纽约时报 警察工会 改革路上的巨型拦路虎(1)

How Police Unions Became Such Powerful Opponents to Reform Efforts

警察工会如何变成了改革路上的巨型拦路虎

Half a decade after a spate¹ of officer-involved deaths inspired widespread protest,

五年前，接二连三的事涉警方的死亡事件一度引起了民众的广泛抗议，

many police unions are digging in to defend members.

五年后，许多警方依然选择了坚决保护自己的队员。

By Noam Scheiber, Farah Stockman and J. David Goodman

文/诺姆·舍贝尔，法拉赫·斯托克曼，J.大卫·古德曼

Over the past five years, as demands for reform have mounted

过去五年来，密苏里州弗格森、（马里兰州）巴尔的摩，

in the aftermath of police violence in cities like Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and Minneapolis,

还有最近的（明尼苏达州）明尼阿波利斯多地暴发警察暴力事件后，改革的呼声已经日益高涨，

police unions have emerged as one of the most significant roadblocks to change.

警方却化身成了改革路上的最大障碍。

The greater the political pressure for reform, the more defiant² the unions often are in resisting it—

改革的政治压力越大，警察工会抵制改革的力度通常也越大——

with few city officials, including liberal leaders, able to overcome their opposition³.

大到鲜有城市官员能够压制住他们的反抗，就连自由派领导人也不例外。

They aggressively protect the rights of members accused of misconduct,

队员被指控行为不端时，他们就大肆保护被控队员的权利，

often in arbitration⁴ hearings that they have battled to keep behind closed doors.

每每以秘密举行仲裁听证的方式将事态控制下来。

And they have also been remarkably⁵ effective at fending⁶ off broader change,

不仅如此，他们利用手中的政治势力和影响力破坏强化问责机制的努力，

using their political clout⁷ and influence to derail efforts to increase accountability.

抵制全面改革也是十分的得心应手。

While rates of union membership have dropped by half nationally since the early 1980s, to 10 percent,

尽管如今整个国家警察工会会员率已经下降到了10%——仅为80年代的一半数额，

higher membership rates among police unions give them resources they can spend on campaigns and litigation to block reform.

更高的会员率却意味着警察通过活动及诉讼阻止改革的资源就越多。

A single New York City police union has spent more than $1 million on state and local races since 2014.

自2014年以来，纽约市一个警察工会在州和地方竞选上花费的资金就多达100万美元不止。

In St. Louis, when Kim Gardner was elected the top prosecutor⁸ four years ago,

四年前当选圣路易斯最高检察官时，

she set out to rein⁹ in the city's high rate of police violence.

金·加德纳就已立即着手约束该市警察暴力事件频发的问题。

But after she proposed a unit within the prosecutor's office that would independently investigate misconduct,

就在她提议在检察官办公室内成立一个独立调查警察不当行为的单位后，

she ran into the powerful local police union.

她便见识到了当地警察工会实力何等雄厚。

The union pressured lawmakers to set aside the proposal,

工会一方面向当地立法的议员施压，逼迫他们搁置加德纳的提议，

which many supported but then never brought to a vote.

议员们原本很多都对加德纳的提议持支持态度，迫于工会压力，后来都没能付诸表决。

Around the same time, a lawyer for the union waged a legal fight

另一方面，（当地警察）工会的一名律师也挑起了一场官司，

to limit the ability of the prosecutor's office to investigate police misconduct.

企图限制检察官办公室调查警察不当行为的权力。

The following year, a leader of the union said Ms. Gardner should be removed "by force or by choice."

次年，工会某领导甚至表示，“主动也好，被动也好”都应该撤去加德纳的职务。

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

5 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

6 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

7 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。