> For example, the strife in some inner cities was cast as police vs population
That is, in fact, who the strife was between.
> when in reality government is at greatest fault.
The police are the government. And, in the case of Baltimore, where the triggering event was murder by police as part of an extended pattern of physical abuse by police, its pretty clear that they were the proximately responsible part of government.
To the extent that there are a myriad of other factors, including other government policies, which could be argued on to have contributed less proximately, they were widely discussed by the media
I think that's obtuse. By that measure the police are part of the community and the community is part of government. Obviously you understand that the government uses the (blunt force of and in the shape of the) police to keep the peace because the community asks for help combating rampant crime.
The government takes an easy shortcut and instead of trying to solve the source of social, economic and cultural problems sends in the police as the only expression of government and thus the police are in the unenviable position take the full brunt of the backlash against an inattentive and perhaps negligent government.
That's a lazy cheap and untenable form of governance. It's like understaffing an IT department and the when the breaches happen blaming the IT security staff, a la Sony.
It's not bad policing so much as bad governance. the police are the main symbol of this "government" in the community, so they take the fall.
That is, in fact, who the strife was between.
> when in reality government is at greatest fault.
The police are the government. And, in the case of Baltimore, where the triggering event was murder by police as part of an extended pattern of physical abuse by police, its pretty clear that they were the proximately responsible part of government.
To the extent that there are a myriad of other factors, including other government policies, which could be argued on to have contributed less proximately, they were widely discussed by the media