UVALDE TRAGEDY: WHEN COPS MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
/UVALDE TRAGEDY: WHEN COPS MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
By: Chris Amos
By now I suspect everyone has seen the disturbing video of police officers in Uvalde, Texas. A dozen or more are shown standing in a hallway, doing nothing. Meanwhile, on the other side of what would later be discovered to be an unlocked door, teachers and students had been indiscriminately shot and killed by a psychotic and/or demonically possessed killer. To make matters worse, it has been reported an officer had the gunman in his crosshairs, but rather than taking the shot he chose to ask a supervisor for permission first. Allegedly, the supervisor never responded. Another disturbing detail that came to light was that of a second officer who had a shot, but for fear of hitting a child, did not take it.
I, like many of my law enforcement peers across the country were quick to condemn the actions or lack thereof of these officers. We piled on these men and women, one of whose wife, a teacher, died in that classroom. We did the very thing we are so quick to condemn others of doing, playing the role of Monday morning quarterback. You know what I mean - a combination of what they should have done, with what we would have done… Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
As time passed, I began to look at things a little differently. In the political realm there is an often-used phrase, “Elections have consequences.” Could it be that demonizing, defunding, with the goal of dismantling law enforcement for two+ years has consequences?
About 160 miles from Uvalde, Texas is the states’ capital, Austin. In this law and order state, resides a district attorney by the name of Jose Garza, a George Soros-supported district attorney. Garza made a name for himself, among the progressive crowd. How? By indicting 21 Austin police officers for their actions during riots in 2020. The “crime” committed was the use of expired bean bags in department issued bean bag guns assigned to officers working the riots. I doubt anyone took the time to see if the rocks and bottles they were being pelted with were expired. Like planes waiting to take off at JFK airport, these officers have retained both criminal and civil attorneys as several are suing their employer, among others.
The message sent to law enforcement is loud and clear. “Beware, even while doing your job to the best of your ability, if you make an honest mistake, either by commission or omission, you may very well face possible prosecution.” This is a message not just being heard in Austin, but in law enforcement agencies across the country. We’ve seen video of officers using kid gloves and kind words to try to subdue uncooperative violent criminals. The most recent video involved NYPD officers with a violent teenage suspect. Incredulously, after his arrest, this suspect was seeking to file charges against the very officers he chose to fight rather than comply with their commands.
Law enforcement officers for decades were given the benefit of the doubt. Were there bad cops then? Certainly, but that was the exception, not the norm. Now, in many cities, that benefit of the doubt has been replaced by a warning – do not make a mistake. The effort to hold LEOs to such a high level of accountability is to invite if not encourage inaction. Or at the very least, the seeking of permission up the chain of command before taking action. This creates in the minds of officers, who are already at a disadvantage, as most must react to suspects’ actions, just enough hesitation to get him or her let alone members of the general public, seriously injured of killed.
When facing a very real and present risk of arrest, prosecution and incarceration for just doing the best you could with the information you have, can we really blame an officer for hesitating or choosing to take an abundance of caution. LEOs are not robots. They are men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They have mortgages to pay, families to feed and care for. They have many people for whom they are responsible. They have lives beyond the badges they wear. Lives that can be taken from them in the blink of an eye, simply for reacting to the threatening actions of another, only to realize it was a phone not a gun, or a flashlight not a knife.
Do the officers in that hallway bear blame for their inaction? Yes, and I suspect they will be haunted by their role that day for the rest of their lives, but so too does their leadership bear the blame. And perhaps even more so the progressive activists and their Soros-backed district and commonwealth attorneys who place an untenable burden on LEOs to perfection, to be 100% right, 100% of the time, a burden only Jesus could meet.
This is a Chaplain’s Corner, so let me leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-4:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. He is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Friends, you are called of God to do what you do. Do not ever forget that. He knew before you were even conceived that you would be putting on your uniform, gun and badge. He knew what family you would be born into, who you would marry, where you would live and what agency you would work for. God knows everything about you and He loves you just the same. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins, the breaking of God’s laws not man’s. Friends, we are all guilty as charged and the sentence of guilt carries with it eternity in a literal hell. Accept what Jesus has done for you. Repent or turn from your sin and invite Him to be your Savior and Lord and you will also retain the greatest advocate and dare I say, defense attorney, that has ever, or will ever live. May God bless each and every one of you as you answer his call on your life.
Chris Amos is a retired officer and former spokesperson for the Norfolk Virginia Police Department. He is currently the pastor at Chr1st Fellowship Church in Norfolk. He is married for over 30 years and is the proud father of three children, two of whom are police officers. He serves as the volunteer Chaplain for Norfolk Police Dept. and Norfolk Sheriff’s Office.
