Do Not Let the Rookie Retire
I am a proud police officer for the Cleveland Division of Police. I support all my brothers and sisters in blue when vocal members of society or the media try to demonize us or call us militarized (the current catch phrase). I love the United States of America, the State of Ohio, and the City of Cleveland. All, in my humble opinion, the best on Earth.
Remember when you were a rookie officer and thought you could change the world. You tried to solve everyone’s problem within 20 minutes, you took time to explain why you are enforcing the law, you proudly told others about the great things you accomplished, you were ready 30 minutes early for your shift, you stayed 30 minutes late (without putting in for OT), and sometimes on your way home you drove past the house from “that one assignment” making sure everything was still ok.
We are the target of vocal members of society and the media. They are fewer than they want the remainder of society to believe. The majority of society still likes, trusts, and understands us. Our supporters are sometimes silent because they do not want to be ridiculed or verbally attacked for publicly supporting the police. Simply put, they do not want to be bullied because of their opinion. We are an easy target, the low hanging fruit with large pockets.
We enforce laws and abide by the legislative branch making and the judicial branch interpreting laws. Our oath is to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Ohio Constitution, federal laws, state laws, and local laws. We violate our oath when we allow our and other’s opinions to dictate how, where, when, and why we enforce. We can never and should never try to accommodate everyone.
Our enforcement of laws are actions to protect those that may be too weak, scared, young, poor, or uneducated to protect themselves. We need to explain why we do or do not take action. Even when they want to argue constitution, race, or brutality. We must keep our side of the conversation focused on explaining our current action only. We must return our focus to protecting society, sometimes from itself. Communication is the key, even when they are not listening. We must make greater efforts to listen to them as well, without jeopardizing safety. We must be willing to listen first and then talk. Some will only talk and never listen to us, but that should not deter us from listening.
We are police officers for a multitude of reasons: we have broad shoulders that can bear the weight society places on us, support a crying child, or a scared victim; we have enough hope to find women missing for 10 years, have snow ball fights in the street, encourage children, and rescue abandoned dogs; we have exceptional balance to walk the thin line between strict enforcement, societal benefit, and political agendas; we have knowledge enough to know when a warning is appropriate and when an arrest must be made; we have great eye sight to see through lies and find the truth; we have restraint to not take our anger or frustrations out on violent criminals; we have endless love for our families, friends, agency, city, and country while expecting nothing in return; we can take an event like the Republican National Convention where everyone is expecting riots and turn it into a free hug block party; and so much more.
We can still change the world; one person, one assignment, one victim, and one conversation at a time. We cannot let our repeated contact with the few evils of this world bring us down or make us cynical, critical, or uncaring. The pendulum has swung to its maximum; it is swinging back. My Brothers and Sisters in law enforcement, do not let the rookie inside you retire before you do. I am honored to be your brother in blue.