I’m going to apologize at the outset y’all; this one is going to be a bit long-winded, but hang in there please, as I have a question to ask of y’all for the purposes of discussion at the end. Thank you, in advance, for bearing with me. It’s tempting to say it all started with the events that unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri (or, as residents of nearby states or anyone who has suffered the displeasure driving through this state often refer to Missouri – “Misery”), but in truth, the daily extreme, anti-cop sentiment so readily on display on any given news channel, Op-Ed piece or radio program has been building for quite some time now. As I type this, I’m reminded of a series of discussions I’d had with a no former “friend” I had served with in the Army some years ago. We’ll call him Lawrence. Keeping in mind that Lawrence and I had just had some pretty heated discussions about officers’ actions in my area after a multiple-time convicted felon had shot three local area cops (thankfully, none were killed), the straw that broke this camel’s back was a YouTube video he had posted to his Facebook wall, commented on and tagged me in. The video in question was of a Florida cop’s traffic stop, in which he ends up getting into a physical altercation with the female driver of a vehicle while trying to seize her cell-phone for evidence after she advised him that she had been illegally recording his contact with her (illegal under Florida state law because both parties must be aware of the recording AND agree to be recorded). *** As a side note, before anyone decides to point it out, I am aware that the courts in Florida have regularly sided with the public in this matter and have allowed citizens to record contacts with LEO’s without fear of prosecution. Further, I am in no way condoning the actions of this officer. With what limited info I have on the matter, I am of the opinion that he could have definitely handled the situation MUCH better.*** In his comments, Lawrence stated that the video was a prime example of a police officer overstepping his bounds under the color of authority and launching an unreasonable assault against a law-abiding citizen in his attempt to seize her phone. To an extent, I mostly agreed with him, even though as FL law is written, the officer had legal right to take action necessary to seize the phone for evidentiary and booking purposes. It was when he said that it was “too bad the female was not a CCW holder and that had she had access to a firearm, she would have been legally justified in shooting the officer under the guise of self-defense”. He further stated “…if more people started shooting these type of Nazi cops when they attempt to illegally assert their authority, maybe cops would think twice about violating people’s rights in the future…” I won’t go into any details of our mutually heated conversation; suffice it to say - friendship terminated. I bring this all up because it highlights a divergence in our society between cop and citizen. It’s somewhat hard to fault the average citizen for being weary of the cops when the only media coverage cops get is the inflammatory and irresponsible media coverage on display in the MSM. When the only stories John Q. Public sees of police officers in action are the stories of the bad apples (which, like in any profession, exist even in LE), can we blame him/her for their feelings of negativity and distrust of the badge? On the flip-side, when the media saturates prime-time airwaves with “citizen” riots, stories of attacks on cops and still more stories of bad cops doing bad things or even more egregious, good cops doing their job and being portrayed in a bad light through the magic of video editing and irresponsible media interviews, can we fault those officers who put that badge, vest and gun belt on every night, kiss their spouses and children goodnight, possibly for the last time for feeling betrayed by the public that they serve or for feeling apathetic toward their job? Given all these factors, it’s no wonder we are starting to hear stories of cops running AWAY from dangerous suspects who are actively chasing them with large butcher knives, for fear of the public’s response should they use deadly force. This distrust being sewn by the media and the race-baiters is having a detrimental effect on our society. My fear is that due to this distrust, we will see an increase in assaults on officers and sadly, see more officers killed by attackers they would have been justified to shoot in self-defense. And in that growing distrust comes the threat of unjustified uses of force from officers who possibly perceive a greater danger than what really existed and due to the inundation of stories of angry people attacking cops, feel legitimate fear that their lives are in danger; caused by no more than a lack of communication and trust between two parties who MUST have each other’s trust in order to effectively keep the peace for the law-abiding citizenry. So, my question is this: What can be done to increase that trust between those LEO’s who truly DO care about the welfare of their flock (that would be 99.9% of us by the way) and the flock that they shepherd in the face of the daily assault by a media who cares more about selling ad space than reporting the truth? Please discuss. And please, keep it all civil. Thank you for hanging in there with me. I’ll try to keep it all more succinct in the future. - Inbound.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 12:43:58 +0000
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