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Since no one piece can touch on even a fraction of the issues with local police work in America...I wrote four. Here’s the first, my thoughts of rejecting the warrior view of policing & embracing a neighbor view. Last June after George Floyd’s murder. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/03/beat-cop-militarized-policing-cia/
Here is the second, written during the outrage over law enforcement hiding not just their faces but also their names even as they act in all of our names. There are times for that; but accountability & transparency must be a foundation of our job. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/07/23/anonymous-federal-officers-portland/
Here’s the third: after the violent insurrection at the US Capitol, where I worked for the briefest of times in 2001-2002. On the horror of ‘shoot don’t shoot’ in that particular moment. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/12/capitol-police-shoot-training-mob/
And here’s today’s piece on the need for personal accountability AND systemic change in American police work. In the light of the Chauvin verdict. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/04/21/police-officers-chauvin-verdict-personal/
Taken together they are my own thoughts, nothing more or less, on how I can do my job better. Those thoughts are: embrace a neighbor concept, stop trying to be a warrior, maybe live where you work, give your neighbors the benefit of the doubt, and slow down in almost all cases
