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We propose the concept of law enforcement officers as supercitizens in the body politic of the United States. We explore the ways in which citizenship in the United States is, and has always been, contingent, giving rise to both infracitizens and supercitizens. Infracitizens are those whose experiences of citizenship come with fewer privileges than the prototpyical (white, male) citizen, whereas supercitizens enjoy benefits and privileges, both under law (de jure) and by social practice (de facto) not afforded to other members of society. We document the myriad ways in which the supercitizenship of US police manifests in modern US society and suggest that such supercitizenship stands as an impediment to meaningful police reform.
In 1816, the US state of Georgia's General Assembly passed the following law:
If any person shall ... assault or beat any sheriff, coroner, constable or other officer, or person duly authorised, in serving or executing any process ... every person so offending, shall on conviction be fined in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, and also, be imprisoned in the common jail of the county, for any time not exceeding two years; provided any officer whatever that may or shall assault or beat any individual under color of his commission, without being compelled in self-defence to do so, shall on conviction, be fined in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, as the jury may recommend.
This statutory language makes clear one example of the special legal protections afforded to law enforcement officers under nineteenth century Georgia law. A civilian who assaults or beats an officer can be both fined and imprisoned for up to two years; an officer who assaults or beats a civilian is subject only to a possible fine.
Such special treatment of law enforcement officers continues into the present day. Modern Georgia law statutorily prohibits aggravated assault and continues to perpetuate the distinction-now more than two centuries old-between nonpolice and police with regard to punishment. Aggravated assault against nonpolice "shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years." In contrast, aggravated assault against law enforcement officers (called peace officers in Georgia law) results in "imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years."1 Augmented punishments for assault...