Talked to people today about police reform. I blathered about how compliance can’t be a police goal, how we can cut the number of police by reducing the number of calls for police by funding all the stuff we cut that could prevent a 911 call. How less police is a good goal

How we must redefine what it means to be the police here in 2020. And what it means to call the police here in 2020. How there is no one solution but rather the daily application of many proper approaches. How we don’t have to be this way. How we all matter or none of us do

How being overwhelmed with calls isn’t an excuse to mishandle a call. How we can reduce uses of force simply by delaying the ‘lawful order’. Don’t tell someone to do something if they can’t do it right then. Wait a second. How we Police must stop being so afraid.

How we need to stop pretending we are the thin blue line and embrace that we work by the consent of our neighbors. We aren’t warriors. We aren’t sheepdogs. We aren’t Spartans. We aren’t city-wide hall monitors. We are local cops. Our neighbors are our job. It’s not a slogan.

If you’re so scared of your neighbors, even the scary ones, don’t be a local cop. We aren’t robotic law enforcement. We’re local cops. We aren’t punishers. We’re local cops. We aren’t noble. We’re lucky. Change what it means to be a cop in America. Then hire and train for that