Let me begin with I don’t condone taking of a life! I believe justice was done in the Chauvin case.

However, everyone needs to take a giant step back from painting police with a broad brush. Are there bad police, untrained police, yes even racist police? Absolutely! They are human beings with human faults and human limitations. Start by weeding those people out. Then improve the interviewing and background checks. Maybe a lie-detector test along with a stronger psychological test should be administered, to get out hidden feelings and ideology. Check social media for comments and associations. Then improve and increase training! Communication skills along with non lethal alternatives need to be added! And training & testing doesn’t end once hired! Quarterly and annual training and testing is a must! If an officer receives complaints or is involved in a questionable incident, desk duty and strong follow-up and re-training should be mandatory. If it continues, then termination and stripped of weapons and licenses.

But….. we should all take a long honest look at the other side. In some of the more recent publicized cases, the people involved were not Ángels! Most had been or were currently in trouble with the law! If one has issues with the law, stay home, keep a low profile and clean up your life!

The other concern ( for everyone regardless of color) if you are approached by police….comply! Stop talking! Comply! Don’t be argumentative! Comply! If for some reason you have an outstanding warrant, or something else is wrong and they want to take you into custody. Comply! And don’t resist, don’t run, don’t start fighting and struggling. People’s emotions change and adrenaline rises in confrontations! Possibly just possibly….if those types of situations didn’t get to that level, then maybe those unfortunate people may still be alive!

The narrative has to change. Chanting defund or eliminate the police is not the answer. We need police especially in Black & Brown communities, for protection from crime. In those communities a majority of the officers are minorities! Teach your kids to respect and trust police. More community policing can heal the distrust. We need reform and healing! Not hatred!