Apparently the slogan of “Defund the Police” must have not done well in Democrat focus group testing so the new battle cry is “Reimagine Policing.” Since I just saw highlights of eight major Democrats all suddenly using the same new slogan we know it is an orchestrated effort to not sound like idiots in championing “Defunding the Police” while still keeping the extreme left on their side
In my lifetime I have seen sorry examples of behavior exhibited by most every profession, be it law enforcement, medical, religion, education, judicial, sports, journalism, elected officials and many more. So when George Floyd was tragically killed in Minneapolis I was stunned by the circumstances as were most Americans. But I never dreamed that the aftermath of violent behavior would fill the airwaves to the point that radical groups would now be demanding to “defund the police.” While that slogan was initially parroted by the ultra-left Democrats and those who have an anti-police mentality, I don’t think that represents the wishes of most Americans. If they call 911 they expect a helpful response.
Admittedly, I maintain a strong admiration for the men and women in blue who serve to protect us every day. Our military lives with a life and death environment any time they are in a combat zone. But our local police, state troopers and sheriff’s personnel face a possible life and death situation any time they make a traffic stop. Because of dash cameras located in police cars and body cams worn by those in law enforcement we probably have all seen examples of life and death confrontations initiated by stopped drivers who have something serious to hide and were willing to kill to avoid arrest.
One of the best real life law enforcement TV programs has been “Live P.D.” which was a top program on A&E. As the looting, destruction and anarchy quickly replaced peaceful demonstration following the death of George Floyd, the brain trust at A&E decided to drop the program.
I surmised that they suddenly no longer wanted to show law enforcement consistently acting professionally in doing their job. Somehow they felt obligated to avoid showing real life policeman doing their jobs in a respectful and often, courageous manner. It ran counter to the “defund the police” crowd and was a gutless decision by A&E management.
Imagine yourself stopping a car with heavily tinted windows not knowing what situation you may face be it someone on drugs, alcohol or avoiding a warrant. Often responding to a domestic violence call can also turn deadly. The split second decisions faced by those in law enforcement can instantly lead to a life or death outcome.
During my college coaching days I had eight of my players go into some branch of law enforcement following graduation. Two went into the Secret Service, three joined the St.Louis police force, two joined the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and one became part of the Missouri Dept. of Corrections.
These eight had been part of my three championship teams and they all possessed the character and commitment you would want in law enforcement. Then in June of 1980 I received the shocking news that one of my three players on the St.Louis Police Force had been shot in the back and killed while on duty in an unmarked car. He had been with the St.Louis Police Force for eight years, had become a detective and epitomized the best of law enforcement. He left a wife and two kids with no father. It was a crushing loss.
There are few things more special than the player/coach relationship. As a player he was an offense guard with perfect blocking technique and was a captain on my 1971 championship team. I’m sharing this story because when I’m talking about the police facing death or injury on a daily basis I’m not regurgitating something I read about.
Forty years later his death still haunts me. My other seven players all excelled, earned honors and accolades, some faced death in the line of duty and all made me extremely proud of their careers in protecting the rest of us. I cannot fathom anyone in America so ignorant of the dangers that exist on a daily basis who truly believes we should defund the police or opt for reimaging policing.
Evil exists on a daily basis and we must have men and women trained and committed to protect the American public from evil that comes in many forms. I especially love the politicians who want to defund the police but then spend tax dollars to hire people to protect themselves.
