For years the mayor has encouraged abuse and discouraged transparency in our police departments, leaving good cops struggling to work in a broken system.
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hat blurs the proverbial “thin blue line” that keeps order and stability in our city? We often point fingers at the usual suspects; the police who patrol our streets, the committees who appoint our commissioners, or the populous out of control. It’s easy to understand why, each one has their role to play in the safety of our community, but the real culprit is far more universal: the loss of trust.
The trust that keeps the symbiotic harmony between officer and citizen, the trust that our justice department is providing adequate oversight, the trust that our officials are unswayed by greed and corruption—and the trust that we have the ability to support changes when that same trust is broken. If we trust that we can clean up the departments, clean up the streets and clean up our justice department officials , we can and we will. We all share the responsibility of a better, safer community—for us, our neighbors and our officers.
We do our part by demanding competency in our officials, by turning to city hall and telling them, “No more.” No more corrupt commissioners, no more backroom bargains when it comes our community’s safety, no more funneling funds away from our departments to satisfy privatized greed. No more do we contribute to a revolving door prison system, disproportionately populated by black and latino males, that sees the profit in criminality instead of rehabilitation. No more do we allow an unregulated police department to reward abuse while silencing the officers who remember their motto and keep it to heart: “We serve and protect.” No more.
When we empower and reward effective and law abiding officers through proper funding, educational resources, and multicultural encouragement ,we become our own protectors and instill the pride that keeps a good police officer dedicated to serving their community—while feeling secure that the same safety extends to them.
Suspicion erodes the balance that keeps us and law enforcement working together, each fearing the other other side of the line. No more. Politics has no place in our safety and the safety of officers on the streets. With real leaders and real innovation, we can trust in our police department again and they can trust in us. Together, and only together, can we refine the smeared edges fashioned from corruption and greed. Electing a true progressive mayor and a strong city council can help us trust in that system again and erase that line.
