It’s not the police who need to be retrained, it’s the public. We have grown into a mouthy, cell phone wielding, vulgar, uncivil society with no personal responsibility & the attitude of it’s the other person’s fault, you owe me. A society where children grow up with no boundaries or knowledge or concern for civil society and personal responsibility.
When an officer says “Put your hands up,” then put your hands up! Don’t reach for something in your pocket, your lap, or your seat. There’s plenty of reason for a police officer to feel threatened. There have been multiple assaults & ambushes on police officers lately. Comply with requests from the officer and have your day in court. Don’t mouth off, or fight, or refuse to comply- that escalates the situation.
Police officers are your sons & daughters, fathers & mothers, brothers & sisters. They’re black, white, brown, all colors, all ethnicities, all faiths, male & female. We see the worst side of humanity- the raped children, the bloody mangled bodies of traffic victims, the bruised & battered victims of domestic violence, homicide victims, body parts, day after day.
We work holidays while you have festive meals with your families. We miss school events with our kids, birthdays, anniversaries, all those special occasions that you take for granted. We work in all types of weather, under dangerous conditions, for relatively low pay.
We have extensive training but we are human. When there are numerous attacks on us, we become hyper vigilant for a reason, we have become targets. When a police officer encounters any person, any person- whether at a traffic stop, a street confrontation, an arrest, whatever- that situation has the potential to become life threatening. You, Mr & Mrs/Miss Civilian, also have the responsibility of keeping the situation from getting out of control.
Many law enforcement officers are veterans. We’ve been in service to this nation most of our lives, whether on the battlefield or protecting you here at home. We are the only thing that stands between you and anarchy in the streets.
If you want to protect your child, teach them respect- for themselves, for you as a parent, for their teachers, for police officers. Police officers do not make the laws, we merely enforce them. If you don’t like the law, be proactive in the political process. The police officer doesn’t have, or want, the role of judge and jury.
If you get a speeding ticket- were you speeding? Don’t blame the cop if you broke the law. Go to court, pay the fine, don’t do it again.
It’s easy to judge, it’s harder to look within oneself and see what your role should be as a citizen, as a responsible person seeing both sides of the issue.
All lives matter, Blue lives matter, too!
Charles is in our audience and asked to remain anonymous. We are grateful that he shared this with all of us.
