Ive been connected with law enforcement in one capacity or another since 1976. I have friends in law enforcement who are black, white, and Asian or varying mixes; male, female, gay and straight; local, county, state, federal and military. Some are very good, some not so good. But I have yet to meet a single police officer who gets up in the morning, straps on his or her gun and thinks I hope I get to use my gun today” or “I sure hope I get to shoot and kill someone today. To the contrary, nobody wants to use their gun in the line of duty, except maybe for training and target practice at the range. As a lawyer, for a brief part of my career, I represented some bad people and some very bad people. I even represented a few who may have been innocent or maybe more accurately were not quite as guilty as the charges against them indicated. But for the most part, they made the choice that landed them in trouble. They choose to be bad. And there are consequences to being bad. Sometimes the consequences even exceed the criminal act. That’s life and life is not always fair. But neither is criminals conduct…especially to their victim. That evening in Ferguson, one person and one person alone, held his fate and destiny in his own hands. Only one person chose to be the target of police interest by their actions; no one else. Only one person put into motion the events that lead to his own death. Only one person started out the evening by committing a crime, by robbing a store and using his size, strength and power to bully the weaker store owner. As a county prosecutor, Ive had my share of being the one ultimately responsibility for investigating police involved shootings. One thing is certain, even when a grand jury returns a No Bill of Indictment (a finding that probable cause did not exist for the bringing of criminal charges against the subject of the grand jury’s interest) and does not indict, the officer is still burdened with a lifetime of regret. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY, wants to be responsible for the death of another person. Police officer never chose to place themselves in that position...they know all too well the chain of consequences they will face, even if ultimately exonerated. Ferguson is not about Black vs. White or White vs., Black. It is about the rule of law against the rule of terror. It is justice vs. anarchy. It is about reality vs. fiction. Do not let yourselves be lead into the easy fix of “clicking” a “Like” button on FaceBook, without some serious thought about what is really happening in Ferguson and why. How do they more forward? First, you can’t wait until the troubles begin to realize there is a disconnect and a need to interact with the community in a positive and sensitive manner. I was the county prosecutor of the most populous county in New Jersey; a county of much diversity. I’m a conservative and to me that means I am dedicated to representative government and “fairness” to all. No quotas, no set asides, no special privileges. I wanted an office that represented the community and I set out to build one that did just that. And I think I did just that. By casting the net far and wide, I attracted some of the most talented lawyers available and hired them as assistant prosecutors; I also attracted some very bright and talented police officers who I appointed as county investigators. You see, as a “conservative” I believe that people should be hired and promoted WITHOUT REGARD to their race, color, or ethnicity; NOR SHOULD THEY BE HIRED BECAUSE of their race, color or ethnicity. In fact, I’ll go one step further…I firmly believe that it is insulting to any group of people to suggest that they NEED any special treatment to advance. No, all they NEED in FAIRNESS…after all, isn’t that what made this country great…fairness that allows ALL to prosper according to their ability. (I also believe in Christian “Charity” (i.e. Love) and oppose entitlements as destructive to the human soul…but that is for another discussion. Law enforcement in Ferguson needs to start casting that net. It is not good enough to say there aren’t any “volunteers’ for the police jobs who live within the community. Try harder and cast that net far and wide until you have a police department that represents the community. It can be done. Also, the church is a huge part of the Black community. If law enforcement is not engaging the leaders of those churches BEFORE problems began, how can they look for support when the problems occur? As a returning Vietnam Veteran, a “ conservative” even way back then, I pledged and joined what was historically a “Black” fraternity at a Southern junior college. I went on to become president because of the Black vote. Yes, my fraternity brothers elected this white, conservative, Vietnam Veteran to be their president. And I am proud of the barriers we broke and the things we achieved. No, this wasn’t about “Black and White” … it was about fairness and justice regardless of color. And the lesson I took away from that experience … I learned how to be a better Christian. (I’m still trying!) When we would get together on a Sunday for some pickup games of football, basketball, softball or even a good old fashioned beer party, there was one thing that was certain … our Black fraternity brothers weren’t going to show up. No. They were in church with their families in the morning, having supper with in the afternoon and then back in church. Who were the better people? Who were the better Christians? See, that is my understanding of the goodness of the Black Community. And these good people are the very people who are most victimized by the lawlessness that goes on in Ferguson. These are the people whom my heart bleeds for and who need our support and prayers. So if you’re a “White” person, please do not for one moment believe that what is going on there is representative of the Black community, It is not! Pray for the people of Ferguson. Pray for Peace and Understanding. Pray for Unity. And Live Love as Christ taught us! Nothing less is acceptable.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:29:35 +0000
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