Last week I was at a public place, I was grabbing a bite to eat and I overheard something that physically made me sick to my stomach. I heard a man tell what I assume was his son to "never talk to the police," because "the police are bad men and he should never talk to them."

I instantly became numb with what I heard. I actually got physically sick to my stomach after hearing those words come from that grown man's mouth. I could not believe what I had heard, but better yet, I couldn't believe that this is something a man was telling his son, who looked to be no younger than 5 years old.

I put a lot of thought into this because when you hear something so devastating, you don't let it exit your mind.

I thought how dare he tell his son that the police are bad men and that he should never talk to policemen? I thought, how dare he tell his little son that the police are bad men, something this little boy will now never forget. I thought, how dare he put his son in a position where he feels that the right thing to do is to not like the police and to never talk to the police.

I also thought, what if this little boy ever gets lost and he needs to go to a police officer to help him find his family, and now because his father told him to never talk to police, this little boy will live in fear of the police and he won't approach them when he is in dangerous situations?

The police are bad.

You should never talk to the police.

This is what people are telling their young children.

The police are bad.

You should never talk to the police.

Two sentences that will now haunt my mind. Two sentences that will now haunt that little boy's mind and mentally scar him for the rest of his life.

This little boy will now grow up with the understanding that police are bad men. That he should never talk to the police. This little boy will now live in fear of the police. This little boy will now never call the police when he is in need. This little boy now only knows and understands that the police are bad people and that he is never allowed to talk to them because his father, someone I am sure he looks up to, told him these awful things.

Now, there is nothing I can do to help what was said. There is nothing I can do but hope and pray that this little boy will one day meet an incredible police officer, who is a mommy or daddy themselves, and they will give him a good reason to understand that the police are good people. They are heroes. They save lives. The put bad people behind bars. They take awful drugs off the streets. They assist people when they feel unsafe. They respond to calls and never know how dangerous the situation may become, but they respond because they have devoted their lives toward the safety and protection of their community.

There are some people who should never have been police officers, and there are some people who should have never been mommies or daddies. But unfortunately, we can't do anything but pray for the future and hope for a better one.

With that being said, don't tell your children that police are bad people. Don't tell your children that they should never talk to policemen. Don't be a reason why your child will grow up in fear and resentment toward police officers. Because just like there are unfit people with the title of a policeman, if you tell your children these awful things, you are unfit for the position of parent.

And to the man who I overheard, I pray for you and I pray for your son. I pray that he never gets into a life-threatening situation where he needs a police officer's help. I pray that he doesn't live in fear of police officers. And I pray that you become a better parent. Because you ought to be absolutely ashamed of yourself.