The last 24 hours have been hard for me to take in. Honest moment here: I have been avoiding the news!
I do not want to hear Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. I do not want to hear Trump, Trump, Trump. I do not want to hear black lives matter. I do not want to hear all Muslims are terrorists. I do not want to hear that another shooting has happened. I do not want to hear that another bombing has occurred. I do not want to hear that whites lives matter. I do not want to hear that all police are corrupt people. I do not want to hear about racial profiling.
It isn’t that I don’t care because I do care. Often I care to much and it makes me upset and frustrated.
What has our world come to? Have we really regressed so much from where we were or is it just that it is so much more visible because of social media and news networks being everywhere now?
Five years ago on July 7th I sat in my bed watching a live broadcast, from my hometown of Grand Rapids. Five years ago I watched as police officers tried to negotiate with a man. A man who had gone on a rampage earlier in the day killing 7 innocent people. Not just people but everyone was a part of his life. Five years ago I sat on my bed wondering what our world had come to.
Turned out that he had a lot of untreated mental health issues (a completely different subject; then again probably not as different as I would like to think). It doesn’t make it any better. It doesn’t help in any way shape or form but at least we know why.
Then last night on July 7th 2016 I sat in the bed watching another live broadcast, but this time from Dallas, Texas. It started out as Jack and I watching the peaceful protests being broadcast back and forth between New York, New York and Dallas, Texas turned into people screaming and running in Dallas, Texas and then seeing officers down on the ground and me in instant tears.
It was us sitting watching negotiations and uncertainty as to what was going on. It was people not understanding the gravity of what was happening. It was confused reports giving out statistics that they had been given and nothing was making sense. It was people separated from their loved ones. It was a lot of chaos and fear.
At what point has two wrongs made a right? At what point if your cousin was punched in the face by someone was it okay for you to go and seek your own justice? At what point if someone on social media makes a claim or shows a video of only part of what is going on does it give a country the right to seek their own justice in the town they live in?
When did it start to mean if you are pro-police you are anti-black? When did it start to mean if you are pro-black you are anti-police? Why can’t we be pro-people? Why can’t we be pro-love? Why can’t we be pro-hope? Why can’t we be pro-change?
It doesn’t matter the profession out there, there are always going to be bad ones. Police, Fireman, Doctors, Educators, Pastors, Store Clerks, Stockers, Factory Workers, and the list goes on. When did it start to mean that just because the news focuses on those bad apples that all are bad or most are bad?
Our country is falling apart around us. Our leadership is falling apart around us. The focus is on the wrong things. We are divided and we need to figure out how to fix it.
I do not want my children to grow up in a country that feels they can take justice into their owns hands. Especially when the justice that takes place is not happened where the original incident took place. Actually I don’t really care where the justice takes place – the justice that takes place should be taking place within our legal system and not be taken into our own hands. We do not need more vigilantes, we need more caring, love, understanding and the divide to stop.
I do care and I do love you! I am praying for everyone in Minnesota, in Louisiana, Texas, the United States and ultimately the World!
Today is a very sad day for the American people and Law Enforcement. I want to start by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims of these shootings. The shooting in Dallas overnight and the officer involved shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana this past week.
These investigations will all take time and no one wants to rush to judgement. As I stand here today I want the people of Kent County to know that all lives matter no matter your race, skin color, religion, or nationality. We ALL matter and we need to stand together and mourn our losses and fight through these hard times.
As a police officer I can tell you that the vast majority of officers are good people. They go out day in and day out to protect in serve. Most have given up many family opportunities that some take for granted. Officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn’t matter if it is Christmas, New Years, or their babies first birthday they are always working.
Most police vehicles in Kent County are equipped with in car camera’s that will capture video and audio from the dashboard of the police cruisers. The officers are also equipped with a microphone.
Body Cameras are being introduced across the country. This is another tool that I feel is a necessity to protect both the citizens and the Police Officers on the street. There are some hurtles that have to overcome and most come with a very high price tag that most police departments and prosecutors cannot afford in their current budgets.
In the days to come we will all mourn the losses of the lives that were taken too soon. We need to stand together and work through the issues and rise above to see that justice is done.
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