The use of perception in this context is nothing more than an opinion based on whatever information that person has whether educate on the subject or not. The very phrase that perception is reality was coined to highlight that reality, the truth, doesn't matter if the perception is something else. Some in the public are so invested in the narrative that the police are institutionally racist and biased against blacks they won't listen when some one tries to address the perception. You don't see that? I acknowledge that many people have a poor perception of the police. But it is often wrong. And here I am trying to correct the inaccurate perception and all I get is intransigence. But racist! But racist! You don't want to have the perception addressed unless you hear complete acceptance of the narrative without qualification. Do you want needed changes to be made to LE based on FACTS, and the law, or do you want wholesale changes made based on a perception?Pull your head out of your ass wink. There have been 10+ days of mass protests across the entire country and world related to the perceived conduct of police forces. At the very least LE has an image problem that it needs to fix. If departments and agencies are still telling themselves that there's a "false narrative" after all this then they're being willfully ignorant and, frankly, irresponsible to the communities they supposedly serve.
You want LE to accept the narrative, without defense, that they are racist and have it in for blacks or be branded irresponsible. Listen to yourself. This is how the language and debate has been twisted, weaponized. If you defend yourself, you are racist. If you criticize people who tell lies about you, you are racist. If you want to make useful changes, but they are not as demanded by the movement, you are a racist. People in the media can not even acknowledge the vast majority "good" cops, because that takes the spot light off the super minority that are not good. You can't suggest that we need to work towards making changes that affect all minorities, you have to pay homage to BLM only. If you don't support BLM, you are a racist.
And before you try and tell me that the police are universally distrusted by Americans based on the protests, I suggest you do the math.