Reality of what police officers face

Editor’s note: Another Viewpoint is a column The News-Herald makes available so all sides of an issue may be aired. Tom Wetzel is a Northeast Ohio police lieutenant, certified law enforcement executive, former SWAT leader, and an adjunct professor in community policing.

On Aug. 11, a video went viral of a Baltimore police officer pummeling a 26-year-old man. It resulted in an immediate suspension and by the next day the officer resigned. The fact it took place in Baltimore where the police department is already under a federal consent degree following the in-custody death of Freddie Gray in 2015 doesn’t help matters. And now that short video which will get viewed thousands of time may end up being used as an Exhibit A that police are inherently violent. Combine that with a current effort in California to legislate changes regarding firearms use by police and it may lead to a belief that a complete overall of police use of force is in order. One serious concern from all of this is that it presents a onedimensional aspect of policing that violent action is the essence of an officer’s typical day. The reality of policing is that less than 1 percent of contacts with the public involve any kind of actual use of force, with the lethal aspect being drastically less. Catching bad guys that may sometimes involve physical force is often synonymous with the “protect” portion of the “protect and serve” motto but it is the “serve” aspect that is often overlooked and really involves the bulk of police work.

Like the sound of an overhead speaker in a grocery store announcing a spill in aisle four, cleanup is a regular component of the American police model. Whether it’s responding to a car crash or a crime scene, an officer is tasked with getting control of a situation, finding out what happened and helping get things back to normal. The officer must often do this in places that are still dangerous and when emotions are high. And that cleanup doesn’t end after clearing the scene because today’s cop may not only write a report about what happened but is tasked more and more with data collection and documentation of their interactions with the public. That work often becomes part of national studies and strategies on how to make us all safer.

Besides cleaning up messes, today’s officers are finding themselves challenged with finding ways to better serve their customers who are suffering with mental health problems. This ongoing crisis which includes the homeless problem as well as the opioid epidemic forces officers to confront society’s often overlooked citizens. These interactions require officers to find temporary solutions for people with problems that require comprehensive and long-term assistance. Despite their limitations, it is often the compassionate encounter with a cop that gets a person at least pointed in the right direction to heal and thrive.

Cops and kids have always had a special bond and that relationship continues to this day. Officers engage with our children at very young ages in Safety Town programs and try to deter them as they get older to avoid gangs and drugs. With more officers actively serving in schools, they have an opportunity to develop trust which can carry into adulthood. That trust will get tested at times as people of all ages are bombarded with negative presentations of police on social media.

Whether an officer is engaging in preventive patrol, responding to a complaint or helping someone, they will do so under some taxing environments which include working odd and unhealthy hours, being exposed to infectious diseases and seeing people do mean things to themselves and others. It will take its toll on them as suicide will claim close to the number of officers lost in the line of duty and on average they will die more than a decade sooner than other Americans.

This is only a thumbnail representation of the complexity of police work beyond the use of force narrative that has captured the attention of so many Americans over the last couple of decades. But hopefully as people appreciate and understand what their public servants do for them on a 24/7 basis, more of them will appreciate police officers for what most of them are, good people who want to help others.

Tom Wetzel