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How Police Unions Became Such Powerful Opponents to Reform Efforts
警察工會如何變成了改革路上的巨型攔路虎
Half a decade after a spate of officer-involved deaths inspired widespread protest,
五年前，接二連三的事涉警方的死亡事件一度引起了民眾的廣泛抗議，
many police unions are digging in to defend members.
五年后，許多警方依然選擇了堅決保護自己的隊員。
By Noam Scheiber, Farah Stockman and J. David Goodman
文/諾姆·舍貝爾，法拉赫·斯托克曼，J.大衛·古德曼
Over the past five years, as demands for reform have mounted
過去五年來，密蘇里州弗格森、（馬里蘭州）巴爾的摩，
in the aftermath of police violence in cities like Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and Minneapolis,
還有最近的（明尼蘇達州）明尼阿波利斯多地暴發警察暴力事件后，改革的呼聲已經日益高漲，
police unions have emerged as one of the most significant roadblocks to change.
警方卻化身成了改革路上的最大障礙。
The greater the political pressure for reform, the more defiant the unions often are in resisting it—
改革的政治壓力越大，警察工會抵制改革的力度通常也越大——
with few city officials, including liberal leaders, able to overcome their opposition.
大到鮮有城市官員能夠壓制住他們的反抗，就連自由派領導人也不例外。
They aggressively protect the rights of members accused of misconduct,
隊員被指控行為不端時，他們就大肆保護被控隊員的權利，
often in arbitration hearings that they have battled to keep behind closed doors.
每每以秘密舉行仲裁聽證的方式將事態控制下來。
And they have also been remarkably effective at fending off broader change,
不僅如此，他們利用手中的政治勢力和影響力破壞強化問責機制的努力，
using their political clout and influence to derail efforts to increase accountability.
抵制全面改革也是十分的得心應手。
While rates of union membership have dropped by half nationally since the early 1980s, to 10 percent,
盡管如今整個國家警察工會會員率已經下降到了10%——僅為80年代的一半數額，
higher membership rates among police unions give them resources they can spend on campaigns and litigation to block reform.
更高的會員率卻意味著警察通過活動及訴訟阻止改革的資源就越多。
A single New York City police union has spent more than $1 million on state and local races since 2014.
自2014年以來，紐約市一個警察工會在州和地方競選上花費的資金就多達100萬美元不止。
In St. Louis, when Kim Gardner was elected the top prosecutor four years ago,
四年前當選圣路易斯最高檢察官時，
she set out to rein in the city's high rate of police violence.
金·加德納就已立即著手約束該市警察暴力事件頻發的問題。
But after she proposed a unit within the prosecutor's office that would independently investigate misconduct,
就在她提議在檢察官辦公室內成立一個獨立調查警察不當行為的單位后，
she ran into the powerful local police union.
她便見識到了當地警察工會實力何等雄厚。
The union pressured lawmakers to set aside the proposal,
工會一方面向當地立法的議員施壓，逼迫他們擱置加德納的提議，
which many supported but then never brought to a vote.
議員們原本很多都對加德納的提議持支持態度，迫于工會壓力，后來都沒能付諸表決。
Around the same time, a lawyer for the union waged a legal fight
另一方面，（當地警察）工會的一名律師也挑起了一場官司，
to limit the ability of the prosecutor's office to investigate police misconduct.
企圖限制檢察官辦公室調查警察不當行為的權力。
The following year, a leader of the union said Ms. Gardner should be removed "by force or by choice."
次年，工會某領導甚至表示，“主動也好，被動也好”都應該撤去加德納的職務。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
