What is your reaction to seeing a police officer? Do you nod out of respect? Do you wave? Do you smile at them? Or do you cringe and avoid eye contact? Or perhaps roll your eyes like I once did?
On multiple occasions, I have done one or all of above actions. For many years, my response was limited to only the latter and very little to none of the former. These days I’m making a concerted effort to acknowledge an officer of the law and smile. What caused this considerable change in my behavior? It was actually initiated by a television show, which I will share with you in a moment.
Before I delve deeper into that thought process, you many wonder why I’m bothering to be kind at all? If you have experienced negativity at the hands of a police …show more content…
For a moment, imagine being one of the first people to every car accident, every crime committed, and every disturbance in a large city or small town? Accordingly, while every workday may not involve the use of deadly force, a police officer must always be prepared to use it, if necessary.
A few months prior to the many news stories regarding use of excessive force by officers in some areas of the United States, I was pushed to reconsider my viewpoints on police officers as a whole. This internal questioning of myself began after watching an episode of one of my favorite crime-fighting dramas. On this particular episode, a police officer mistakenly shoots an unarmed teenager. The city began to riot and call for his resignation along with death threats.
Similarly, just as the city inhabitants could not overlook this tragedy, the officer could not find it to forgive himself. He attempted to take his own life and the main characters of the show helped to save him and the city. While reflecting on the subject matter later, it occurred to me that, though fictional, this officer was trying to do his job to the best of his ability. He made a serious and deadly mistake that cost someone else his life, but this action wasn’t due to hate or prejudice. It was an
On multiple occasions, I have done one or all of above actions. For many years, my response was limited to only the latter and very little to none of the former. These days I’m making a concerted effort to acknowledge an officer of the law and smile. What caused this considerable change in my behavior? It was actually initiated by a television show, which I will share with you in a moment.
Before I delve deeper into that thought process, you many wonder why I’m bothering to be kind at all? If you have experienced negativity at the hands of a police …show more content…
For a moment, imagine being one of the first people to every car accident, every crime committed, and every disturbance in a large city or small town? Accordingly, while every workday may not involve the use of deadly force, a police officer must always be prepared to use it, if necessary.
A few months prior to the many news stories regarding use of excessive force by officers in some areas of the United States, I was pushed to reconsider my viewpoints on police officers as a whole. This internal questioning of myself began after watching an episode of one of my favorite crime-fighting dramas. On this particular episode, a police officer mistakenly shoots an unarmed teenager. The city began to riot and call for his resignation along with death threats.
Similarly, just as the city inhabitants could not overlook this tragedy, the officer could not find it to forgive himself. He attempted to take his own life and the main characters of the show helped to save him and the city. While reflecting on the subject matter later, it occurred to me that, though fictional, this officer was trying to do his job to the best of his ability. He made a serious and deadly mistake that cost someone else his life, but this action wasn’t due to hate or prejudice. It was an