Why Have Police Been Vilified?
I recall my early days in elementary school when Officer Friendly would visit our classroom and teach us young children how to remain safe. He was attired in a perfectly pressed dress blue uniform adorned with a shiny badge and other accessories I was not familiar with but was impressed by. He carried a portable traffic light and taught us to: “Look to the left; look to the right; cross at the corner; walk with the light.”
He distributed coloring books that depicted scenes of cops helping people, being kind and friendly, and making everyone feel safe. Officer Friendly instructed us to never talk to or take anything from someone we did not know and to stay away from “stranger-danger.”
Officer Friendly personified the idea of a real life action figure hero. Officer friendly was a real tangible person with a broad smile and kind demeanor. He made me feel that if I was ever afraid of anything I could always rely on a police officer to protect me and keep me safe.
Growing up playing cops and robbers kids always wanted to be the cops, the good guys. Television shows such as: “Barney Miller,” “Starsky and Hutch,” Miami Vice, and “Hill Street Blues,” always depicted the cops as fun loving good guys who served the community well and always caught the bad guys. Okay, I know I’m dating myself with these television programs but these are the types of shows that inspired many to join the ranks of the good guys, the cops.
Fast forward to current day USA, 2017, and we see the good guys being villainized. When a cop apprehends a criminal, the justice system closely scrutinizes the cop’s actions as opposed to that of the criminal subject. God forbid a cop has to shoot a subject to protect herself, her partner, or the public at large. The local prosecuting District Attorney shows up to analyze the actions of the cop rather than that of the criminal. Media outlets lambaste the police anytime the public cries out that the police used excessive force or acted in an unjust manner.
If a police officer acts outside of the law or has an ulterior agenda other than serving and protecting the public, then he or she should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. However, the current climate of crime fighting rarely affords the police officer any gratitude for the extraordinary job he performs 24 hours a day. That’s right; twenty four hours a day. Police Officers are required to take action when they observe a crime, even when they’re off duty. In the words of Barney Fife, “When is a lawman ever really off duty?”
How many other professions have that mandate? The continuous castigation of police officers by the media and justice system perpetrated by the whimsical muses of a small segment of the public is akin to the tail wagging the dog.
Police officers perform a function many people are afraid to do or lack the intestinal fortitude to accomplish the task. However, policing or crime fighting is necessary to provide a safe and secure environment for all people. An apropos statement can be taken from a segment of the movie, A Few Good Men, in which the character played by actor Jack Nicholson commented:
“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You want me on that wall; you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post.”
In the movie, the aforementioned comment was made relative to the job soldiers perform. It is also appropriate for the work of police officers. Let’s face it, in the inner city or in rural and unincorporated communities patrolled by county sheriffs and state police; when the s#*t hits the fan, who you gonna call; and it ain’t the ghost busters.
For more from Operation Swagger Back take a look at our other articles:
Welcome to Operation Swagger Back
Uniforms: You are What You Wear and What You Wear is You
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