IT IS BEYOND TIME FOR TWO-SIDED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COPS
/IT IS BEYOND TIME FOR TWO-SIDED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COPS
By: Deon Joseph (Excerpted from two essays)
When you are an honest man, you sometimes can’t win with some people especially when I try to explain police work to folks.
I know I would be one of the most popular cops in the nation if I just tell millions who have been primed to see all cops in the negative exactly what they want to hear. That for 25 years, all I saw was racism and brutality.
I know my circles would increase. I’d be embraced by activists, celebrities and be speaking on every college campus in the nation. All I have to do is throw 800,000 men and women under the bus. I’m the right color; I’m on one of the largest departments in the nation… But I can’t do that because I’d be lying.
If I don’t tell the aforementioned groups what they want to hear, then I’m considered brainwashed or that I have a blind spot to when officers cross the line (when I’ve actually reported misconduct by officers).
So instead of trying to please everyone, I’m just going to continue to always tell the truth. And that truth is the reason many have trouble seeing the honorable rule of cops: because there are too many powerful groups with a vested interest in hyper-focusing on the negative exception.
These groups know the truth, but showing the honorable rule doesn’t bring… “Change;” a change that so far resembles a rolling dumpster fire. It’s not going to get better before it gets worse. It’s just going to get worse. It’s time for journalists, political figures, educators, entertainers and other critics benefiting from the divide between cops and communities to stop and take a look at the fruits of their labor over the last few years and start telling the truth and to begin providing a sense of balance.
• That most cops aren’t racist.
• Most cops aren’t brutes.
• Most cops don’t ever want to take a life.
• That disparity does not always equate to bias.
• That we are not saturating communities because of color… but because of the high level of death and violence.
I was asked by a curious young Black woman how I can be a cop in today’s times. She also asked why things are so dangerous as it relates to crime. She admitted at one time in her young life she wanted to be a cop, but based on societal pressures and her criminal justice professor, she was afraid to. She was cordial and open, so I engaged her. We sat down and I asked her, “How could you not be a police officer?” She was puzzled by my question.
We had a great discussion about my career versus how police work is portrayed unfairly. At one point I then explained to her something my father told me: “If you believe there is a problem somewhere, and do nothing to try to change it, then it becomes an excuse.” I explained to her that her angst against becoming a police officer was preventing her from being the hero her community needed. When we were done, she said that I helped push her closer to her decision.
To my LEO friends; there is a reason they don’t want us talking to people at colleges or on high school campuses. If they can’t completely defund the police, they can deplete it through negative indoctrination and propaganda against the police. If we don’t become bold and fight our way back at the table on the issues of policing, in a few years, there will be no one to police the streets of our nation. That’s the madness the other side wants.
If you actually have a conversation with the average cop, you will discover that. I think it’s time for two-sided conversations again. It’s time to humanize each other and be honest. To put down our polarized views and be open to realities we haven’t been exposed to. We have to start speaking up. You don’t have to be a police chief, captain or union rep to do that. Speak up. The future of safety in America is depending on it.
It could actually save lives. Because this anti-police movement is killing people.
Deon Joseph is a 27 year veteran of law enforcement in Southern California - 23 of those years working in the homeless community to create an environment conducive to change for those in recovery, as a Lead Officer. He’s been recognized for his work locally and nationally, and news stories and documentaries surrounding his work in crime fighting and community relations, featured him. www.deonjoseph.org
