There are two extremes I see every day when dealing with police.
There are the good cops. I’m happy to say that there are a lot of them. They sincerely want to do a good job, and try their best to make sure all laws and procedures are followed. There are officers I deal with in my job as a defense attorney who I trust completely. They get on the stand and answer truthfully, even when they know full well that their truthful answer may get the case dismissed for some reason. I admire them greatly.
Then there are the bad cops. They see their job as “getting the bad guys” and feel that if they have to break some rules and laws in order to do that, they still win. They never realize that by doing this, they become the bad guys they claim to be fighting.
I partially blame the media for bad cops, because we constantly see movies and TV shows where we cheer on the cop who doesn’t follow rules, acts like a vigilante, and takes the law into his own hands. Batman may be a hero in the films, but in real life, I’d be able to get the Joker out of jail easily given how many rights have been violated. That’s not how we do things in America. The laws apply to everyone, even superheroes.
Most police officers, being human beings, fall somewhere between those two extremes.
We had a great example of this dichotomy over the past few days. The Bad Cops in Ferguson took over. They forgot that their motto “to serve and protect” means to serve and protect us, the citizens. They broke laws and didn’t feel at all remorseful about it. They wore more body armor than the soldiers in Afghanistan and used their military toys to make them feel like the superheroes in the movies — and when you do that, it’s so easy to just assume everyone not like you are the bad guys who must be stopped.
Finally, smarter heads prevailed and the governor placed the State Troopers in charge (after a phone call from the President — I’m sure this is not a coincidence). The State Troopers showed up without any body armor, without any tanks or huge weapons, and stood and watched as the protesters marched peacefully, which is a right guaranteed by the 1st Amendment. And nothing happened. No riots, no injuries, no fights.
If you don’t treat the people as criminals, then they don’t act like them.
Hopefully, this will lead to a strong movement to demilitarize our police forces. After all, this is not the first example of inexperienced officers pretending to be trained SWAT teams hurting innocents. Let’s get our police back into the job of protecting and serving us, and leave the military actions to the military.
Before and after
Hey, remember when millionaire Clive Bundy basically declared treason against the United States and had a bunch of armed white people pointing their guns at the police? What a heck of a guy! A true patriot, claimed Fox News. Just a guy standing up for his rights; someone the police would never think to shoot.
But if you’re a poor black kid who is upset because the police shot an unarmed friend of yours for no good reason, and you want to protest, we’ll send in the police after you, with the kind of gear that is usually reserved for trained members of our military.
Yeah, he’s a fictional character, but the quote is appropriate.
Arrest everyone (including innocent reporters) and sort it out afterwards, because, as one cop said, “They’re all animals.” Way to “serve and protect”, officer!
When a rich white kid is abused by the cops, lawsuits pop up. Poor kids don’t always have that alternative, and see no other choice but to riot and protest. It’s sad, but understandable. When you feel helpless, you lash out because that’s the only power you have.
Two days ago, I spoke about how important it is that people do not do that — it does not help your cause. However, that seems so minor in comparison to the abuses we’ve seen from the police. And this isn’t just hyperbole — people record things now, you know. Almost everyone is walking around with a high def camera in their phones, and it only takes seconds to upload those for everyone in the world to see. If you deny that the police are being abusive and overpowering, you’re just denying the obvious evidence.
Many residents of Ferguson, Missouri were rightly angered by the shooting of an unarmed man by police. Protests ensued, and the FBI is taking a close look at it.
Protests are good. Show your anger, demand answers.
But for God’s sake, stop the looting and vandalism. 
No one looks at that and says, “Gee, those poor people must be right. Burning businesses that had absolutely nothing to do with the situation and stealing from them surely is the best way to get back at police who have gotten out of hand.”
These people may have watched Spike Lee’s excellent “Do the Right Thing” and decided that this is how you protest. (In the film, a young unarmed man is killed by police, after which the neighborhood riots and destroys local businesses). But even that film didn’t say that the looting and destruction was a good thing that should be emulated.
Martin Luther King had it right: Appealing to American’s sense of right and wrong is the way to get public opinion on your side, and that is what leads to change. Violence only creates enemies out of those who could be your allies.
A couple I know announced this weekend that they’re getting married. (Congratulations Kris and Emily!) They’ve discussed how happy they are that they can do so now in Pennsylvania and how weird it will be to have a gay marriage in Amish country.
But I still am against “gay marriage.” 
I don’t want them to get “gay married.” I want them to get “married.”
When Heidi and I got married, we didn’t say “Hey, we’re getting straight married, everyone!” Other friends of mine didn’t announce, “Guess what! We’re getting inter-racially married!”
So what I’m really looking forward to is when people stop using the phrase “gay marriage.” It’s just “marriage.” I know it may take a while until we stop hearing that phrase, and that will be when it’s no longer news or different — and that’s what I’m looking forward to.
You’re getting married, and I couldn’t be happier for you!
