West Texas Cowboy Christmas

 

He had been riding tall and lean in the saddle throughout the day.  Now he was riding lean and leaning in the saddle.  Two more hours, and it would be dark.  Then there would be a period of brilliant golds and pinks and reds in the sky, but not for long.  The first light in the sky would be that of Jupiter, then other planets and stars would appear.  There would be no full moon.  It would just be a sliver.

If he was tired, his bay Morgan horse, called Horse, would be just as tired.  Maybe more so.  He and horse had been together three years.  Horse sensed his master’s wish by the tender nudges the cowboy gave.  The cowboy never wore spurs, though he once had a pair for his tired, worn brown boots.  It seemed wrong to the cowboy to subject his best friend to the insult of spurs. 

A light southwest wind on this West Texas prairie kicked up for just a minute.  It was enough to drive a tumbleweed across the Morgan’s path and to lift the cowboy’s dirty black hat such that it caused its owner to reach up and hold it fast to his head.  The black duster he wore wasn’t much of a shield to the cold air.  The sheepskin vest he wore helped.  The tan leather gloves helped some, but not near enough.  And his legs were so numb from riding all day that he couldn’t really tell if they were cold or not. 

He traveled home for Christmas last year and with any luck, he would be home again for Christmas this year.  He had not ridden this particular trail before.  It was a shorter ride, but the Comanche were known to claim these parts as their own.  Some folks had tried to settle in these parts, but not even Texas Rangers or the United States Cavalry had been successful in protecting them.  The cowboy thought that some day this would make good grazing land, but for now it was dangerous territory.  The cowboy hoped that he would awaken in the morning with his hair.

It was time to stop for the day.  There was grass here for Horse.  A small stream still had water in it from the last rain.  It would be enough for a pot of coffee and the Morgan could freely drink from it.  The first thing he did when he stopped was to pull the saddle and all his creature comforts from Horse.  He then took to brushing him down.  There weren’t many gifts he could give his trusted friend, but a good brushing down at the end of the day and maybe a handful of oats would satisfy him.

There was no need to build a large campfire.  He struck a lucifer to the tinder and small branches that were in the ring of rocks.  A couple of buffalo chips would provide most of the fuel.  He had built it up against a huge boulder that would reflect a little heat back to him.  The rock would block the West Texas wind and provide a little protection from the Comanche if needed.  His dinner consisted of biscuits and bacon and a cup of coffee before he called it a night.  Jupiter and the other planets and stars were already out and that sliver of a moon was low on the horizon.  He used his saddle as a pillow, pulled his bedroll up over him, and dropped his hat over his face.  His Henry rifle was by his side with a round already in the chamber.  He kept his Colt handy, still riding on his hip just in case.

He was still listening to the trickle of water in the stream when he heard the first of the coyotes singing their songs to the night.  And then the sleep.

The Comanche raiding party had seen him from the moment he entered their territory.  They watched him care for his horse, build his fire, and eat his dinner.  The cowboy had his priorities straight.  The horse would be a prize taken by the stealth of the young brave.  The cowboy would never hear the fall of moccasins on the earth.  He would not hear the pull of the knife from the brave’s belt.

As the young brave lifted his knife overhead, a bright shooting star streaked across the night sky.  Then another.  And another.  The sky seemed to light on fire.  The brave already on his hands and knees raised up and sat back on his heels.  Had it been a sign?  Had the Great Spirit whispered to him in the brilliant night to not take the life of this cowboy?

The cowboy began to stir at first light.  There would be enough bacon and biscuit makings to start the day.  He would stoke up the small campfire and begin to boil water for his coffee.  His saddle blanket had become hard and stiff from the cold of the night, but it had provided enough warmth through the night that he wasn’t sure he wanted to crawl out from under it.  He placed his hands out to his sides to help push him up.  He felt the cold metal of the barrel of the Henry on his right side, but there was something new to his left.  He peered down to see a long, straight, smooth stick.  There were holes in a line and feathers at one end.  A mouthpiece?  A flute.  He picked it up and blew into the mouthpiece.  Its sound was soft and airy.  The cowboy, confused, was at peace.

The brave, not far away, had built his own small campfire to keep him warm through the night.  He was far enough away from the cowboy that the two could not see each other, but the sound of the flute carries a fair distance in the West Texas prairie, especially when you are downwind. 

The brave’s home was on the prairie.  The cowboy rode east to his home.  He would be there by nightfall.  He had placed the flute in a saddle bag with one end with its feathers hanging out.  Sitting tall and lean once again in the saddle, the cowboy realized he had been given two gifts that night – the flute and his life.  Christmas had arrived.

When You Are Sixteen

 

When you are 16, you are pretty sure that you are invincible.  Then, someone in your high school is killed in an automobile crash.  It doesn’t take long after that before you remember that you are invincible and life goes on. 

High school graduation arrives and you are off to college or the military or a trade school, an apprenticeship, or maybe your first job.  A few years pass.  Maybe you settle down, get married, have a couple of children, and have a steady job – or not so steady.  Then you hear from an old friend and learn that so-and-so passed away.  Perhaps he had been walking down the road and was hit by a car or maybe she died of cancer.  They were both your age, maybe younger.  You think to yourself that it’s sad that a friend’s life had been taken at such an age.  Maybe you are shaken to the core. You realize it could happen to you, but you think to yourself that it won’t happen, not yet, and life goes on. 

Then you retire and you watch a few years pass by.  More of your high school friends pass on.  You look at actuarial tables and learn that you can expect to die in a little over 12 years; 14 years if you are a woman.  Then, you learn that you have a 13% chance of dying in the next five years and a 30% chance of dying in the next ten years.  If the Grim Reaper hasn’t come for you in ten years, you are bound to meet the 75% chance of giving up the ghost in 20 years. 

It’s no wonder you are invincible at 16.  You have less than a five-percent chance of dying in 30 years when you are that young.  Sixteen-year-olds aren’t capable of looking 30 years into the future.  But when you are in your 70s, looking back 30 years seems like yesterday.

I am the Thin Blue Line

I am the Thin Blue Line.  Most of my life I’ve been feared and revered, trusted and faulted, esteemed and belittled, respected and – well, you know.  I may have had my birth in London, but I’ve existed in spirit since the beginning of time.  Maybe even before.

I walked the streets at night checking doors to make sure they were secure.  I rode the range on horseback tracking down train robbers and bank robbers and murderers.  Sometimes I rode the rails to secure express cars.  I sat atop more than one stagecoach defending the passengers inside and the payroll at my feet.  I’ve been sunburned and drenched all in the same day and I’ve eaten enough dirt to plant a field of corn.

I lit the gas lamps at night in the cities and tapped my nightstick on the sidewalk in neighborhoods to let people know I was coming through.  Occasionally I had to borrow your wheelbarrow to haul a drunk away to sleep it off in the drunk tank.  I always brought wheelbarrow back.

I had a callbox key that I carried with me everywhere I went.  If I didn’t check in, the desk sergeant would send somebody looking for me.  Generally, I was doing fine.  Just forgot to check in.  Sometimes I wasn’t fine.  Not at all.

I’ll never forget my first “police radio.”  It filled the entire trunk of my police car.  It was handy though, especially if I was within a couple of miles of the radio tower.  I had to buy my own uniforms and gun and leather.  Sometimes I had to use my own car.  I don’t have to do that so much anymore.  My radio almost fits into the palm of my hand now.  Occasionally I use my POV (privately owned vehicle) for work for which I may or may not be reimbursed.

Back in the Twenty’s I could just walk onto the job.  If I could shoot a gun and punch someone in the face who desperately needed it, I was hired.  Today I can’t pin on a badge until I’ve had between six months and a year’s worth of training and then I have to ride with a field training officer.

I am the Thin Blue Line.  I stand between you and the mugger.  The rapist.  The human trafficker.  The forger.  The abuser.  The murderer.  The mutilator.  The kidnapper.  The anarchist.  The burglar.  The thief.  The vandal.

I delivered your baby.  I changed your flat tire.  I gave you directions.  I delivered the message to you that your mother died.  Or that your son was killed going home from a party.  I gave you first aid.  I investigated your accident.  I took your theft report.  I checked on your neighbor when you were concerned.  I put the fire out that was under the hood of your car.  I escorted your neighbor’s funeral procession.  I saved the choking baby.  I jumped into the icy river to save someone that fell through the ice.  I rescued the kitten from that low tree limb.  I’m awake at night while you sleep.  Sometimes I work double and triple shifts.  I probably gave you a speeding ticket. 

I’ve seen things that no person should ever see.  While you may talk about parts of speech, I know about the body parts.  “Parts” is the operative word.  I’ve seen babies in freezers.  I’ve cleaned up blood and vomit and urine and stuff you don’t want to even think about.  I’ve done things that you don’t want to do yourself.  I’ve misled the bad guys on the street and told the truth in court.  The Supreme Court said I could do that.

I’ve been yelled at, spit on, punched, choked, stabbed, shot and left for dead in a dumpster or at the bottom of a river or alongside the road or in a ravine.  Most of the time my body has been recovered.  That would be most of the time.  My mother’s reputation has been called into question – more than once.

I have learned certain phrases from the public.  “I pay your salary.”  “Do you know who I am?”  “I know Captain Jones.”  “Why aren’t you doing real police work?”  I hear them every day.  There’s a good chance I’d get suspended if I responded to your snarky comments.

My kids get taunted at school.  I can’t eat at a restaurant in town.  People know me and sometimes cooks and servers do things to my meal.  When I eat out at a restaurant, I sit so I can see who comes in through the door.  Bad things that have happened in the past have taught me that I have to be that way.  My personal cars have been vandalized.  You may have seen my name spray painted with some derogatory terms on a building.  My kids and spouse have seen it.    I can’t walk into a store on my own time without being asked about the accident that happened or the fire that occurred or the ruckus at the home basketball game.  I don’t go to parties with “civilians.”  The only thing people want to talk about is police work.  They forget I have a family, too, or that I coach Little League.  I get asked a lot to do an unethical favor.  When I go to the movies, I hear the crowd cheer as the police beat or kill someone.  You know.  Like, “Go ahead.  Make my day.”  Yeah, we hear you tell us that’s what you want us to do.  We don’t.

I’ve drawn my duty weapon maybe a dozen times over a 25-year period of time.  I fired it once during that time.  It was to dispatch a deer that was still alive after it had been struck by a car.  Yes, I’ve had to use deadly force during my career.  On average, I kill someone once every 602 years. That’s about one, one-thousandth (1/1,000) of a chance that I will have to kill someone.  It’s not a choice I relish.  I do it to save my own life or to save someone else’s life.

I’ve had false allegations filed against me.  One time a civil rights complaint was filed against me for something I wasn’t even present for.  That investigation was carried out by the FBI.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been accused of racism because I stopped a racial minority at night, in the dark, without even seeing the race of the person in the car that I stopped.

I hate making an arrest.  I never know how the person arrested is going to react.  I try to maintain control, but sometimes I get hurt making an arrest.  I’ve spent too many hours in the emergency room.  It comes with the job.

I spend as much time writing reports as I do on the street.  Often when I make an arrest, the person I arrest is back out on the streets long before I finish the report.

Television Police.  If I did a smidgen of the abuse they get away with, I’d be fired on my first day on the job.  And if I solved crimes as quickly as they do, I would be awarded tights and a cape.

I am the Thin Blue Line.  Lately, I’ve been beaten and battered and torn and ripped.  I’m tired.  I’m worn out.  I am disgusted by what I see happening around me, not just by the bad guys, but by the people I’ve sworn to protect and defend.  I am sickened by what I see happening to my country, my community.  I am disheartened when I see our Constitution hanging by a thread.  I despise the fact that I am lumped in with the less than one percent that mess it up for the ninety-nine percent who get it right.  At the same time, I’m heartened and uplifted by the fact that there is a silent majority that is willing to stand with me.

I am the Thin Blue Line.  I swore an oath to which I will never be released.  I am proud.  I am the police.

I am the Thin Blue Line.

Declaration of Principles

Declaration of Principles

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MAJORITY in a republic to protect the rights of the minority, but it is also important for the minority to honor the desires of the majority.  While a republic may not always protect the individual desires of the minority, a pure democracy will disregard the wishes of the minority and defer to the will of the majority.  A pure democracy by its very nature is controlled by those in power, and when deemed necessary, power will be exercised by the powerful for their benefit.

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS are defined in the Declaration of Independence as unalienable rights.  While they are not Constitutional Rights, they are unalienable rights given to us by our “Creator.”  The rights in the First Ten Amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights are safeguards to preserving individuals’ unalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

LIFE IS A GIFT FROM THE CREATOR.  Only in rare circumstances should the life of another be taken, and then only as a matter of necessity or deliberate consideration.  As a gift from the Creator, we must do all in our power to preserve it, promote it, protect it, and sustain it.

LIBERTY IS RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM PROPOSED BY STATESMEN AND PAID FOR WITH THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS.  Its foundation is celestial and eternal in nature.  It must be cherished, nourished, and guaranteed. 

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT MUST BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY THOSE WHO WANT HAPPINESS.  It must be earned and is measured not by wealth or possessions, but by inner peace that comes from doing what is right.

RIGHTS, GUARANTEED BY AGREEMENTS, DOCUMENTS, CONTRACTS, COVENANTS, AND CONSTITUTIONS are inseparably connected to responsibilities attendant to those rights.  Similarly, those rights are not merely gifts, but sacred possessions for which one must continually work for, strive for, and endeavor to achieve and retain.  They are the effects one may pursue as a matter of right.  Vigilance must be taken to assure that these rights are not taken away.  The first responsibility we have to those rights is to them.  Rights left unguarded, will be taken away one by one, beginning with what is perceived as the weakest link yet most threatening.  Once taken, rights will never return until a revolution takes place.  We are duty bound to protect ALL rights for ALL people.

NO GUARANTEED RIGHT CAN PREVAIL AT THE EXPENSE OF ANOTHER guaranteed right.  When any right prevails at the expense of another right, then all rights are susceptible to being denied and abolished.

GOVERNMENT, INSTITUTED BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE, properly dictates the actions of the people but can never and must never attempt to dictate the conscience of the people.  It may inform the people of facts, but should never interpret the mind and will of those who act nor should government tell the people what to think.

HISTORY, ADMITTED OR NOT, CANNOT BE ERASED because it has offended any segment of society.  Because an act in history offends the conscience does not mean that it did not happen nor does it mean that the memory of history should be deleted.  Not all history is worthy of celebration, but all history is worthy of recording.  Monuments to actors in history are reminders of successful and failed attempts at moving a community, a state, or the nation in a specific direction.  Often, the right course in history is defined by the winner in a conflict, whether morally correct or morally corrupt.  Descendants of those for whom monuments are built are entitled to the legacy of their past, whether deemed good or evil.  Rarely in history is a person found who is completely above reproach.

THE VALUE OF A PERSON cannot be determined by station in life, profession, occupation, wealth, color, race, national origin, religion, or gender.  Who a person is, is not based upon a label.  The value of a person is not based upon a label.  As we are endowed with unalienable rights by our “Creator,” then we are sons and daughters of that Creator.  That is who we are and that is our value.  All are of value.  The president and CEO of a corporation is no more valuable than the janitor who cleans the president’s office.  Were it not for the janitor, the CEO could not effectively and efficiently perform those duties.  Were it not for the CEO, the janitor would not have a job.  We are all interdependent.  We rely on one another to accomplish our goals.  One is not more valuable than the other.  Both the janitor and the CEO have the capacity to bring a corporation to its knees.  Value added in a station in life determines the value a person contributes, but not the value of the person.  The definition of success is not how high a person climbs the ladder of success but upon how complete a person fills a chosen role in life.  People are of divine nature and infinite worth.

FAMILIES STAND AS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR NATION and as such, parents have the responsibility to love, cherish, and rear their children by teaching them the correct principles of honesty, fidelity, loyalty, and charity.  They should provide for the welfare and protection of their children and to instruct and nurture them that they may become responsible adults.  In order to Preserve the Union the Union must first Preserve the Family, regardless of composition.

WHEN RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONS, CONTRACTS, AND COVENANTS ARE VIOLATED OR THREATENED, then people have a duty to rise up and to do all within their power to protect and preserve those rights beginning with measurable and assertive means.

Gregory B. Talley

July 4, 2020

Facts on Police Shootings

I’m sure someone will take offense to the following information, but please don’t.  There is no attempt to justify anything.  These are just facts.  I’m not massaging data.  If you take offense, you don’t like what I have here, take exception, or you want to accuse me of something, you have two options.  Place your opinion on your own timeline or don’t say anything.  If you wish to respond, please keep it clean and respectful.  I reserve the right to delete comments.  It’s my timeline.

·       From 1998 through 2018, 1,120 police officers were killed by gunfire.

·       632 of the assailants were white, accounting for 56% of the offenders.

·       447 of the assailants were black, accounting for 40% of the offenders.

According to the United States Census population estimates of July 1, 2019:

·       76.3% of the U.S. population is white,

·       13.4% of the U.S. population is black.

From 2017 to the present:

Police have killed 3,416 individuals, of which

·       1,398 were white, or 41% of those killed by police,

·       755 were black, or 22% of those killed by police,

·       542 were Hispanic, or 16% of those killed by police,

·       133 are unknown race or ethnicity, or 4% of those killed by police, and

·       588 are “other” race or ethnicity, or 17% of those killed by police.

Professors Caroline Brooks and David Johnson of the University of Maryland and Professor Joseph Cesario of Michigan State University published their research about police shootings in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” in July 2019.  They found that

(1)   The race of the officer doesn’t matter when it comes to predicting whether blacks or whites are shot.

(2)   Black citizens are more likely to have been shot by black officers.

(3)   The reason blacks are more likely to be shot by black officers is because black officers are drawn from the population they police.  The more black citizen there are in a community the more black officers there are in that community. 

(4)   Violent crime rates are the driving force for fatal encounters with police.

(5)   90-95% of those shot by officers were either attacking the officer or another person.

(6)   90% were armed with a weapon when shot by police.

(7)   50% of fatal shootings of whites involved a mental health issue, “suicide by cop” in particular.

(8)   20% of fatal shootings of blacks and 30% of Hispanics involved a mental health issue.

It is rare that a police officer mistakes a billfold or cell phone for a weapon.  That doesn’t make it right and these incidents need to be addressed; however, I’m not sure that they should drive the narrative concerning allegations of police racism and/or brutality, especially if there are accusations of systemic racism.  I’m of the opinion that factual information should drive policy and practice decisions.

https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka  Tables 42 & 44, 1998 through 2018

https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/US/PST045219

https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2019/new-research-database-explores-racial-bias-in-police-shootings/

The Problem with Police

The Problem with Police

Preliminary Remarks

The current discussion about police and what is reported as racism and police brutality is largely based upon two incidents involving six officers currently under the microscope.  Needless to say, there has been a history of isolated incidents of this nature in the past that has led to the buildup of frustration and tension.  Incidents of this nature in the distant past have not been so isolated.  The cell phone videos are clearly damaging.  They may or may not be the whole story in either or both incidents.  Please keep in mind that there are 686,659 other sworn police officers that didn’t make the news in the last month.  Remember also that over the last 20 years an average of 170 police officers have been killed in the line of duty each year.  There has been no rioting.

That does not mean that there isn’t a problem, but fixing the problem by focusing on the police is like swatting a mosquito while overlooking the swamp where the mosquitoes breed.

We need to remember that both incidents under a microscope come as a result of a called-in complaint to the police about a crime and suspicious activity.  Though both incidents will be handled as having occurred under “color of law,” one of the incidents might have been a personal attack.

The problem we face is a complex, complicated one.  What has taken us years to create cannot be successfully remedied overnight but will take as long to fix as it did to create it.  There are no quick fixes.

I loved my policing career.  I would not go back and do it today for anything and I cannot in good conscience encourage young people to enter the field today.  It’s a shame because we need good people in the profession.  I don’t know of any of my retired friends who feel differently.

Introduction

I want first of all to get my biases out of the way.  Crime theorists, criminologists, fall into two major camps: Classical Theorists and Positivist or Positive Theorists.  In very general terms, a classical criminologist believes people commit crimes as a result of free will.  It is sometimes referred to as Choice Theory.  To them, crime is a choice.  The Positive Criminology camp says that a person commits crimes because of influences beyond that person’s control.  This theory includes biological, psychological, economic, sociological, intellectual, learning, medical, and other perspectives of crime causation.  They espouse crime in terms of Strain, Learning, Social Control, Conflict, Radical, Marxist, Critical, Social Justice Theories to name only a few.

I fall into the Classical or Choice Theory camp, though I believe choice is affected to some degree by positivist influences.

Three things need to exist at the same time in order for a crime to occur: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the lack of a capable guardian.  Remove any one of the three and you will not have a crime.  Period.  This simple little equation is important because most police and citizen interactions occur because some violation of the law has occurred or has been reported as having taken place or is taking place at the time of the report.

Secondly, police candidates have normally gone through a very intense screening process that includes physical testing, a medical examination, psychological screening including appropriate sections of the MMPI and a one-on-one psychological examination, an oral board composed of seasoned police officers, credit history check, a criminal history check, and an extensive background investigation.  Until 20 or 30 years ago, a single experimental use of marijuana could disqualify an applicant from consideration as a police officer.  Some departments disqualified applicants from consideration for visible tattoos.  This, of course has changed over the years and employment of officers who have visible tattoos and have a history of recreational use of marijuana is not at all uncommon.  There is a reason for this, which will be discussed later.

Next, I believe it is important to understand that today’s police academies run anywhere from six months to a year, and focus more on classroom education than hands-on training.  They receive between 120 and 150 classroom hours (the equivalent of 8 to 10 college credit hours) of topics related to criminal law (basic criminal law, statutory law, criminal procedure, evidence).  Police officers are often left to fend for themselves in the courtroom and frequently face defense attorneys in the process.  At the very least, they need to be able to communicate effectively with prosecuting attorneys.  Their academy training, which lasts anywhere from six months to a year, is generally followed by lengthy amount of time, anywhere from six months to two years, with a field training officer.  Occasionally, academy training takes place at a community college or university campus.  Regardless of where their academy is, the training would be the equivalent of 70 to 140 credit hours, sufficient for an associate or bachelor degree.  Seldom are those degrees conferred upon academy graduates because their classroom experience is treated as training and not education.  Unlike many other “jobs,” the probationary period for a police officer can last up to a couple of years or more.  That means they can be terminated at any time for any reason without the rights that are given to officers off probation.  States require annual re-training of around 40 classroom hours.  Annual or bi-annual recertifications are required for various levels of First-Aid, firearms proficiency, radar/laser operation, breath alcohol testing,

Police departments typically foot the bill for an officer’s training, though some states allow a person to put himself/herself through an academy.  When a department puts an officer through an academy, that department will see no return on its investment for at least a year even if the academy training is only six months long.

Contrary to popular opinion today, there is not systemic (universal, complete, total) racism in policing today.  Such a position is insulting and demeaning.  Indeed, there are those in the profession who tarnish the badge by acting on their racist ideas, but they do not represent today’s police officers, their command structures, or their organizations.  Racism is no more prevalent in law enforcement than it is education, medicine, communications, journalism, masonry, religion, law, plumbing, accounting, banking, carpentry, or any other profession, vocation, or occupation.

Finally, it is easy to look at statistics and point out that blacks commit a disproportionate amount of street crime.  However, race has nothing to do with crime.  More than anything else, crime is an outcome of absentee fathers, poverty, and lack of education or vocational training.  Put whites in those same conditions and you will find that criminal and deviant behavior is indiscriminate.  You cannot merely place people into President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and expect crime to go away.

The Problem

I.

Part of the problem with policing today is the megalopolis.  The fact of the matter is that as our cities have grown, government has become too big.  In particular, local government in some cities has become too big.  In the process, we have forgotten the basic foundation of modern policing and of organizational structure.  The basic foundation of modern policing has its origin in the Peelian (Sir Robert Peele) principle that the police are the people and people are the police.  Effective organizational structure requires chain of command, span of control, and unity of command.  The span of control has become unwieldly and totally out of control in large cities.  And in some cases, the principle of unity of command (a subordinate reporting to only one supervisor) has been violated.

The development of the megalopolis has led to a dysfunctional police organization.  There is greater accountability in smaller agencies because of the closeness of the top commanders in the department to the officers on the department and the community as well as the governing officials in that community.  For example, a police chief in a community of 30,000 citizens knows the name of every police officer on the department.  That same police chief has an open-door policy to the public.  Likewise, the mayor, city manager or administrator probably knows every police officer (probably every employee on the city payroll) and also has an open-door policy to the public.  A police chief with 500 officers and 50 civilians will know the names of command officers perhaps down to the sergeant level and supervisors of the civilian staff.  This police chief will probably refer to a sergeant as “what’s his name.”  The probability of a civilian walking into the office of that police chief is slim.

All of this begs the question as to why there is a New York City Police Department, a Los Angeles Police Department, a Detroit Police Department, an Atlanta Police Department, a Dallas Police Department, Minneapolis Police Department, and so forth.  It also begs the question as to why there are mayors for New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, and so on.  Some of these cities’ populations overshadow the population of some states in the nation.  Their jobs are so big that they are removed from the public and surrounded by deputy mayors, assistant mayors, executive assistants, directors, and walls.  Regardless of city size, mayors and their functional equivalents are more concerned with influences outside their city than they are directly with the city and its employees.  Their roles are political.  They look to state and federal governments for resources.  Their associations and relationships are with other mayors, governors, and legislators for the benefit of their cities.  The real work of running a city rests with a mayor’s subordinates.  The only time the mayor of New York City has knowledge of a police officer is when that officer shoots and kills someone.  It should not be so.  Some of these mayoral jobs are such that they eclipse the jobs of governors and have political clout that matches that of the President of the United States.

Likewise, police chiefs in large departments spend their time coordinating with other city department heads, mayors and deputy mayors, other police chiefs, and lobby legislators for resources.  Day-to-day operation of law enforcement agencies with more than a couple dozen officers, rests with deputy or assistant police chiefs, undersheriffs, and operational and administrative commanders.  The rubber meets the road with shift commanders, sergeants, and lieutenants.  Police chiefs in larger departments are seen at public functions and ceremonies and speak on camera when a police officer has been killed in the line of duty or has been fired for using deadly force.

II.

Years ago, a major shift in the way police could do their work, identified as community policing and problem-oriented policing, were supported by leading policing scholars such as Robert Trojanowicz and Herman Goldstein.  Many communities adopted these policing strategies, primarily on a limited scale and met with success where it was adopted and applied.  The premise behind these models was that it was a proactive approach focusing on crime prevention and intervention and relying upon the community for input when policing had to resort to reactive criminal apprehension.  Both community-oriented and problem-oriented policing relied upon (1) the police as being part of the community, (2) the police identifying concerns with citizens within the community (not just crime) in the community, (3) and marshaling resources to solve the problems identified by the community.  The net result was a reduction and sometimes the relocation of crime.

Several obstacles stood, and continue to stand in the way of these two linked strategies of Community Policing and Problem Oriented Policing, which are listed below.

·       Implementation of these strategies was adopted by police departments in a limited way, assigning only some officers to the task of community policing.

·       The federal government pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into community policing activities.  Departments were awarded millions of dollars to hire and support officers dedicated solely to community policing, but had to guarantee that state and local governments would continue to fund those officers once grant money was expended.  Law enforcement agencies were incapable of finding the funding after the federal dollars dried up and therefore either did not apply for funding, refused funding that was extended, or failed to keep their commitment of continuing the funding.  Therefore, community policing activities were either short-lived or non-existent in many communities.  This is not to say that it does not continue to exist in many other communities.

·       Police officers saw themselves in the role of crime-fighters and law enforcers as opposed to community problem-solvers.

·       Since these strategies focused on community and social problems and not necessarily crime problems, officers assigned to these strategies had to have a full range of knowledge of resources available to address the problems and have access to those resources. 

·       Crime, ranging from petty offenses to major felonies continued to take a major part of police departments’ time and resources, thus diverting proactive community policing tactics to reactive crime fighting.

·       The individual crime victim views his or her victimization as a crime deserving of being solved while at the same time a sense of hopelessness of it ever being resolved exists.

·       The inherent lack of trust between the police and the community (and the community and the police) persisted since community policing is a process, not an end that takes place within a short period of time.

·       Community members where problem-solving or community policing was not implemented wondered where their community officers were.  Why, they asked, had they been left out of the mix?

·       The definition of community had been too narrow and had not been expanded to include the business community in particular.

·       Police officers who were assigned to community policing were viewed by other officers as not real police officers, yet community officers/problem-oriented policing officers required as much street smarts, if not more, as beat officers.

·       Problem-oriented policing and community policing are time-consuming, require the personal involvement of the officer, and often becomes as emotionally draining as it is personally rewarding.

III.

A social-political movement to discredit police has led to decimation of the ranks of police forces.  In today’s climate, police are of the opinion that they are an open target.  This opinion is validated by the fact that officers were murdered by ambush at a rate of 7.6 officers per year during the Obama Administration compared to an average of 3.8 officers per year prior to his administration.  (It has fallen below three officers per year in the first three years of the Trump Administration.)  This social-political movement takes the form of progressivism and so-called social justice (a subset of Critical, Radical, and Marxist Theories) and comes from national leaders accusing police departments of systemic racism and painting police with a broad brushstroke as a result of isolated incidents.  Police are further vilified by “journalists” who have taken it upon themselves to report opinions and facts not in evidence – and never will be – instead of known, verified facts.  Just as the university is the essence of publish or perish, some “journalists” look to the next story as being their Pulitzer Prize winning scoop.  Consequently, we have trial by media and settle for conjecture rather than truth.  Interpretation of the First Amendment is partially responsible for this as we have decided to sacrifice impartial investigations for the public right to know bits and pieces of information that when not properly assembled present a false picture of reality.  But it is what it is.

For example, suggesting that a police officer has had 18 or 19 citizen complaints filed against him does not mean that a finding of “guilt” was ever determined in those complaints.  It simply means that 18 or 19 people complained about a police officer.  As a police executive I have had people claim police brutality because an officer tugged on the trunk lid of the complainant’s car or approached the complainant’s car from the passenger side.  Both are perfectly acceptable, defensive practices by police.  If you want have a heart-stopping experience in a training exercise, approach a car not knowing that a trainer is in the trunk of the car who pops out and fires a blank as you walk past the trunk.  I have a whole list of how police officers are murdered when they approach stopped vehicles.

“What about the positive recognitions police get?” you ask.  There is a universal saying among police that goes like this: A single “ah, sh--!” wipes out an entire page of “atta boys.”  Thanks in part to the media today, it’s true.

In the meantime, the entertainment industry paints an unrealistic ideal of policing and frequently glorifies conduct that would get a police officer fired and prosecuted.  “Go ahead punk.  Make my day!”  Young police officers see that type of conduct and perceives it as what the community wants as they cheer for the officer who steps over the line.  It’s called mixed messages.  There isn’t a police officer out there with a little experience who hasn’t thought that he or she would like to dispense a little curbside justice just once.  I once had a county court judge who privately told me that the worst scene in “Dirty Harry” was when Inspector Callahan tossed his badge into the pond.

Dissatisfaction with the job has led to officers prematurely resigning their commissions.  Negative perceptions of police have discouraged otherwise qualified applicants from applying for police positions.  Police departments across the country are begging for people to apply for police positions.  Consequently, police departments are lowering their hiring standards.  While there are still good police applicants, this lowering of standards for admission to the ranks of police departments has led to continued and even enhanced complaints against officers.

·       Additionally, the lowering of standards has led to the abandonment of encouraging officers with higher education to apply for police positions and to discourage present officers from attaining higher education.  This is in spite of the fact that officers with at least some college education draw fewer citizen complaints, use less sick leave, and tend to be better community problem-solvers.  (The use of sick leave is an indicator of stress-coping mechanisms used by police.)

·       Lowering of standards not only applies to the discouragement of higher education, but also affects areas of physical fitness, emotional/mental fitness, background fitness, and intellectual fitness. 

·       Isolated incidents of police misconduct, brutality, or racism painted all police officers as unworthy of trust.

·       The real threat of domestic and international terrorism has led to the militarization of police.  The reality of the Alfred Murrah Building, the first World Trade Center attack, and the 9/11 attacks, and various assaults on military bases and civilian sites has pushed police departments to be ready to respond to serious threats at a moment’s notice.  This militarization of police has further led to the negative perceptions of police.

·       Recent utilization of police to enforce physical distancing during the COVID-19 has muddied the waters of police responsibility both in the eyes of the public and the police.  Use of police to enforce, cite, and begin prosecution of people for violation of what is seen as personal liberty serves only to alienate the public from the police.

IV.

The country is moving in the direction of a national police force.  Eventually, the public will have to decide if they want to maintain local control of policing or if they want to turn it over to the federal government.  This prediction was made over 30 years ago by former FBI Behavioral Science Unit leader and University of Virginia Professor William Tafoya.  A national police force will simply exacerbate the fiasco of the megalopolis police departments.  In contrast, these major cities and their police departments should be broken up into smaller towns and villages that would be more responsive to local needs, the same way that independent school districts serve local communities.  Continuous use of police precincts for communities is insufficient as there are still layers above precinct commanders.  Of course, no one will buy into this proposal as mayors of large cities will balk at giving up their power and there will be associated costs to breaking up large cities and their services into smaller geopolitical service areas.  Implementing this approach would also require close communication and coordinating with neighboring agencies.

Law enforcement agencies need to hold the line on hiring qualifications for sworn police positions.

Problem Oriented Policing and Community Policing need to be fully implemented and embraced, both by police and communities.

Whereas police abuse of members of minority communities in the past most likely was due to racism, today’s officer comes from a much different generation and mindset.  Today’s officer was raised on the concept of judging a person by the content of character not skin color.  Again, that is not to say that racism does not exist within the ranks of law enforcement, but it is not the most likely cause of abuses we see.

Policing is a stressful job.  Whereas police are killed in the line of duty at a rate of about 170 officers a year, you can double that number of officers who die from suicide on an annual basis.  The average age for a police officer dying from a heart attack is 47.1 years of age.  The average age for a first heart attack for a male in the general population is 65.  The Harvard School of Public Health estimates that a police officer is 30 to 70 times more likely to die from a heart attack than the general population.  Half the police officers who die from a heart attack die several hours or even two or three days following an emotionally disturbing call.  Their study also shows that officers are as much as 51 times more likely to die from a heart attack during a pursuit.

It has been difficult for a few reasons to get psychological or emotional help to police, yet stresses build in police officers.  Suicide, divorce, and alcoholism are typical coping mechanisms for police.  It would not be at all surprising to see police lashing out at people they perceive as being the cause of their stress.  Keep in mind that police aren’t called to watch over garden parties, but deal with a whole host of ugliness day in and day out.  The only time a police officer sees a professional mental health person is at screening during the application process, following an officer involved shooting, and occasionally following an especially gruesome crime scene.  Yet stress is the result of a gradual buildup of negative as well as positive experiences.  Inappropriate police action, brutality, comes at the end of the rope, most likely when someone displays “contempt of cop.”  If you want to reduce the possibility that a police officer will engage in explosive behavior, succumb to suicide, divorce, or alcoholism, or won’t see a situation for what it really is, then send every officer at least once a year to a mental health professional for evaluation and/or treatment.

Disbanding police departments or handing over certain services to other agencies, social service agencies in particular, is a non-starter.  Police already receive tons of training in responding to, recognizing, and intervening in mental health crises.  Mentally or emotionally disturbed individuals frequently become violent and unless social workers are armed, they will become the victims.

Police departments in most communities are already the only 24/7 agency to respond to non-emergency and emergency calls.  Fracturing police department responsibilities will simply increase the number of other agencies that will have to go 24/7.

If you want to focus on crime then you should focus on the family unit.  There should be no absentee fathers.  Absentee fathers, regardless of race, is a recipe for disaster.  Yes, there are many families that do just fine without a father figure in the family, but those are the exceptions.

The other real culprit is poverty, not race.  If there is one thing that will help reduce street crime it is the reduction of poverty.  President Lyndon Johnson had the right idea but the wrong approach.  You don’t simply dole out resources for nothing in return and expect positive results.

Understand that government cannot, and should not, solve everybody’s problems.  In addition, solving the problem we now face with the rift between communities and the police will not be resolved overnight or over the period of a year or two.  You don’t turn a tractor-trailer rig 90 degrees traveling at 70 mph on a dime.

Don’t assume that because a police officer did something that on the surface appears to be wrong that he or she actually did something wrong.  Even cell phone videos don’t tell the entire truth.  I remember the magician on television who made a building disappear simply by moving the camera angle.  When police began wearing body cameras, they were cautioned that their body cameras would not tell the whole story.

Police will enforce the laws we want enforced.  If you want to reduce interactions between police and the public, eliminate the laws that lead to those interactions.  Some facts need to be remembered.  (1) Crimes are defined by those in power.  (2) Those in power will define crime in a light that is favorable to them.  (3) Street crimes are much easier to solve than white collar crimes.  (4) White collar crimes are committed by those who have access to money and power.  (5) Street crimes are committed by those not in power, but present a sense of power to those who commit them.  (6) Street crimes typically have immediate, visible consequences.  (7) There are a disproportionate number of blacks charged with street crimes compared to whites who are charged with street crimes.  (8) White collar crimes tend to be committed more by whites than blacks.

America is going to have to decide exactly what she wants out of our correctional system: revenge, restitution, or reform.  Likewise, America is going to have to determine what to do about its addiction problem, not just to substances, but also gambling, pornography, domestic abuse, violent media, and so on.  Frankly, our correctional system contributes to recidivism.

The criminal justice war on drugs has been a failure.  We need to understand why.  The medical war on drugs has been a failure.  We need to understand why.  The social war on drugs has been a failure.  We need to understand why.

Conclusion

As noted earlier, the problem we now have is complicated and complex.  There are no quick fixes, but my fear is that we will create some Presidential or Congressional Blue Ribbon Commission that will come up (with good intentions) with quick fixes that have nothing to do with the underlying causes.  A thousand-page document will be created that will make the commission feel good, that a handful of scholars will read, and thankfully will sit on shelves collecting dust, never to be implemented.  A critique will follow by those scholars who read it.  Least of all, I hope we don’t continue to have knee-jerk reactions like executive orders.

But if there is a commission, I want to be on it or at least contribute to it.

My Turn

My Turn

The first thing I used to do when my Newsweek arrived was to open it to the very back to read the commentary by George F. Will, entitled “My Turn.”  I’ve resisted the temptation so far to make my own comments about the mess in Minneapolis.  I can no longer remain silent.

First, let me explain that the death of George Floyd is tragic.  It never should have happened.  In the perfect world it would not happen.

In the court of public opinion, Derek Chauvin has already been found guilty and sentenced to death.  He may well be guilty of Murder in the Third Degree and Second Degree Manslaughter with which he is charged.  In essence, Third Degree Murder in Minnesota is causing death of a person by acting in a dangerous manner and showing a disregard for human life.  Second Degree Manslaughter is creating an unreasonable risk and consciously taking the chance of causing death to another person (609.195 and 609.205 2019 Minnesota Statutes).

Is Derek Chauvin guilty of these crimes or any other crimes for which he is charged?  I DO NOT KNOW.  I prefer to wait until all the evidence is in to draw a conclusion.

Yes, I’ve seen the videos.  I also know that the videos tell only part of the story.  I do not doubt their authenticity.  They do not tell or show everything.  There are a few things that I DO know.

If Derek Chauvin is in fact guilty, he should be the one to suffer the consequences, not Minneapolis, St. Paul, Denver, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Rochester, Austin, Salt Lake, Columbus, Los Angeles, New York City, Amarillo, Binghamton.

There are police officers who are dirty, show extreme prejudice, discriminate, are racist, and act unapologetically on that racism.  However, racist police officers represent only a small sliver of the total police population.  Oh, and by the way, dozens of police officers have been severely injured and a handful of police officers killed in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.  I long for the day when we judge a person by the content of his character and not the color of his uniform.  (I invite my police friends who read this far to join in and tell us how often you were accused of racism on a traffic stop when you had no idea what the race was of the person you stopped until  you saw that person – especially at night.)

Had death of a white man occurred the same way at the hands of a police officer as it did to George Floyd, you would never have heard about it.  I can guarantee you that it has happened.

There is a difference between Civil Disobedience and rioting.  The word “civil” should mean something.

Why can’t we accept a man (or woman) at his word when he says he is not racist?

This country really does not have “riot police.”  We may have police dressed in “riot gear,” but that does not make them riot police.  They are regular patrol officers who are told to suit up and get out there and protect life and property.

The media is not helping by using inflammatory adjectives, such as “unjust” death, “needless” death, “racist” police, and so forth.  Nor is the media helping any by offering their own opinions and commentary.  This has been a problem now for a few decades.  The media has forgotten how to report facts instead of spin.  I’m talking to you, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, NY Times, Washington Post.

The word “thug” applies to any person, not just a black man, who acts like a thug.  A thug is a ruffian, brute, or combative criminal, or a person who bullies his way through to get what he wants of any and all colors.

The media reports that Chauvin has had 18 prior citizen complaints filed against him as though that means something.  Just because he has had complaints filed against him does not mean that he did anything wrong.  The only other mention made about those complaints is that no actions had taken place against him.  There are two reasons for inaction on a citizen complaint.  (1) It is unfounded or (2) the department doesn’t care.  My personal experience with citizen complaints is that they are filed by people who have been arrested who are looking for some way to get out of their charges.  I’ve had my share of complaints filed against me as a police officer.  Without exception, every last one of them came from a person who wanted to get out of the arrest or who had been publicly embarrassed by being confronted in public for some citable action I had observed.  A police officer who doesn’t have complaints filed against him/her isn’t doing his or her job.  No, that does not mean police are to go out and collect complaints.  (I invite my police friends who read this far to weigh in on their experience with citizen complaints filed against them.)

About half the people police arrest will complain on the spot about some physical ailment.  Every field sobriety test I gave in connection with a suspected drunk driving suspect was accompanied with a complaint about a busted knee either from football, the military, or a fall.  I repeat.  EVERY DWI suspect.  Arrests for other charges included dislocated shoulders, poor heart condition, breathing difficulty, stomach problems, and on and on.  That is not to say all arrestees had a medical complaint, but a sufficient number of people complained that I came to anticipate that there would be some sort of medical condition a person would profess.  If police didn’t take physical control of all subjects placed under arrest, those arrested would never make it to jail.  Lots of people tend to “rabbit” when they are arrested.  Anyway, if the rest of the world was as sick as those arrested for crimes, then we would be a very sick country.  (I invited my police friends who read this far to weigh in on their experience with DWI/DUI field sobriety tests.)

This I can tell you.  Communities across the country are begging for qualified police officers.  Every state requires psychological screening of those who are conditionally offered employment in addition to physical exams and background investigations.  Bad apples slip through the cracks.  Many police departments have lowered their standards just to get someone to apply for vacant positions.  That’s what you get when people continue to castigate the police or any occupation for that matter.  Many police families across the country qualify for welfare and food stamps. 

After I retired from my policing career, I taught criminal justice at the college level.  Occasionally, I had the ability to invite my students to help with traffic direction or crowd control (more of a courtesy position – “please watch your step as you walk on the ice” or “can I help you find…?”  Without exception, after every event, students came to me and said they wanted out.  They wanted to change majors.  They didn’t deserve to be treated the way they had been treated by the public.  I figured it was best to find out early what it was going to be like.

As for me, after 25+ years of “I pay your salary” or “Do you know who I am?” or “I know your boss” or “I’ll have your badge” or “I’ll see you in court” or “I’ll sue you for every penny you have” or “I know where you live” or “I know who your kids are” or….  After 25+ years of being spit upon, yelled at, screamed at, threatened, beaten up, lied to, lied about, threatened with a shovel or a knife, and fought to keep my gun out of the hands of a man whose life ambition was to kill a police officer, and on and on, would I go back and do it again.  No Way! 

Is Derek Chauvin guilty of a crime?  Possibly.  Perhaps probably.  I don’t know.  Like you, I do not know all the facts.  I’m going to reserve judgment until the facts come in and are revealed.  I’m sure as hell not going to burn down a building and break windows one way or the other.

You want better police?  Act like it.

(You are welcome to express opposing opinion on your own timeline.)