Policing ‘“Lawless”’ style in lawless America

It seems that every time I turn on the television I hear the word “lawless” or the term “lawlessness” to describe the horrors in the streets as cops try to hold the line and enforce the laws of the land. Policing is more complex now than ever in the history of our country.

I understand the use of the word, but I do bristle when I hear it. My birth name is Lawless. My ancestors on my father’s side came from Ireland. My grandfather was a Deputy Marshall in St. Louis a long time ago. I became a police officer in 1984 and proudly wore the badge of a police officer. I was equally proud to put the nametag emblazoned in large unmistakable letters LAWLESS, on my uniform. I’m sure some folks thought it was a joke when they saw it, and I heard comments about it on a daily basis.

The bad guys (and girls) found out quickly that the name was no joke when they broke the law and I was sicced on them. The thrill of the chase, the hunting of armed men, being a police officer was the best job. When I first came on the job I was, as the song goes, just an excitable boy. I learned quickly of the dangers of the job and was groomed by some of the fiercest, toughest teachers a cops, a young cop could hope for.

My style of policing was aggressive and relentless, but also I served with empathy and a great sense of humanity and with Christian values. I was firm, but fair. I often let the person I came in contact with decide how the interaction would play out. I’m a man of peace, but if you turn violent on me, I will respond in kind, but with a level of ferocity that will surpass your plateau, and many regretted choosing the “hard way” rather than the “easy way.” I was compassionate, kind to the elderly in the community and always approachable to the kids.

When I was assigned to a uniform car, I often spent mornings in a certain area near a certain stop sign and met lots of people who forgot to do what the message on the sign told them. One morning I met a young mother and her little boy, DJ. He loved the police. I had his mom pull over and I let DJ sit in my car and turn on the light and bump the siren. He waved every morning when I was there and his mom would stop and let us say hello. One morning she told me that DJ was having nightmares and wanted me to know that. His daddy wasn’t in the picture. I got out of my car and she let him out to talk to me. I squatted down and got to his eye level (very important when talking with kids). I gave him my business card with my personal cell phone number on it and told him if he was ever scared and couldn’t sleep, all he had to do was call me. I told his mom it didn’t matter what the time, if DJ was scared, he was to call me. His mom made a big deal about it, but that was just me, being me. I’m just a guy who happened to be a cop. He did call me a couple times and we got things settled down for him.

Stopping in a neighborhood and getting out of the car and talking to kids (or any folks for that matter) is nothing new. I was doing that when I first came on the job, as were the guys that took me under the wing when I was the new kid. With all of the “lawlessness” going on in the streets today, folks need to realize the humanity of the job; it’s a calling really. There were lots of jobs I could have chosen and made more money, but policing was the job for me. I know I made a difference in my little corner of the world. I was kind to people. During a long and storied career, I saved many more lives than I have taken, but I have done that, too. It seems like the entire country is against the police, but that’s a lie. There are way more folks who like us, need us, and whether they want to admit openly it or not want us to revert to some of the old ways of handling police work “Old school is good school.” With over 90 days of “lawlessness” in some cities where the “peaceful protesters” are actually criminals and should be dealt with as such, it makes me sad to see the police being ordered to “stand down” by bosses with little street smarts and zero balls.

Recently I saw the cops in Seattle go on the attack, breaching the “shield wall” of the rioters and arresting the group “roughly”..” The criminals opted to go the “hard way” and the response of the police made me smile. You’ll find that the “old school” style of policing will turn the tide of this politicized shit show. Remember the stick does not discriminate, mine didn’t, and it saw lots of use. These groups have no idea how skilled at violence some of us are, and we are prepared to unleash those skills to force compliance with the law. That’s how I, as a “Lawless” police officer, would operate in this real-time scenario. The majority of folks in this country want it handled that way; they need it handled that way. It’s called pain compliance, and it works. To the criminals and politicians who have hung targets on our backs, remember we as targets can, and will turn around. You should just stop now! That’s just a warning from an “Original” Lawless American!

Kirk Lawless is a 28 year, decorated, veteran police officer from the St Louis area. He’s a former SWAT operator, narcotics agent, homicide investigator, detective and Medal of Valor recipient. Off the job due to an up close and personal gunfight, he now concentrates on writing. He’s a patriotic warrior, artist, poet, actor, musician, and man of peace.
Contact : kirklawless@yahoo.com