SYSTEMIC RACISM IN POLICING

I have worked as a police officer for over 35 years. In that time I was employed by two different departments. I worked with hundreds of police officers and had close contact with many more on transports of prisoners, when incidents overlapped jurisdictions or during in service training. I also originated and taught an in service training class.

In my time on the job I did not come in contact with any officers who openly made any derogatory statements based on race, creed, national origin or gender identification.

I have been a police officer longer than many of the people who speak out against the police have been alive. I have been in the trenches. I do not work in the inner city, but I have worked homicides, sex crimes, domestics and many situations with large crowds in addition to the more mundane calls that, nonetheless are of deep concern to my complainants.

I ask myself, and some of the outspoken Facebook warriors who are sure of their “Systemic Racism” claims where the proof is?- Proof is important in my line of work but appears to have much less significance in internet posts, political speeches and media coverage.

A White officer killing a Black man is not proof of racism. I know this sounds like an outlandish statement to many people, but it is a true statement.

In the recent Kenosha Wisconsin incident videos show the police talking with the offender (and on this call he was an offender- he had an active warrant for his arrest, the police were called because he was, at the time, violating an order of protection) who was ignoring lawful orders to stop. The officers attempted to stop him from reaching a car by talking with him, trying to restrain him and trying to stop him with the use of tasers. All of these methods were unsuccessful. The offender is telling the police he is going to get his weapon from the car (I have heard witness statements that he said gun and I have also heard he said knife). Either weapon is lethal, either weapon has killed many people. My police training has taught me that a man with a knife can kill an officer with a drawn gun if he is within 21 feet. He was within the lethal distance. The police on the scene shot him.

I put these very important points up for consideration to the defund the police people. Who will protect the woman who had the order of protection if there are no police? Would this man have been shot if he had obeyed any of the lawful commands he was given prior to the shots being fired? If a person you cared for was the closest one to this wanted man who was disobeying all lawful orders to stop his unlawful behavior how would you want him to act? A little additional information is that a large knife was recovered from the vehicle floorboard where the offender was reaching. Another bit is that, as you can see in the videos, he was not getting into the car to leave- Which would have been fleeing from a lawful arrest. He was reaching into the car to get the knife from the floorboard. It is obvious by the way he enters the vehicle.

With no proof of anything there are riots and accusations of “Yet another case of systemic racism.”

I live and work in the suburbs of Chicago. I have heard this same claim about the Chicago Police. I have worked next to many Chicago cops and found them to be knowledgeable, friendly and professional. I also scratch my head and wonder how is a department with a Black Chief, a Black State’s Attorney and a Black Mayor allowed to continue in their racist ways? Then I think that maybe they are not racist ways. Maybe, if the offenders/suspects obey the lawful commands the situation would be resolved peacefully. Maybe, the police would do the same thing no matter what color the suspect is. Maybe our biased agenda driven press is leading us towards false conclusions.

Please share if you like this and comment so I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way.