As a beat cop these last 3 years I was first on the scene for a dozen or so murders, dozens more aggravated assaults, hundreds of lesser violent crimes and then countless property crimes. I spent almost 3 years riding calls in my various beats & have seen drama...

I’ve seen drama before in different jobs in different places. The drama that some say should make me harder & more focused on the violence. I can not be more direct & honest than this: that is the wrong path. I focus on the 99.9% that aren’t your memes. I work for them. Not you..

I work for the victims of crime at the same time I make sure I don’t create more victims of my pursuit. I reject the ‘obey the cops so you don’t get hurt’ nonsense cuz it’s always from those who’ve historically never been hurt. Compliance isn’t consent. I work with consent...

And cue the ‘but what of the old lady with the chain saw who could kill you’. I’m not mishandling 99.9% of my calls because .01% is violent. I’m not mistreating 99.9% of my neighbors because my training is simplistic and scared. We don’t have to be this way. So don’t be this way

I’ve lost rare friends in our stupid war on terror. I’ve lost two close colleagues in our stupid war on crime. So pause before trying to tough guy me. I’m not scared of my neighbors. I’m scared of our reactions to our neighbors. We need to change it all. And I mean all.

Focus on solving persistent property crime and episodic violent crime. A handful of people do the majority of crime. Focus on them. Not everyone else. I’m begging for the opposite of stop and frisk. That’s anti policing. We don’t have to be this way.

Worked with my former beat colleagues on a string of entering autos. Felonies. Stealing from cars. Colleague mentions one string is like another. We figure out it’s the same suspect. Victim calls me yesterday to ask about a very very specific evidence that was stolen...

I remember discussion with former beat colleague; we talk. I pull evidence from other case. It’s the very specific evidence. Now it’s two cases closed. And we get to hear a neighbor literally laugh with happiness when we say we got the only evidence he cared about. That’s the job

My point is that our job is anti drama. It’s don’t handcuff children for a stolen car report that is a stolen motorcycle. It’s don’t fight a person who you ID’d for a non violent crime. It’s understanding it’s about justice and not immediacy. It’s stop being violent and wrong

If we police say we were only following policy when we handcuff kids in a car we mistake for a stolen motorcycle and so it’s fine, then we deserve communtiy scorn & rejection. If our policies are so stupid, we must change them. We work for our neighbors, not the other way round

I accept & embrace my rookie-ish status as a local cop. Got lots to learn. Every day. But I’m not a rookie human & so while I keep my head down at work I don’t keep my mind closed & my mouth shut at home. I’m very deliberate with my public writings. And now even more vocal...

Please reject fake tough voices who say there are only two ways to approach an issue: do nothing or do it wrong but patriotic/macho/stupid/loud. There’s a universe of options we are ignoring. For all issues. My issue is this: we all matter or none of us do. And that’s my job now