those others might be, we must see the consequences.
Five police officers in Dallas are dead, killed during an otherwise peaceful protest over the shooting deaths of two African-American men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.
When those on the political right speak against immigrants, Muslims or abortion, those on the left are quick and correct to observe that words inspire crimes of hate and violence. Similarly, when those on the left speak against police officers -- not just bad ones, but all police officers -- this, too, can have consequences.
No matter one's beliefs, we all need to call out extremism and hate, especially given American's absurdly easy access to guns. No matter how many good people have guns, they cannot always stop a bad person with a gun. An armed society is clearly not always a polite society, so we need to tone it down.
Free speech is deeply embedded in America, as it should be. But hateful speech does not have to be condoned. The goal of most police protesters is not to end policing, but to improve it. But those who join protests must see that some of their ranks are against all police.
It is not extreme to protest against unjust state violence against innocent people. Peaceful protest is not a threat to policing or police officers.
Reaction to recent police shootings
Protesters sit after being arrested after a march on July 10 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Many cities have seen an increase in protests since police-involved shootings.
Demonstrators gather on July 9 at the Louisiana Capitol to protest the shooting of
Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge.
A couple hold a sign protesting the
killing of Philando Castile outside the governor's mansion on July 7, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Castile's death was live-streamed by his fiancée and quickly went viral.
Protesters gather Wednesday, July 6, in front of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was fatally shot in Baton Rouge. Sterling, 37, was shot by police on Tuesday, July 5, and federal authorities are investigating what happened. Vigils and memorials spread across the country after cell phone video of the shooting was shared widely on social media.
One of Sterling's children, Cameron, is comforted by a crowd outside the convenience store on July 6.
Tawandra Carr, who said she was best friends with Alton Sterling, cries while people gather outside the convenience store on July 6.
A woman joins others gathered at the scene of a police-involved shooting in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, on July 6. Philando Castile, 32, was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop. His fiancee, Diamond Reynolds, live-streamed the aftermath on Facebook. The shooting is being investigated.
A crowd of community members gathers outside the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, following Castile's shooting.
Community members and activists covered the governor's residence with police tape from the scene where Castile was killed.
People in Baton Rouge demonstrate July 6 as police cars pass the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot.
Jordan Nuerenberg holds up a sign encouraging motorists to honk their horns outside the Baton Rouge convenience store.
Protesters block traffic and dance on cars near the convenience store.
A woman rings the doorbell at the gate of the governor's home in Minnesota after Castile's shooting on July 6.
Community members and activists gather outside the Minnesota governor's home.
Someone uses their phone to live-stream the investigation taking place at the scene of Castile's shooting.
Police need to realize that some in their ranks make mistakes, both honestly and maliciously. This needs to be better acknowledged by those in law enforcement. But just as decent society does not hold every black, Muslim, or white Christian responsible for the murderous acts of a deranged few, it is a mistake to blame hundreds of thousands of police officers for the bad deeds of a few.
If tomorrow is a typical day, some police officers somewhere in the United States will very likely shoot and kill two or three people. One of them will likely be African-American. This problem will not go away. That is the current rate. But some perspective is needed. This is a large and diverse country. More than 12,000 people are murdered annually. Some 28,000 people die of drug overdoses; 30,000 are killed in traffic fatalities. In 2015, according the Washington Post, police shot and killed 990 people. Of those, 258 were African-American; 730 involved attacks in progress.
Obama leads country through grief
President Barack Obama
condemned the slayings of three Louisiana law enforcement officers on Sunday, July 17, as he called on the nation to condemn violence against law enforcement. "We as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement," Obama said, speaking from the White House press briefing room. "Attacks on police are an attack on all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible."
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during
an interfaith memorial service for the victims of the Dallas police shooting on Tuesday, July 12. Obama sought to unify the country during the somber memorial in Dallas for the five police officers slain in a sniper ambush during what had been a peaceful protest. The incident occurred amid a tragic week for the nation that saw Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota killed during encounters with police.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers at a memorial on Thursday, June 16, for the victims of the nightclub shooting in Orlando. At least 49 people
were killed in the massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Obama pauses on October 1 during a news conference about the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon.
Obama sings "Amazing Grace" during a service in June 2015 honoring the life of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a South Carolina lawmaker. Pinckney was one of nine people killed in a shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive for a memorial service in Fort Hood, Texas, in April 2014. Officials say Army Spc. Ivan Lopez took a .45-caliber handgun onto the military post, killing three people and injuring 16 before taking his own life.
Obama pauses as he speaks in September 2013 about the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, mourning what he called "yet another mass shooting" that took the life of American patriots.
Obama tours a tornado-affected area in Moore, Oklahoma, in May 2013. A tornado that ripped through Moore hit 2,400 homes on a 17-mile path.
Obama speaks at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross following the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured at least 264 in April 2013. Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during an encounter with police, and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was sentenced to death.
Obama attends a memorial service at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in April 2013. Fourteen people, nearly all first responders, died in an explosion at the West Fertilizer Co.
In December 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children and six adults. At the memorial service, Obama said, "In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this."
Obama walks back to the Oval Office of the White House in July 2012. Obama cut short a campaign stop in Florida in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve moviegoers were killed and 70 were injured by convicted shooter James E. Holmes.
Obama speaks on the campus of Missouri Southern State University after a tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011, killing 158 people.
The President and first lady hold hands during a memorial service for the victims of a Tucson, Arizona, shooting. On January 8, 2011, Jared Lee Loughner shot six people and wounded 13 more, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
An explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia killed 29 workers in April 2010. It was the worst U.S. mine disaster in 40 years. "All the hard work; all the hardship; all the time spent underground; it was all for their families. ... It was all in the hopes of something better," Obama said about the fallen workers.
Thirteen people were shot and killed by Maj. Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood in November 2009. Speaking to an estimated 15,000 people at a memorial service, Obama called the act "incomprehensible" and vowed that justice would be done.
We could protest every one of these shootings individually, but in most instances, police are doing their job. Better would be to focus on reducing the use of force collectively.
Regional differences in America are profound. Police in California shot and killed 188 people last year. New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, collectively, with 3.4 million more people than California, saw just 53 people killed. If police in California were simply able to lower their rate of lethal force to the level of these three states -- something that seems eminently doable -- 139 fewer people would be killed by police. And that's just in California.
American violence is out of hand. Too many people are being killed. Find common ground and let common sense prevail. And the first step is toning it down.