Over the last month, I have seen some horrific stories in the news involving police officers and civilians. Some of the stories have been about officer involved shootings, while others discussed protests against the police force. While I don’t condone either, I have to say that it saddens me that there are people in our nation who do not feel protected by our police officers, but instead they feel in danger or at least on edge.
I do not share the same regard towards police officers, but I have also never had an issue with an officer of the law. Yes, I’ve been pulled over, and yes I’ve been given the third degree about whatever transgression I may or may not have done in that current situation. However, I was polite, and understanding, I didn’t make any sudden movements, and in the off chance I did have my weapon on me, I made sure to acknowledge that and make the officer aware of where it was located.
I do what I can to ensure that the officer that steps up to my window doesn’t feel threatened in any way shape or form, but even when doing everything right, things can go very wrong. I was listening to a local radio station, WYDE, and one of the guests on the morning show I listen to was a black male. He was describing a situation that he had been in involving a check point. He had made the necessary steps to ensure his drivers license and registration were on his dash and that his hands were very visible on his steering wheel. When he pulled up to the officer he was polite and when the officer asked him for his credentials he explained that he was going to reach onto the dash to get them. He started to do so, and the officer pulled his gun…this turned into a 20-minute search of his vehicle. He was eventually able to leave. While listening to this story, I was in shock, the other men on the show were in shock. We were all in shock due to the fact that this man is a very respectable well-spoken educated man, and yet he was treated like a common criminal simply because he was a black man.
I understand that in some cases this could simply be a knee-jerk reaction, but in this case it was uncalled for. This same man explained that he had already started teaching his five-year-old daughter how to act around officers, to be polite and respectful. Given I have told my children that police officers are protectors, and they are here to help us and to keep us safe, but never in my life would I have thought to go through the actions of teaching them how to act in a traffic stop.
This is the world we live in; this is what has become of our wonderful nation. Instead of feeling safer around officers, most people of color are weary and that bothers me. I am a strong believer in protecting our law enforcement officers, and I know there are some wonderful men and women out there that serve our country, but I believe the outlook that people of other cultures have of our men and women in uniform needs to change. I also believe that our officers need to be a part of that change. The relationship between police officers and the citizens of this country needs to be repaired.
I am not a part of any of the “____ lives matter” groups, and I refuse to take sides in this situation. I believe that we are all of one race, the human race and that we need to stand up together and accept each other as who we all are.
