The Good Amidst Bad and Ugly
Introduction: It’s been one helluva a week – I guess it has just been a normal week. But I thought about it on my entire drive home and it may be worth reflecting on a couple of things:
The Text: A friend sent me a picture of a quote from my book – one he wrote on his calendar, “It’s never been harder to be in law enforcement, but it’s never been more important.” He is a great cop, good friend, and I was flattered with the text. As to the quote itself, while true, it got me thinking and there is more to it.
The Wallace Case: This week, the Court of Criminal Appeals held that McGirt was not retroactive to final convictions. This was a huge victory for victims – thousands of convictions including murders, molesters, rapist, and other predators were expected to be set aside. I watched my boss take a phone call from the surviving family from a decades old murder. Her tears of joy and relief really show the importance of that decision. And might I just say to every murderer, rapist, molester, and predator who thought you were getting released … F%#K YOU!!!!
MDT Meeting: I participated in a Multi-Disciplinary Team meeting where child advocates, DHS workers, and police officers make coordinated efforts to protect children. It’s behind the scenes, but we are so lucky to have those professionals working to protect our young.
The Brave Young Man: I witnessed a young boy sit in court and watch the man that repeatedly hurt him and his mother get sentenced to life plus over 100 years. He carried our criminal chief’s badge when he testified, and was proudly wearing one of our badge lapel pins during the sentencing. This brave kid wants to be a police officer when he grows up … to help people. Great work Isaac Shields and Kate Hunter putting this ass away for the rest of his life.
The Citizenry: I was honored to speak to a great group of teachers in Adair about drug awareness-mainly the dangers to our youngsters due to the normalization of marijuana. Also, I did a Facebook post about the alarming statistics related to the black market marijuana industry. In both instances, the passion from those outside of law enforcement supporting our efforts was very inspiring. Thank you so much to each and every civic minded person who supports the law enforcement mission! We can hold the line because you have our back.
My Colleagues: The majority of my week was spent collaborating with prosecutors and police officers who are finding ways to seek justice, even if it causes them more work. It’s nothing new and maybe I have taken it for granted – but it stuck out the last few days.
The Takeaway: It is certainly difficult to be in public safety today. In fact, it can be very discouraging – but in a strange duality, I have been very encouraged as of late. Or maybe it’s not strange at all. We all have been discouraged by the vocal few who run their pie holes attacking law enforcement and a media complex that gives an assist to the perpetuation of false narratives. But at the same time, it is most encouraging to see the men and women of public safety working harder than ever in the face of unprecedented challenges backed by school teachers, medical professionals, child advocates, laborers, parents and citizens at large. Make no mistake – things are dire, but you know what … far, far from hopeless.
