National Peace Officers Week

Several nights ago, in recognition of “National Peace Officers Week,” a group of officers and residents gathered downtown on E Jefferson Street to pay honor to the sacrifices police officers make every day to keep communities like Goshen safe.

We watched the Color Guard; we listened to speeches (including one from an officer who was shot and seriously injured in the line of duty); and organizers handed out a couple of scholarships to young people who are pursuing careers in criminal justice.

Each time I attend the annual event, I brace myself for the ceremonial gunfire. I promise myself I will stand stoically, not jump out of my skin. Then the thunderous shots ring out… and I STARTLE like an infant. The physicality of the sound perfectly punctuates the gravity of the occasion.

For those of us who aren’t enmeshed in the law enforcement world, the event is a good opportunity to stand with the men and women who have offered themselves up to deal with some of the problems that have slipped through our societal cracks.  And I hope we can all acknowledge that by the time a blow-up happens on a street somewhere, much has already gone wrong (in a home, a school, a neighborhood, an economy…).

We’re not Chicago.  But like any city, Goshen has experienced violent crime alongside the milder forms of criminal mischief.  Thankfully, we’ve not seen our officers featured in any infamous viral videos.  We have a Police Chief who has engaged in deliberate relationship-building with Latino residents; officers who volunteer as neighborhood association liaisons; police who play games with kids at the Boys and Girls Club. Police departments desperately need to be integrated into community life — and many of our officers are making that effort.

I recently rode with a Goshen officer. Like a typical civilian, in the days leading up to my scheduled ride-along, I conjured up a medley of police shows, everything from Cops, to Hill Street Blues to Reno 911.  I imagined myself caught in a shootout or at the scene of a grisly car accident. Then I switched gears and worried that I’d be unbearably bored, that the officer wouldn’t talk to me, that I would be forced to sit silently in a squad car for hours (FYI, “silently” is not how I usually sit).

“I don’t know whether to be ready for boredom or waaay too much excitement,” I grumbled to my husband. And, of course, as I said the words aloud, it struck me: That’s the mental dance an officer does every single day. Every. Single. Day.

As it turned out, I was neither bored nor caught in a shootout. My host officer was welcoming and communicative. He talked me through everything that happened that evening (including the scary part), explaining his thought process and his use of discretion in a variety of situations. He answered every question I asked. He was genuinely good company and I left his car knowing that Goshen is fortunate to have him.

Now… it would be cowardly for me to ignore the dueling “Police-as-Hero” and “Police-as-Villain” narratives. What do we even DO with that? My heart holds immense gratitude for all the wonderful people who wear the uniform with integrity and selflessness. Yet we also know that some officers lose their way.  Some officers have abused the public trust.

So, yes, we should Support the Police. No doubt. But surely support is more than unequivocal praise. It means seeing to it that our officers have the tools they need to do their jobs well — tools that go beyond basic hardware.  It means recruiting carefully, training purposefully, and compensating fairly.  It means reaching for and incorporating promising new approaches to age-old problems.

Peace Officer Week is almost over, but there’s no time limit for thanking an officer for serving.