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Words are powerful - Thoughts shape - Ideas have consequences

Michael Nevin

S.F. Police Officer & Freelance Writer
Posted July 11, 2005

To Protect and to Serve

In the last 127 years 96 San Francisco Police Officers have died in the line of duty. Over 60 percent of those brave souls were killed by gunfire. Fortunately, San Francisco did not add any names to that list on the night of May 5th, 2004. This easily could have been the case since it was on this night that officers pursued a suspect wanted in connection with an attempted kidnapping. “Prosecutors say the 29-year-old felon fired first and officers returned fire…in self- defense and defense of each other,” according to The Examiner. The suspect was killed.

What a difference a year makes. Several officers involved in the aforementioned incident now find themselves before the Police Commission on charges of misconduct, albeit none of the charges involve any allegations of wrongdoing for firing the fatal shot. When formal charges were brought, not by the police department or district attorney’s office but by the Office of Citizen Complaints, shock rang throughout the law enforcement community. It appears that politics played a huge part in the decision to file charges and several S.F. cops got the short end of the stick.

The job of a cop shouldn’t be to simulate chum for the cadre of anti-cop activists. Contrary to certain opinion, the most important aspect of police work is the knowledge, skill and ability to employ force in order to protect self or others. The job of policing is sometimes dirty and always dangerous. For cops facing violent subjects, the risks are numerous and the rewards are few. There are good reasons for having force options located on the belt of an officer rather than in storage lockers at district stations. A lethal option in the use-of-force continuum is something that every cop trains for but none desire.

American jurisprudence has had something to say about police use-of-force over the years. Police officers involved in force incidents are judged by the Fourth Amendment’s “objective reasonableness” standard, at least according to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has held: “The ‘reasonableness’ of a particular use-of-force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.” There are four factors taken into consideration “including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight,” opined the highest court in the land back in 1989.

An officer facing misconduct allegations regarding an incident involving use-of-force deserves and should expect a fair and impartial hearing based on applicable standards. Whether we’re talking about police in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston or Baton Rouge there is one simple fact that remains the same—for cops to be able to do their job effectively they need to have faith that a competent tribunal will objectively view the totality of all relevant factors if their actions ever come into question. Political posturing should be expected from the usual suspects but there is little room for it in a judge’s (or commissioner’s) chamber.

Officers also depend on the community they serve to give them the benefit of the doubt and afford them the same due process that even the dregs of society have come to expect. One thing, in my mind, stands out as the most important factor in police/community relations: accountability. The police surely must be held accountable for their actions on the job, and officers must be willing to live at high standards outside of work. But accountability is a two-way street and police officers should be able to trust that law-abiding citizens will stand up for them when they needlessly find themselves in the crosshairs of anti-cop activists. It takes brave people living in tough neighborhoods to confront the cacophony we have come to expect from the demagogues. But if inroads are to be made against crime and violence, it’s the only remedy to this modern plague that now affects policing.

Obviously, some people have ulterior motives when they inflame conflict in order to highlight their own standing or lack thereof. Other false prophets need the police to be the villain so as to deceive the public and remove the spotlight from their own failure to bring about the promise of prosperity to neighborhoods that they claim to represent. For these people their occupation and income actually depends on police/community conflict. And is so often the case, police officers and investigators do more in one shift for the betterment of society than these misery merchants will accomplish in a lifetime.

Police officers are trained to place themselves in between victims and suspects. It’s the nature of the job and for this the price may be quite high. Most of us on the job don’t consider this fact very often but we’re reminded of it every May when police week commences and we memorialize the fallen. “To protect and to serve” is an honor and a privilege. I often hear the voices of decent people trapped in crime-infested neighborhoods begging for help. They are the reason why I put on a uniform. And they are the ones whom I must ask, “I got your back—would you mind watching mine?”

© Michael Nevin 2005 Reprinted with Permission

Michael Nevin, Jr., is a veteran police officer in the San Francisco Bay Area and freelance writer. Mike's writing explores many topics ranging from the War on Terror to critical issues facing America's law enforcement officers. As a 3rd generation police officer, he offers a unique perspective on current events and political debates.Mike’s columns have been noticed and utilized by influential leaders in America. One of his columns was employed by the Racial Privacy Initiative campaign in California, and another has been indexed on the Pro-Death Penalty.com website.Mike has been a guest on several radio talk programs, including Changing Worldviews with Sharon Hughes and The Right Balance with Greg Allen. In addition to RenewAmerica, Mike is a contributing columnist for many Internet websites, including ChronWatch, American Daily, Men’s News Daily, Starr Journal, Newsbull and Changing Worldviews. His articles have also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Reality Check, Intellectual Conservative, and MichNews. Mike can be contacted at nevin166@comcast.net