(Courageous Leadership): The biggest mistake police leaders could make at this moment in history is to think that the pendulum has swung back in a more commonsense way towards local law enforcement.
If you have bought into the rhetoric about ICE and disagree with what they are doing, congratulations. You’ve been brainwashed, and you likely were kneeling for a lie just a few years ago or advocating for some silly police reform pushed by PERF.
The Accusations
Before I explain why all of this matters to local leaders, let’s break down the horrendous atrocities that ICE is supposedly committing:
THEY ARE FULFILLING THEIR MISSION.
It’s pretty simple. ICE is responsible for enforcing the immigration laws of the United States and they are enforcing the immigration laws of the United States. While you’ve heard all kinds of rhetoric from the typical players, such as they are kidnapping Americans, there hasn’t been one shred of evidence that proves that. You’ve probably also heard that they are using excessive force, but I haven’t seen one video of this accusation that didn’t show suspects fighting, resisting, or worse.
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. You don’t need to be reminded of what local law enforcement endured for years, based on lies.
However, there is a significant difference today, and that’s why law enforcement leaders need to take notice.
Despite the rhetoric and lies, ICE continues its mission. While that mission is more difficult today, they have not been deterred.
ICE Agents have been the subject of countless death threats and doxing. Unlike what so many local law enforcement leaders did in the past, DHS leadership remains steadfast in protecting its officers.
While the liars are upset, they are wearing tactical gear and masks; it’s being done for the protection of the officers.
Pretty crazy concept.
I don’t have to remind you how local leaders failed us when we faced similar attacks and lies. Not only did many of them prohibit any use of tactical gear for protection, but we were often told to “stand down” and ignore criminal activity. We still suffer from the so-called “reforms” that were thrown at us by those leaders.
Mission Failure=Destruction
Local leaders failed when faced with a similar situation that is playing out with ICE today and that failure is still devastating communities. Crime reached record highs and the profession is still suffering from a recruitment and retention issue.
Turns out that running away from the mission never ends well.
You aren’t seeing this with ICE. They aren’t backing down from their mission, and they’ve had 150,000 applications this year. Wild how support from leaders to do your job helps an organization stay on mission.
Broken Pendulum
The pendulum is not coming back. The same liars and agitators who came close to destroying local law enforcement are doing the same with ICE. Before that, it was Tesla, and before that, it was Palestine, and before that, it was Trump, etc.
Unfortunately, this is not changing, and if local leaders were wise, they would acknowledge their past failures and prepare to do much better in the future.
You are one decision away from crazy people from all of it happening again. The political winds will, once again, point to local law enforcement, and I’m not sure we are ready for it.
Dr. Travis Yates retired as a commander with a large municipal police department after 30 years of service. He is the author of “The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos & Lies.” His risk management and leadership seminars have been taught to thousands of professionals across the world. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy with a Doctorate Degree in Strategic Leadership and the CEO of the Courageous Police Leadership Alliance.
