Here's Why Faith In The Police Is An All-Time Low

9 out of 10 police officers are good people. Just today, a stranger walked into my home, and the police dealt with the situation promptly and with great concern, and I would especially like to compliment the chief for his work. It is the 1 out of 10 that is particularly troubling, and I am unfortunate enough to have encountered him. While I cannot name names both because it is an active investigation and for liability's sake, I can recount what occurred.

I was working a shift at a fuel station, and I chased after a suspected drive off. When I stopped him, he reached in his center console as if to draw his gun, claiming that he would teach me a lesson. At this point, I fled to my job, and he followed me. He explained to my manager that he was a police officer and tried to claim that he was merely going to show me his badge. I could not have known, for he was off duty in his pickup truck.

It is not just the visibility of these instances that has caused a deterioration in police-civilian relations, but the handling of complaints. Departments in Florida have a reputation of taking revenge on citizens who file complaints, and the officers arrested for murdering George Floyd have dozens of combined brutality complaints. I often akin this to two other organizations with trust issues-- the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church. Both provide important experiences that last a lifetime, and yet both chose to not weed out the bad apples for the sake of preserving their image, when in fact the result was the opposite. While neither of these organizations could control what happened to the victims, they decision to silence victims was deliberate and, for lack of a better word, evil.

The police face a similar problem. When complaints of racial profiling are received, they need to be placed under investigation by an independent entity; body cams need to be mandatory; brutal tactics like chokeholds need to be banned; sensitivity training needs to be mandated. In short, the people need to be able to trust that ONLY the finest men and women are working to protect them every day.