Shawn Henfling offers a way to respect the police but not their corrupt actions.
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We live in a polarized society. Everywhere we turn, people lead us to believe that we have to be on one side or another. There is no longer a gray area, no room to stand in the middle of the road. We keep hearing about those damned liberals or those gun crazy conservatives. There isn’t room any longer for compromise, give and take or working together. We have forsaken one of the foundations of a great society. It seems like we simply can’t sit on the fence for any issue. There is only good or bad, black or white, up or down. It amazes me how many people feel that way about law enforcement as well. It seems like you cannot respect the police and mourn their losses and still scrutinize the injustice in the system. These should not be mutually exclusive ideas.
My father was a police officer, as was an uncle and a cousin. There are deep ties to the law enforcement community within my family. I have a masters degree in criminal justice and a bachelors in administration of justice. I’ve studied tactics, strategies and practices of police organizations. I’ve looked at history and I’ve read about foreign, federal, state and local departments as well. I have never lived a day in the life of a cop. I’ve never strapped on a vest, worn a badge, or slipped into a patrol car and kissed my family goodbye. I have memories of being on the other side of the equation, but never experienced it for myself.
We aren’t able to appreciate what the police do but find what happens problematic.
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We seem to treat police officers the same as we do every other issue in society today. You are either with them or against them, and there is no room for any kind of middle ground. You simply cannot be both. We aren’t able to appreciate what the police do but find what happens problematic. We can’t seem to agree on a middle ground. The police, of course, rally around each other, sensing danger and quick to defend one another from not only criticism but perceived attack and injustice. Many citizens, seeing the news and experiencing their own injustice, choose the other side. On the surface, it appears that nobody steps back away from the conflict. Nobody chooses to see the bigger picture.
I can mourn the loss of innocent lives taken by officers who used excessive force. I can rage against the apparent systemic injustices of rogue departments. I can weep for the lives lost in the line of duty and for the families they leave behind. I can be on both sides and not pick any side at all. I can understand the need for police men and women and still be aware of their need for oversight and regulation. I can see the value in the police, can see the men and women who risk their lives daily to maintain order and enforce laws written by people who cannot see the daily battles on the streets. I can also understand the need to keep prejudices and fear from getting the best of these brave men and women.
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Cops call it “being on the job”. I’ve heard friends and family and it never starts out as just a job. It doesn’t begin as an adversarial “us against them” relationship with the public. Most of them just wanted to find a way to make the world a better place. No power trip, no lust for control. They just wanted to help people, to somehow, some way dedicate their lives to doing right. I’m sure some of them lust for the gun and the badge. They hunger for the power to control people. They are driven by a sadistic need to keep others under their thumbs.
In my opinion, the adversarial relationship that has developed between the police and public is to blame for much of what happens.
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Officers like that, men and women who seek the power trip the badge enables aren’t representative of the greater population of police officers. They are the rotten apples that spoil the bunch. They are often culled and removed, but still a few slip through. In my opinion, the adversarial relationship that has developed between the police and public is to blame for much of what happens. In an us against them world, where you rely solely on your brothers and sisters in blue to stay alive, you can’t show chinks in the armor. It has to be a united front against all invaders. Instead of turning out some of the rotten fruits, they are absorbed and shielded. For most officers, turning against another is an unforgivable crime, something that just cannot happen.
The public on the other hand is bombarded daily with cases of abuse, murder, rape, assault and misconduct. It jades our views against the police officers that have sworn to protect us. We see them the same way they see many of us, as enemies to be feared. They have the guns, the armor, and the law on their side. We have cell phone cameras and witnesses. We have publicized cases of excessive force, systemic racism and sexism. We have media coverage of every misstep and bad judgment. We live in a society that tears at the open wounds instead of pulling together to close and heal them. Our world, the media coverage, and our willingness to judge the motives of others has led us down this road. We now look suspiciously at the very people tasked with protecting us, and they further militarize to protect themselves from us. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps repeating.
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A few weeks ago, Officer Robert Wilson III was shot and killed attempting to stop a robbery in Philadelphia. Officer Wilson, an 8 year veteran of the Philadelphia police force, died a hero. He left behind two sons, a 9 year old and a 1 year old. Though the shooting happened only yesterday, initial reports are that Officer Wilson was a model officer even volunteering for a trial body camera program. He lost his life while attempting to do his job. Wilson’s partner was outside, waiting patiently, and came running upon hearing the sound of gunshots. Apparently Wilson was simply going inside to buy his son a video game. Wrong place, wrong time. The robbery? It was a video game store. Two young boys lost their father because two a pair of suspects wanted to rob a video game store. The senselessness is mind boggling.
I remember people telling us he was lucky to be alive.
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A little over thirty years ago I nearly lost my own father in a similarly senseless act. He was stabbed in the neck and nearly bled to death on duty. I have very few memories of the actual incident. I don’t remember the hospital or the time he spent there. Perhaps it’s because I was too young. It’s even possible that I choose not to remember, that I’ve blocked it out. I do have a vague recollection of the ceremony where he was presented his purple heart. I remember people telling us he was lucky to be alive. I’m grateful that I was too young to understand the gravity of it all, that I didn’t realize how close to death he truly was. On the other hand, I am deeply touched every time I hear of an officer who loses his or her life in the line of duty. I feel most for their families, left to reconcile it all and deal with the consequences on their own.
We have got to remember that underneath the uniform and behind the badge, police officers are nothing more than men and women. They are just people hoping to live through another shift and get home to their families. We are all constructs of our experiences and knowledge. Police officers are no different. They make mistakes just as the rest of us do. Tragically, much like doctors, when a police officer makes a mistake, sometimes people die.
Conversely, Tamir Rice, just 12, was shot and killed in Cleveland because he carried a toy gun. A young boy killed because police not only mistook him for older, but because they believed his toy gun was real. A split second decision resulted in a child’s life lost. The officer involved had a history of failure to deal with stressful situations. In his previous job as a police officer, he was in the process of being terminated.
Eric Garner was choked to death by an officer. His crime? He sold loose cigarettes from packs without stamps. A police officer used lethal force on a man who had no weapon and was committing a misdemeanor. Mr. Garner left behind a family of his own, children who, like those of Officer Wilson, will grow up without a father. I submit that it is no less a tragedy for the family of Eric Garner than it is for that of Officer Wilson.
Tony Robinson, 19 years old, was shot and killed by an officer in Madison, Wisconsin. The investigation is just beginning, but residents are already protesting the shooting of another unarmed black man. The police department placed the officer on administrative leave and turned the investigation over to the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Though residents are angry, and the initial reports troubling, it is important to wait until all avenues of investigation have been exhausted. Still, there is another young unarmed man dead and added to a disturbingly long list.
Finally, just the other day, Walter Scott was brutally murdered by Officer Michael Slager. Slager’s initial story was that Scott had reached for the officers taser, causing Slager to shoot Scott. Bystander video was then released clearly showing Slager gunning down Scott in cold blood as he fled the officer and finally planting the taser next to Scott’s limp and lifeless body. Perhaps more alarming was the “business as usual” manner in which the officer acted.
There is no longer room to play the he said she said game.
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The recent investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri police department is a troubling but not surprising reflection of systemic prejudices that exist within the system. No amount of denial or refusal to accept the facts changes the injustices that occur. When nearly entire organizations are so racked with corruption and prejudices that the federal government feels it must step in, change must occur. There is no longer room to play the he said she said game.
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I studied Administration of Justice at Penn State and later Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati because initially I wanted to follow in the footsteps of those before me. I wanted to proudly wear a badge, just as my father had done. I badly wanted to help people the way he had, to change the world just a little at a time. Life has a way of changing our plans, and mine were no different. I’m no police officer. My current jobs have nothing whatsoever to do with law enforcement. I don’t carry a gun, answer radio calls, or make arrests. I don’t know what it’s like to be them, to go out every day and do their job.
I can still tell right from wrong though. I will still stand strong against further militarization of our nations police forces. I will rage against systemic violence and prejudices that run counter to the stated missions of our nations police organizations. I will raise my voice against those who defend the actions of the bad apples who abuse the system and the people they are sworn to protect. I will speak up when I see corruption and abuses that endanger the public safety and the integrity of otherwise noble organizations. I will also wait for evidence to point the finger. I won’t buy into civil unrest without good reason. I refuse to condemn all officers because of the actions of a few.
We are their reminder that not everyone is a criminal.
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Perhaps I’m in the minority. I see so many people stand with the police, regardless of the evidence against them. I see others stand against them, regardless of the reason. The people in the middle, those like me, they’re too quiet. I have to believe we are the silent majority, sitting idly by and safely in our homes as the world collapses around us. The lines between good and evil blend and blur and yet we are content to watch quietly. Not all police officers are good, but not all of them are bad. We have to stop seeing everyone who isn’t like us as enemies and start looking for the underlying issues.
The police, like any other organization, require oversight. Given the relationship many policing organizations have with the public, however, it’s possible any oversight will be seen simply as interference. The trick is for both sides to reach across the divide and begin to mend the relationships. No barrier should be too great. The police are our line of defense against the unforgiving underbelly of society. We are their reminder that not everyone is a criminal. It is up to all of us, both sides of the spectrum, to mend the fences and move back toward mutual trust. We like to tell everyone we’ve come a long way since the Jim Crow era and the tragedies of the civil rights era. But now, around the anniversary of Selma, I have to wonder. Have we really?
There is no reason for us to cast our eyes upon each other with suspicion.
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I’m proud of what my family has accomplished as police officers. I’m grateful for their dedication and sacrifice, and their willingness to lay down their lives for the rest of us. I’m not convinced, however, that the way we tend to operate our law enforcement agencies is the most efficient. I think we should be treating crime fighting and prevention in a manner that puts the responsibility on everyone. Our relationship with the police has become abusive and dysfunctional on both sides of the issue. Every place that has a problem needs to step back from the emotion and look at the issues with logic.
We need to talk to each other, to reach out with an attitude of understanding and acceptance. Stop targeting people based up race and socioeconomic status. Frustration is OK, but it shouldn’t be taken out on each other. Instead, use every agency possible to combat the problems. Teamwork using mental health, medical professionals, police, residents and social services is the proper way to prevent crime. Reacting to crime does no good in the actual prevention of it. Study after study shows that through a multi-tiered approach utilizing all available resources, true progress can be made. There is no reason for us to cast our eyes upon each other with suspicion. We’re fighting for the same goals. Safer streets for everyone. The sooner we understand that the better our relationships with each other will be.
Image credit: Highway Patrol Images /Flickr
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/04/us/ferguson-police-department-report.html?_r=0
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march