BEHIND THE BADGE

(Say unto wisdom, thou art my sister and call understanding thy kinswoman. Proverbs 7:4)

Everywhere I look on the internet, Facebook, twitter, news feeds, people are sharing videos showing police officers behaving at their worst in an effort to show that all police officers are bullies, and racists, Yet these people very rarely make an effort to show the police officers who go out of their way to be compassionate, kind and helpful.

It is a natural response to run away from trouble and danger, yet some people routinely ignore that response and run into danger to help and protect others; soldiers, EMTs/paramedics, fire fighters, doctors, nurses, and police officers. Police officers and soldiers make themselves human shields to allow others to run away to safety.

There are definitely police officers who are not suited to the job by personality, temperament, or any number of factors. They abuse their power. But this is true in ANY profession. To try to show that because a few are bad, every police force nationwide is filled with evil and hostility is like trying to say that because a few doctors and nurses are sloppy, cut corners, fail to follow proper procedures and patients die as a result, that the entire medical community is lazy and uncaring. Or because a firefighter likes to start fires in secret so he can have the thrill of putting them out in public, then all fire departments are staffed with arsonists.

Many years ago I was stopped by the chief of police in a small town. He refused to tell me why he pulled me over and ordered me to get out of the car and stand on the side of the road. He wouldn’t let me speak while he searched the car and tossed my belongings from inside the car onto the shoulder of the road. After he finished, he stated he knew I was a drug dealer because of the car I drove, a Mustang Cobra, and even though he didn’t find anything this time, he would catch me. I was a young mother just trying to go home from work. Even though his behavior was inappropriate, not to mention illegal, I quietly loaded my belongings and drove home. I addressed the issue later and it was resolved.

This was one incident. There have been many more times when I have been helped by the police. Like the time I was driving home from work, an hour trip late at night through wooded areas with winding roads. The police officer who pulled me over for having a headlight out did not give me a ticket or even a warning. He changed my headlight himself on the side of the road so I would be safe while driving the rest of the way home. (I had bought a new one but no garages were open to replace it.) I didn’t decide from the first incident that all police officers were out to get me. Every person is different. Every circumstance is different.

It is easy to sit in the safety of one’s house secure in the knowledge that police officers are out there guarding and protecting, standing between us and danger; and sit in judgement on the actions of the police and what we guess is the motive for their behavior.

I would like to say to those people, before you judge, walk a day in a police officer’s shoes. Leave for work and kiss your family goodbye, not knowing if it will be for the last time. Every time you pull a car over for a routine traffic stop wonder if the person is more than just a carpooling mom or a dad late for a meeting, wonder if he or she is a felon who will do anything to avoid arrest. When you have to knock on a door, know that the person on the other side could shoot first. Pray your fear and anxiety never get the best of you in tense situations. (But at times they will because we are all human.)

My oldest grandson, who is now seventeen, has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. I am proud that he has chosen a life of service. He is a good man; kind, compassionate, with a wonderful heart for God, and quite stubborn, which isn’t always a bad thing. I have faith that he will make a good and effective police officer who rises to the occasion, and embodies the phrase ‘to serve and protect’. Even so, there may be days when he thinks, ‘I could have handled that better’ or ‘I was hoping for a different outcome’. On those days I will still know who he is. I will know that he will grieve over his mistakes and try to do better the next time.

When I watch the ‘bad cop’ videos, I don’t know anything about the man behind the badge. I don’t know who he is as a person; what he believes in, his values. I don’t know if he went home after his shift ended and cried on his wife’s shoulder, or unburdened himself to his pastor at church. I don’t know if he went out for a drink and bragged to his buddies. I don’t know if he was proud of himself or ashamed. All I know is what I see; three minutes of someone behaving at his worst in a bad situation.

But still, seeing all these shock videos of cops behaving badly gives me hope. The media reports on, and people spread gossip about things outside of the norm. This means that the normal is police officers who are kind, caring, compassionate, and willing to serve and protect at any cost to themselves.