Original Post:
*In light of recent events, I have decided to create this post. If you are a racist, a cop hater, a complainer, etc., please feel free to leave now. Also, I will be sharing from PERSONAL experiences, so keep that in mind.*
I wish for a time when the only thing we can't agree on is which music station to listen to on the radio. One thing we CAN agree on as a nation is this: WE ALL BLEED RED.
Being a corrections officer allows me to see the aftermath of an arrest. Sometimes, the individuals are still high, they may have had a tangle with the police and have scratches/bruises to prove it, their attitudes may stink due to a situation beyond anyone's control, or they may be the most outgoing/happy/crazy people I could ever meet. It's the luck of the draw on this. As a Warrant Clerk, I get the phone calls from angry citizens with warrants who "just don't understand why the cops are picking on them." Well, sir or ma'am, you committed a crime. It's that simple. We don't arrest someone for singing too loud in the choir."
I met K at the gym, not due to us both being in law enforcement. In fact, I wasn't very nice to him when we met. I asked him, "So, what do you do for a living?" He said, "Well, I'm a police officer." My response? "Well, cops are pigs, so...ya." I didn't really mean it. I think I was being facetious. He just laughed, gave me a charming grin, and the rest is history. I love my K.
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On the way to work (yes, we carpool), K and I were discussing the recent police-involved shootings of an African-American male in Baton Rouge, LA and another one in Minnesota, as well as the 5 deceased police officers in Dallas at a Black Lives Matter rally.
I must point out that K the husband morphs in to K the police officer the minute that bullet proof vest is velcroed around his mid-section. It's like he becomes another person---no emotion, no smile, just all business. That's okay. So, as we discuss things during the 30 minute commute in to A-Town, I have to remember I'm talking to K the police officer. He gladly gives his opinions, especially about topics that hit close to home like the above mentioned. I want to share with you what he said to me---it's his reality...my reality....
K: "I can't pass judgement on the officers involved in the 2 shootings in different states. I wasn't there. I didn't see a good enough video. If the officers did wrong, then they must be held accountable. I won't stand behind an officer that commits a crime. How many officers are there in the United States? Roughly 800,000? Think about that. The number of corrupt, cruel, unethical officers is tiny in comparison. Heck, we've had them at APD, and it was no problem to get rid of them. We are not all bad. I don't wake up in the morning and decide to pick on any race or gender. I hit the streets to find bad guys. I don't pass a black guy on the street and think, 'Oh ya. He's black so he's a thug. I think I'll pick on that one today.' Seriously. WE.HUNT.BAD.GUYS."
*****I'm going to insert a picture here that was taken roughly a month ago on the North Side of A-Town. The children pictured really do love officers, and they don't pay attention to the color of their skin. They love the attention. They also really love the badges they hand out and to challenge the officers to a basketball game of HORSE, but I don't have pics of that.*****
(K continues...) "Where do we lose them? Where do we lose their trust? These boys have no problems with law enforcement until some time in their teens. Why? How do we lose them? When and why do we suddenly become the bad guys? I grew up in a town with no black people. I didn't meet any black guys until I went off to college to play football. They are now some of my closest friends. In fact, last night, during all of the chaos in Dallas, one of those friends from college called me. After discussing my opinion with him on the incident, he said, 'Hey man, be safe out there.' We don't have the problems in A-Town that the bigger cities have, I guess. There's the handful of people who don't like or trust us, though. Of course, I'm going to speak from the police side of things here, but think about what would happen if police officers suddenly stopped showing up to work? What if they protested? The law-abiders had better start getting along with criminals, because fairly soon, that's all we'll have. You know, when I had to shoot that guy back in 2011, it wasn't easy at all. It was necessary. Sometimes it happens." He's right.
******K had an on-duty shooting in September 2011 while working the midnight shift. The man had a gun and would not drop it. The man was trying to shoot his ex-wife and her friend in a parking lot. I've seen the dash cam videos from 2 patrol cars, and I've listened to the 911 call. K has said multiple times that the emotional side of things only hits when he listens to the 911 call. The woman screaming gets to him. I can't imagine how that feels....
Here's the link to the article about the shooting: http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-09-22
He was no billed by the Grand Jury.******
WE ALL BLEED RED. Strangers united and bonded while the horror of 9/11 played out in New York.
This is a new kind of horror, folks. Why can't we unite?
I believe God put it in my heart as a small child to be a police officer. I would listen to my daddy out on patrol or at an incident in to the wee hours of the night when he was the Deputy Sheriff of a small Panhandle county. ****Thank you, Daddy, for your years of dedication to the badge****The career has always fascinated me. I also believe it has made me in to a different kind of LEO wife--one who can listen and watch all of this without falling into pieces on the ground out of fear for my husband. I can't say I never panic when K is out on patrol, but I am able to keep calm and do my job...as a wife, as a mom, and as a citizen. I will get that license someday, though.
Those officers mowed down by senseless angry people...how unfair...and their brothers in blue were rushing to save the crowds of bystanders and protesters in harms way. It's on video. They had absolutely nothing to do with anything in Louisiana or Minnesota.
My, my.
K is working today, and he has had 2 incidents he shared with me that I'll now share with you:
1. While directing traffic on an overpass where a wreck had occurred, a sweet older black lady stopped her car by K and said, "Thank you, officer, for what you do. Thank you so very much."
2. While coming out of a convenience store after getting a drink, K was flagged down by a hispanic woman driving a big Dodge truck through the parking lot. She was bawling. K's first thought was that she was in serious danger or trouble. He approached the vehicle, and she said, "I'm so sorry for what has happened. Ya'll don't deserve this. Ya'll are good people. I'm so sorry. Can I pray over you?"
We all bleed red. I'm reminded when I start SEEING red over unnecessary violence that there are some amazing people out there who enjoy life, freedom, and their families. They are the ones who deserve a "thank you." Thank you for caring enough to tell Officer K what you think and what he means to the public. I'm sorry those families lost young men to a fatal encounter with the police. I'm sorry those officers lost their lives for nothing except the uniform they wear for 8-12 hours. I'm sorry that sometimes scenarios don't end up the way the world thinks they should.
We are ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL---the flag flying over us is RED, white, and blue. Let's act like human beings---all of us!---before it's too late.
~Andy
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