{"id":7227,"date":"2016-07-22T15:40:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T19:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newvinegrowing.wordpress.com\/?p=7227"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:38:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:38:03","slug":"my-prayer-for-police-to-lead-the-way-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/my-prayer-for-police-to-lead-the-way-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"My prayer for police to lead the way forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

My dad spent almost three decades as a cop.
\nI grew up feeling part of the police family. My mom founded the local Fraternal Order of Police Ladies Auxiliary chapter, back when women supported their husbands as cops instead of joining the force themselves. The sound of a police radio is as familiar to me as the smell of a summer barbecue, since Dad would put his radio in front of him on the dining room table when he came home for a quick dinner, hoping he wouldn’t get called to a crime scene or car crash before he finished eating. My dad proudly showed me around the police department, where his colleagues\u00a0would show me how the lights of a patrol car worked or how they handled\u00a0emergency calls in dispatch, and he invited a police dog trainer to our house to show off what a highly trained German Shepherd does.
\nAs a result, I always felt confident and comfortable that if I was in any danger, my best plan was to find an officer in uniform.
\nIt would be many years before I fully realized that wasn’t everyone’s experience, learning the phrase “driving while black<\/a>,” and about racial profiling, for example.
\nThen the arrival of dashcams and smartphones would show me instance after instance of police violence against black people<\/a>. The names Eric Garner<\/a>, Michael Brown<\/a> and Freddie Gray<\/a> entered the lexicon, and\u00a0began to blur together with dozens of others in\u00a0part of an all-too-common trend.
\nMy heart aches with each new death. I feel each one deeply, personally, because I feel a part of the police family. How would you feel if your sibling killed someone?
\nPolice have\u00a0killed at least <\/a>148 black people<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. in 2016, according to the Guardian’s The Counted project. A\u00a0tally from the The Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0says 131 black people killed. The Killed by Police database lists\u00a0641 people<\/a> who have died at the hands of police this year.
\nTo compare, Officer Down lists 68\u00a0law enforcement deaths<\/a> in the line of duty so far this year. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shows 67\u00a0deaths<\/a> this year. Officer.com<\/a> doesn’t provide a count, but does offer\u00a0a collection of stories about cops who died on duty, from those who had a heart attack on shift to those hit by drunk drivers to those shot.
\nEvery time my dad went to work, I understood he might not come home. But no matter which numbers you believe, cops have killed about\u00a0twice as many black people than the number of\u00a0cops who have died on duty this year.
\nI have heard the theory that everyone does what he or she thinks is right — most people do what they\u00a0feel is necessary to\u00a0protect themselves\u00a0or make their\u00a0community better or whatever else motivates them. Whether that’s spanking your child or giving flowers to your mother or shooting an intruder, you very likely believe what you are doing is justified.
\nSo maybe cops who have killed black civilians believed they were doing what they had to do, to protect themselves and their communities? Do their peers agree?
\nPolice officers\u00a0swear an oath to protect and serve<\/a>. It’s a beautiful pledge that speaks to a noble calling, and I believe in my heart that most cops really feel this:<\/p>\n

On my honor,
\nI will never betray my badge,
\nmy integrity, my character,
\nor the public trust.
\nI will always have
\nthe courage to hold myself
\nand others accountable for our actions.
\nI will always uphold the constitution
\nmy community\u00a0and the agency I serve.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What if the cops who believe it’s not right to kill a man who’s not threatening their lives read that line “I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions<\/strong>,” and lead\u00a0a\u00a0change from inside? Could they call for better hiring practices\u00a0so hostile, violent people don’t get a badge, better training to ensure cops feel well prepared to subdue and arrest someone with the least amount of force possible, and better oversight to ensure any officer who harms a civilian\u00a0is held accountable if it proves excessive?
\nWhat if all those good cops and their families speak out against abuses, like Nakia Jones, a police officer in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio<\/a>?
\n