CNN iReport

Citizen fatalities, sometimes innocent civilians such as Oscar Grant, at the hands of police are but the tip of the iceburg of numerous behaviors and incidents within a system that supports such "accidents(?)." Every system produces what it was designed to produce. The death of Oscar Grant was by system design, and addressing the issue such that it does not occur again must be by changing the system.

I have adapted and attached a safety triangle used by corporations to eliminate injuries and fatalities to illustrate how citizen fatalities at the hands of the police continue to occur. Until base police behaviors are addressed with self monitoring, leadership reporting, and disciplinary actions, fatalities will continue.

The example safety system was created and based upon the principles: 1. EVERY ACCIDENT COULD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED and 2. NOTHING WE DO IS WORTH GETTING HURT. The safety triangle has 3 sections. The base consists of people behaviors, the middle section are injury incidents, and the apex is a fatality. Base and middle section must be proactively monitored and controlled continually to prevent there every being a fatality. With this simple triangle, world class employee safety results are achieved.

ANY fatality has at its root thousands and millions of underlying behaviors that led up to it. In my corporate example, these are classified with the top behaviors known to lead to major injuries and fatalities in a special classification known as Red Light Behaviors. The system is monitored with simple behavior observation surveys by each and every person working within the system, and these surveys are completed as a part of daily work. Red Light Behaviors lead to strong disciplinary action as all know what can be the end result of violating the safety rules. Every injury, even a paper cut, must be reported and followed up on with an investigation by those trained in analysing root cause and all injuries are classified as to severity and reported and monitored on a regular basis in a highly visible manner to all.

Every "accident" could and should have been prevented. Personal accountability for violating rules and laws which lead up to a fatal "accident" must be a priority in America. The death of Oscar is unacceptable, and the behavior of police in Oakland that led to Oscar's death must be addressed. The "accidental" killings of those not guilty of any crime are without excuse. This fatality and that of the young man in New Orleans on the same day via 12 shots in the back and 2 in the front who was not guilty of any crime are not isolated incidents. They occur as the tip of the triangle and will always occur when there is no system design, behavior monitoring nor accountability to prevent it.

Officers do have a tough job to do. It is a dangerous job, but that is no excuse for passing off fatalities as inevitable. Manufacturing jobs are dangerous too, and without continuing safety programs will lead to fatalities. There are class 3 and 4 hazardous materials to be dealt with, equipment that can crush and shred a man in an instant, and many other hazards too numerous to mention. When a man or woman goes to work, they MUST be able to come home in one piece, and when a man or woman goes out to celebrate the New Year, they MUST be able to come home in one piece not having been killed by officers of the law. Anything other than that is completely unacceptable and without excuse.

(Post resubmitted due to not knowing this was an assignment category and no way to change original post.)