Everyone Has An Opinion

I have to overcome my bias once in awhile , yes hard to believe I am bias! When it comes to Law Enforcement, I'll side with them 110% before anything else.  It's the way I was raised, trained, and previous work experience that makes me bias.

Today I had a pretty heated debate, if that's what you wanna call it, with an employee. He made the statements that all law enforcement are bad and that the higher ups in the criminal justice system need to be held accountable for their subordinates actions. When I ask who he meant were "all bad"  he stated the uniformed police officer on the street, all they do is shoot people to solve issues. I explained that there are bad apples within law enforcement, but that doesn't make them all bad. He also stated that an officer should assume by putting on the uniform that they are making themselves a target and should expect to have guns pointed at them. I lost it, I jumped his statement and said that police put on a uniform, knowing that they could not go home that night because they deal with horrible incidents and the worst of people. That's why they get called. They chose to wear and perform a job that places their lives in danger, to protect others, like him. I asked him if he called 911 for something and needed a cop, would he want them to be there and help, or chose to sit back, think about how the call for service could impact his their lives and delay helping him? He said, of course, he'd want them to come right away.

I asked if he and I could do a mock traffic stop, kinda role play, he said sure. I informed him that I was stopping him at 3am, on a dark road, out on a country road. The reason for the stop was a broken tail light. I told him I identified myself as a police officer, my patrol car indicating law enforcement with all the flashing lights. I informed him of the mechanical issue upon reaching his window. His first statement to me was, "write me ticket so I can get it fixed, because the next thing you're gonna wanna do is search my car." I asked him if that's what'd he actually say to a police officer on a traffic stop. He told me that's what always happens. 

I explained to him that his demeanor and initial contact with me sets the mood on how I would react and proceed with the rest of the interaction. He stated to me, walking up to my window with your hand on your gun, sets the mood. I asked why he thinks I would have my hand on my gun? He tells me, "because I'm black and you're white and a cop." I played along with his version of this stop, OK, I have my hand resting on my gun upon initial contact, is it maybe because it's 3am, I just finished my last call where a guy threw his girlfriend from a moving car and his car matches, or is it because the last few traffic stops that were given in briefing were scenarios where cops were killed for doing their job?

He explains to me that comes across as a defensive approach and places him on edge. I explain, again to him, that stopping a car at 3am, in the dark, not knowing who or what the driver has in their mind, places me on edge and damn right I am going to be on the defensive. I point out to him, DEFENSIVE, he made the notation and observation that I am on the defensive. I have to be, who in their right mind wants to be pulled over and given a ticket or possibly go to jail?

I understand his point of view, especially with today's view about cops and race. Everyone wants to make it out to be that the cops are stopping blacks because of just that, they are black. When it isn't about that at all, as I pointed out in the beginning of this, his stop was for a mechanical issue with his car. Nothing on his car pointed to him being of any race or religion, but with today's media hype and extreme overboard on race and cops, that's what is the first thing that comes to ones mind. 

So when cops kill a black man because he was armed, high as a kite, or just attacked someone, everyone makes it out to be a hate crime, but when a cop is killed for enforcing and keeping the peace, the masses state, "That's their job". I DISAGREE

Hate crime
noun
noun: hate crime; plural noun: hate crimes
a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence.