Good policing comes from the heart
Christmas Day is just around the corner, and so is a police officer. In every corner, someone hates them because they despise police officers and authority. They hate simply because they don’t want to do things right. Hating police officers is similar to hating a heartbeat, a smile or a bowl of ice cream, it’s like hating life itself. In this column, the words “police officer” are meant to mean anyone who carries a star or shield as a sign of authority, sacrifice, and service. A tiny handful of bad police officers are smart enough to squeak through the hiring process, but not savvy enough to become successful. Sooner or later, they turn in their badge, and it’s usually not their own decision.
For 99% of police officers, it’s not just a job, it’s an invitation. It’s an invitation to get less sleep, work holidays, live with lots of stress, lose friends, and endure a troubled family life. They accept that invitation and live that responsibility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Most police officers hand out love unconditionally.
Think about the feeling of wondering if a loved one’s kiss goodbye might be their last. Police officers and their families experience this concern daily. On Christmas Day, many people sip hot chocolate, open gifts, and enjoy family time, while many police officers endure freezing temperatures, eat cold food, and sit alone. Hating a police officer is usually the result of conceit or arrogance and not a result of the hater’s integrity. People are not born hating them; they learn hate from others who refuse to conform to society.
Most police officers treat law violators just like their grandmother until they’re forced to do otherwise. When they respond in exemplary fashion, some are hated, spit on, kicked, stabbed or shot. They hope to go home at the end of their shift and try to make sense of their day. They struggle to understand people, but one thing’s obvious, they don their uniform and do it all over again their next shift. They wear a new perspective and a fresh outlook because they know that most people don’t change.
Because of law enforcement, we can walk in relative safety. If everyone would obey the law like most do, police officers could take a permanent vacation. When trouble is brewing, many people who hate police officers quickly call them to help. When the proverbial waste hits the Westinghouse, most people meet police officers while running out as police officers are running in.
Many Americans think of police officers as life takers, not the life savers they usually are. They rarely hear about police officers who use their own money to pay lodging for domestic violence victims, purchase presents for needy children or pay for vehicle repairs for stranded motorists. They remind me of school teachers and other professionals who pay out of pocket to support their career. If criminals were allowed to run unhindered, how long would it take before our country would see total bedlam?
There are lots of charitable organizations that feed hungry people, or put toys in stockings, but police officers help year-round. Christmas only comes once a year, but each and every time police officers are called, they come. Christmas is not just a season for a police officer, it’s a mindset that lasts all year.
The face of law enforcement changes daily, and the danger of being a police officer also changes daily. The men and women who serve as police officers stand against evil and make life better for everyone. When police officers are injured, the color of their uniform is irrelevant, because everyone’s blood runs red. Police officers have different roles, but their heartache is the same. Summing up a police officer’s life in a 750-word newspaper column is tantamount to reading a novel in a few minutes.
The study of criminality, forensic science, psychiatry, jurisprudence, corrections, community policing, penology, and criminal justice is called police science. But most police officers don’t learn everything they know about police work from a book. Like great teachers or doctors with wonderful bedside manners, great police officers are born with a gift, a similar trait; they have honor in their genetic makeup. They do the right thing because it feels right, and they feel privileged to serve. It is spontaneous, instinctive and without awareness, because doing right comes from the heart.