The Bridge

“You reap what you sow Dave-o”...My grandmother would warn me. It’s a biblical reference (Galatians 6: 7-9) to farming and sweat equity from days long since gone and of course life.

I remember as a young man being undecided on my career path. Then one day, it all clicked, I saw my uncle in his uniform, he talked about his career. He’s only 10 years older so that helped, as I could easily envision myself in his shoes.

I didn’t go into law enforcement with the thoughts that with my “authority” I could get over on other people, make amends for any transgressions that maybe befell me in my youth from the neighborhood bully or oppress those I felt “superior” too (whatever that means).

I chose my career because I wanted to go to work each day without routine. To do work that allowed me to truly help people solve problems by working together. To do work that protected the innocent and sought justice for those that preyed on others.

I didn’t ever want to be the judge, jury and certainly not the executioner.

I wanted to be the bridge to safety for the community. That’s it. That was my dream and I got the honor to live it for 30 years. I cannot thank my employers and the cities (Los Banos, Redwood City and Hollister, California) I worked for, for that honor.

I worked with great people; never saw anything (besides the news) that was racist (from my vantage point of course). Saw a few people I worked with make egregious errors that cost them their jobs, but those were usually related to booze or women/men or a combo of both.

Perhaps because I was so vocal about social issues, talking about race relations openly and really prioritized equality maybe my co-workers made conscious decisions to keep their beliefs/feelings on the down low. But I truly doubt that. People can fake who they are for a while, but it always and I mean always comes out. We simply cannot change who we are.

Ever wonder why some people are so apprehensive about talking about race issues? It’s not because they are racists btw. It’s because of the stigma, it’s because of the feeling of not wanting to offend, it’s because we don’t talk enough about it.

We need to talk about our differences, celebrate our differences and embrace them. They are what make us, well, us.

I love hearing about people and their lives. I’m a big biography fan. I love talking to people about their lives. I am a people person, 100%.

We need to talk too, not talk “AT” people more I think. We need to listen to them. We might not agree on everything, that’s fine. But we do need to listen to them I think.

Racist police officers are the outliers, just like in society. Racists are outliers, they are not the majority. They are few. I feel pity on them, if I am being honest. They will never get to see how beautiful our world is through the veil of hate filled eyes. That’s really sad.

Studies show us that about 6% of our population in the world cause 99% of the problems we face. The other 1% is natural occurring or accidents. Law enforcement agencies are a microcosm of our population. Lets say with backgrounds, oral boards and physiological testing we reduced the problem law enforcement employees to maybe 1%. It is still a problem. Can you now see how 1% or less can cause huge problems?

Police officers should be representative of our population. You should see yourself in your law enforcement agency.

They should be white, Latino, black, Asian, Native American, gay, lesbian, etc….police officers in your community.  The same goes for schools, health departments, fire departments and all public services.

Again we should see ourselves. Our children should see themselves in our public services.

The latest headlines are focused on social justice issues. I applaud that. 

The other headlines are “Defund Police Departments”.

Let that sink in. “Defund the Police Department.”

In my world there isn't a place for racism and poorly trained public safety officers and deplorable police tactics. Lets just put that right out in front. My brothers and sisters in law enforcement would give me a big "hell ya" for that sentiment I am sure. 

Let’s look at what our police departments do for us now.

·        Respond to emergency calls in-progress (homicides, armed robbery, burglaries, domestic violence, injury DUI collisions, active shooters, terrorist threats just to name a few.

·         Traffic enforcement

·         School Resource Officers

·         Investigations (financial, sexual assaults, gangs, narcotics, etc)

·         Sex/arson Registrant tracking

·         Fingerprint / livescan

·         Safety/security checks

·         Child/adult welfare reporting and investigation

·         Mental health / crisis response

·         Disorderly conduct (large section of responses here)

 

This is but a partial list.

Here are some of the ideas to replace law enforcement. I offer them as a discussion point. I don't belittle them or offer an opinion on them. I am here to be an active listener. 

·        Special trained social workers to respond to domestic violence, disorderly conduct, mental health crisis first responders and in schools

·        Decriminalize all narcotics

·       Neighborhood watch or similar to handle neighborhood problems like burglaries, robbery, thefts, disputes, etc.

·         Sex/arson registrations eliminated entirely

·         There are a few more but they are minor

I am certainly not questioning the surrounding emotions and reasons of these ideas. There aren't a lot of bad ideas when we form them together, in unity. But there can be disastrous results when we make decisions in haste, without discussion, without complete understanding of cause and effect. 

That is my point really, I am questioning the practicality.

Yes I know to evolve, we see shifting paradigms, we enhance our capacity to understand and hopefully that results in wisdom. I am ALL IN on that way of thinking.

Because every plan, every idea and everything you’ve put into place to make the world in the image you see as perfect goes out the door once you get punched in the nose. Once you get stabbed in the neck (twice). Once you have gun pointed at your head. All of those plans, they are all gone.

I have been in that world. I have seen evil. Evil isn’t a color of skin, isn’t a religion, isn’t poor or wealthy, isn’t healthy or sick.

Evil is just evil.

It destroys, it hurts and sometimes it kills.

It doesn’t care about your social programs, because it’s evil.

We ask our law enforcement officers to confront evil, almost daily.

But we ask our law enforcement officers to do too a lot more than that.

An analogy you've heard here before rings true here. 

A law enforcement officers typical day is 11 hours of boredom, followed by an hour of sheer terror.

 Accurate for sure. 

They are nurses, they are counselors, communicators, they are athletes, they pick you up, they bring light to darkness, they solve disputes, they are accountants, they are lawyers, they are judges, they are mechanics, they help raise and educate our children, the hug the tears and fear away and they sit with you until your last breath. They are heroes, period.

“If the problem is not explicitly defined, then its solution cannot be entirely designed.”
- Anuj Somany

 Are their problems among the ranks of law enforcement? Yes, the evidence is readily available. 

I really don't hold credence to the "blue wall of silence" though. We (law enforcement) does not want to work with:

• Racists
• Sub-standard
• Poorly trained, poorly retained
• Lazy
• Cowards
• Just anybody that is not there for the right reasons in general.

Law enforcement officers are in fact people, people. They are problem solvers. Some even use the term "societal garbage workers". I don't like that term. Offensive to me personally, but sometimes its an accurate description for some situations. 

There is that old saying I have written inside my folder I take for meetings.

"We all tend to have a solution to every problem except ours. Because we are so busy looking in others lives that we actually forget about ourselves."

Its a constant reminder to look at myself. To challenge my own bias. To try to see from another perspective and apply to myself and how I see the world. 

The solution is not defund the police, the solution is solving the damn problems. They are right in front of us. 

This country needs to prioritize public safety. Here is a short list of my suggestions:

• Personnel boards that have a place in the hiring and discipline of public safety personnel. I am suggesting a possibly appointed board that helps select its public safety officers/employees but not replace regular HR procedures. Make them part of the continuum. * Most public safety agencies have citizen involvement in the hiring process. I am suggesting that, that role be defined and then mandated. For example, maybe have a mandated ratio of citizens on a oral board. Maybe there is a place in the appeals process for discipline as well.
• Re-invest in training for law enforcement. There are tons of state mandates that are totally unfunded. This absolutely decimates local general funds and often because of cost, it gets put on the back burner. There's tons more training that I would suggest, including yearly mandated training in implicit bias, transparency, community policing, use of force to name a few.
• When we have bad actors in the ranks, we need to remove some of the red tape in the discipline process with also guaranteeing the employees due process rights as guaranteed in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. Accountability should be the goal. 
• Physical and mental fitness screenings annually with a set standard. Try remove as much ambiguity as possible. 
• Education requirements, such as an Associates Degree minimum in a range of acceptable study categories to fit the job title. Military Service Member points to be substituted. Education reimbursement for the candidates if applicable.
• Education requirements for rank & leadership positions should be mandated. Education reimbursement for the candidates if applicable.
• The Academy in California is 5-6 months long. In Spain its 2 years, and 2 years for each rank. Its similar to that, all over Europe. They may be on to something. Perhaps a study of their methods is in order, to see if its applicable to our nation. 
• Personnel Records, establish a state/national accessible personnel record that follows a public employee regardless of where they lateral/transfer too for their entire career. Let minor infractions fall off their record after 3-5 years. Serious issues where suspensions are involved,  you keep in your file for your career.

These are just some of my suggestions.

Like I said previously, I wanted to just be the bridge for my community. The bridge to safety, problem solving and truly showing love to my fellow man.  

Thank you for taking the time to read, please show someone kindness today.

David