Gratitude, Challenges, and Support: A Reflection on Serving Those Who Serve
I wanted to share a short tale with you about something I was involved in the other day. You should know that I consider myself to be among the luckiest guys there is. I have great parents, great friends, and family, and I am blessed to be healthy.
Another example of how lucky I am is that I absolutely love my job. I like the team and staff surrounding me, and I enjoy the challenges of the representation we provide. This includes everything from the political battles we participate in for our members to the seemingly simple reprimands, suspensions, and more that we pursue resolutions to through grievances, etc.
It’s easy to have high regard for our members because I not only served in the capacity of a police officer but have participated in the lives of many of you for more than 30 years now. The other day, I found myself at a table of a dozen or more people, some of whom I know well and others were mere acquaintances. I heard two of them describing encounters they had with police officers, both over relatively simple civil infractions. One felt that the officer was watching an intersection “just to catch people going through a red light”. The other had passed a vehicle on the left where it is prohibited, seemingly because the lead vehicle had “slammed on its brakes”. They felt the officer was unwilling to accept the reason for the pass.
I rarely, if ever, find myself in the middle of conversations critical of the police. Mostly because people I dine with either support the police wholeheartedly or maybe because they know what I do for a living.
In this case, I did the unusual. I simply stated, “They’ve got a pretty tough job. In fact, it may be tougher now than it ever has.” I reminded them that they have a camera in their back seat, front seat, on their shirt and at the top of almost every utility pole in sight. Every car has at least one phone with a camera, too. Add to that that physical assaults on police are up over 100% over the past three years, shootings at police are at all-time highs, they are killed in traffic wrecks, and they have county and state prosecutors that “convict” them without the due process while holding up their license to serve even when a judge or arbitrator has deemed them innocent. This has caused a significant reduction in candidates wanting (or deserving) this job. When perpetrators are ordered to stop, they run. When apprehended, they resist by assaulting the officer.
I know I speak on behalf of all our POAM servicing representatives and staff when I say how much we care for you, the job you do, and your safety. Thank you for choosing POAM. We will continue to do our best to earn and keep your trust.
-JT