Thoughts from Chief Sjolander... Perception is everything... Ive been thinking about a comment that was made regarding my post on success yesterday. Normally, I dont let comments bother me. I read them all and I welcome them as long as they are clean and presented in a way that everyone here can read. We have kids and grandparents who visit our page. The comment could be taken in different ways. I wanted to share the comment just as it was written and Ill let you decide what the meaning was. Here it is... For some reason i get the feeling that someone would have a very different impression of you if caught driving while black That was the whole post. At first I was offended. I thought the writer was assuming that we treat people poorly who could be viewed as minorities differently. I assumed the writer thinks we are the type of department who uses our authority to intimidate others and base our attitude on the color of a persons skin. That could not be farther from the truth. Now I dont live and work in your city. I dont know how police officers treat others where you live and if you have been treated poorly by the police, Im sorry. I can tell you that as long as Im the chief here, none of that would be tolerated...at all, but please dont lump us all into the same group because of a bad experience. I know we have some bad cops out here who should not be wearing the badge, but we are not them. We have wonderful men and women out here doing the best we can for the citizens we serve. Then I read it again... The next time I read it I thought the comment could be accurate. Here is why. I had a vision of a person being pulled over by me, they see me walking up to their vehicle and they are ready for my poor cop attitude. They are ready to be picked on or harassed then this happens... I smile, introduce myself, tell them why I stopped them, ask for their license and insurance, I tell them right then and there if I will be issuing them a citation or a warning. I explain that I need to go back to my squad, do a couple of things on my computer, and Ill be right back. When I return, I give them their license and insurance card back and if I issued a citation, I explain it to them. I do not give a citation and a lecture. If its a verbal warning, I explain why their actions caught my attention and I ask if they have any questions. I ask them to drive safe and I go back to my squad, thats it. Thats how I do a traffic stop and Ive done them that was for years. So maybe the person thought one way of me before I walked up to their vehicle maybe they think differently of me now. Maybe they had a bad experience with the police in the past and now look at me and the city I love as a nice place with nice people. Maybe they will think of me when they need some help and know that my co-workers and I will never react them poorly, especially because of the color of their skin. Maybe I left a lasting impression with someone in the vehicle and they now want to be a peace officer because they liked what they saw and how they were treated. So yes, maybe they do have a different impression of me. I think thats a good thing, dont you? Stay safe, Lee
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:49:54 +0000