Antidemocratic Policing in America: The Institutionalization of Historical Trauma

Countries have begun reforms to align their police forces with a democratic policing culture. Despite significant progress, the United States has failed to fulfill a key aspect of democratic governance: democratic policing. Consequently, the gap between law and departmental policy, and policing culture continues to widen. This study aims to contribute to Forde’s theory by applying the antidemocratic framework at the institutional level to describe policing practices that have received widespread attention by exploring police misconduct through a power lens of regressive strategies. The sample includes extant literature and data from exonerees. This study uses an innovative methodology grounded in the GQI and integrated with grounded theory analysis to answer the research question: How does Forde’s antidemocratic framework, rooted in historical trauma and political demoralization, manifest in contemporary police-civilian interactions? Forde’s antidemocratic concepts—nativism, social distinctions, misinformation, fear, dehumanization, and subjugation—frame this study. The framework underpins the understanding of antidemocratic policing and how micro-level disempowerment and macro-historical trauma (colonialism) converge in modern institutions. The primary finding is that antidemocratic practices are institutionalized. Future studies on democratic policing could inform the field and policymakers on whether misconduct, particularly excessive use of force, is a symptom of police demoralization.