This Is How I Found Peacefulness
Solitude and creativity have been in my arsenal for some time now. They’re the best way to confront the inhumanity and sorrow one witnesses in law enforcement.
Suicides. Murder. Accident victims. Child abuse. Such things are obscenities that crush the human spirit.
I was a cop for over twenty six years. The last ten years I served as Chief of Police. The years of shift work, little sleep, fear, moments of pure adrenaline and stress took their toll.
Cops learn to be stoic. We bury our feelings, mask our emotions and get the job done. It’s only later, in the sanctuary of our homes, that the demons come. Memories, images and scenes of carnage that reside persistently in our psyche.
Each of us has to find our own way. Our own salvation and methods to process it all and stay healthy.
For me, my family played a crucial role. Exercise helped. But mostly, solitude and creativity were the ballasts that steadied my course.
It became politically difficult
I was constantly drawing as a kid and served as an editorial cartoonist on several newspapers. I did the cartooning on the side while working full time as a cop.
Unfortunately, as I rose through the ranks, it became politically difficult to continue…
