Earning and keeping the public trust

Last week the long-time Acting Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chuck Rosenberg, announced his resignation, saying he was now firmly convinced that President Trump “has little respect for the law.” Previously, Rosenberg had taken issue with the president’s admonishment to police officers that they not be “too nice” to suspects when placing them under arrest. Trump suggested doing away with such practices as protecting the head of a handcuffed arrestee when putting him into a patrol car.

At that time, Rosenberg told all DEA employees via email that the mistreatment of suspects would not be condoned. “We must earn and keep the public trust and continue to hold ourselves to the very highest standard,” he said. “Ours is an honorable profession, and so we will always act honorably.”

In reflecting on the act of an officer putting his hand on top of a person’s head when guiding him into a car, it occurred to me that (a) this is a picture we have all seen hundreds of times on TV; and (b) it is the one consistent image which regularly reminds us, albeit perhaps subconsciously, that the police are caring and human after all.

In these most difficult times, when officers are under the gun literally and figuratively to preserve law and order, our president should be praising them for their restraint and decency in protecting arrestees from possible injury, instead of prodding them to stop the “too nice” treatment. Sadly, we ought not hold our collective breath awaiting any such pronouncement.

Philip Shailer served as Broward State Attorney from 1969 to 1976. He currently chairs the Broward Inspector General Selection and Oversight Committee.