Law Enforcement or Corruption in Society?

In the media today, law enforcement is not looked at in a good light. Most law enforcement is being seen as corrupt and heartless. However, being a cop's daughter, I know this is not the case. Not all law enforcement is corrupt, just like not all criminals are bad people. Are there many cases of cops having issues with their discretion, and using their power to discriminate and hurt others? The media says yes, but has the number really increased? If we compare statistics to previous years, there has been a slight increase. If we also look at the 'victims' involved, most cases involved a belligerent or violent criminal, who was refusing to cooperate. Some ran, some had weapons, and, yes, some were not justifiable deaths.

I am a daughter of a cop. He has been in law enforcement for over 25 years and has never had to shoot his gun. There was one experience where he came close, and it was one of the most memorable of his career. He was responding to a domestic dispute between a teenager and his step-father. The son had cut his stepfather with a knife and was now surrounded by three deputies with 9mm guns pointed in his direction. The son was rocking back and forth, as the deputies are yelling at him, "Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" He said that each time the boy rocked forward, it had the deputies anxious and worried he was going to attack one of them. Then, a deputy spoke out and told the boy that if he even started to charge that they would shoot him dead. About 10 seconds later, the boy dropped the knife, and the deputies detained him. All in all, the teenage boy was safe as well as the cops who took him in.

There is always the opportunity to use the power of working for the law to your own advantage and to abuse said power. As I write this article, I have met and seen many cops, police officers and other people working in law enforcement. I have never once met a corrupt individual or someone who had used their discretion and power for the wrong reasons. Not all cops are bad people just because of a few cases.