See Something Say Something
Police officers all across America love to tell the community, the Black community more specifically. That if they see something, like someone committing a crime, that they should speak out or say something to help the police find and arrest the criminal who committed whatever crime it was that they committed. Especially, heinous and violent crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery and other crimes of a violent nature. Most people, at least decent people, would agree with this police tactic as protecting citizens are the number one job of the police. At least, that is what most decent citizens would love to believe. In fact, before a federal judge in a recent lawsuit filed against a former Broward County police officer in Parkland, Florida, who I will not name here because I believe him to be derelict in his duties as a police officer as well as a coward, but that is my own personal opinion, ruled otherwise, against what many law-abiding citizens believed. The federal judge ruled to many people’s surprise that it was not part of a police officer’s job or duty to protect the “students” children of America if the commission of a crime like a mass shooting is occurring near or where the police officer is assigned to work at. If to serve and protect is not part of a police officer’s duty then what is and why are these armed officers being stationed at schools if they are not there to protect the students? That is another subject that needs further digging into and this also questions the morals or lack of morals that we as Americans love to hang our hat on, about how moral and decent and civil we are as a nation. Before rambling on about what an officer’s duty is or is not, let’s reiterate that the “if you see something say something” slogan or campaign that police officers around the nation have ingrained into our memories. They used this catchy slogan or campaign as a way to pressure a citizen’s morals, their courage, and their decency and humanity as human beings to speak out against criminals and criminal activity, even though many times the person speaking out, although brave and courageous, would most likely be in grave danger and targeted by the criminals themselves. Most times without police protection. They not only endangered themselves but also their loved ones if word got out that they spoke to the police and “ratted out” or “snitched on” the perpetrator of a crime, even if it was the right thing, the moral and decent thing to do. The funny thing is that this same slogan, this campaign that they use on the public should be a policy in every police station. A slogan that should be apart of police officers’ training. The fact that so many bad cops get away with murder, rape, embezzlement and other crimes against poor and low-income citizens and mostly Black citizens or people of color, who usually do not have access to or is privy to the kind of political power that affords them the right to due process and respect from the police officers who are supposed to serve their communities. This slogan or campaign is proof of the hypocrisy of the police department and the police union. Police officers are supposedly trained, unlike ordinary citizens, to spot certain things like body gestures and actions of criminals or suspects in order to help police do their jobs. Well, with such training, why is it so hard for the police to police themselves? Many officers in uniform know of bad cops, criminals with badges walking around their police stations and patrolling the streets even though these bad cops have no business wearing a badge. Police officer’s code of silence and protecting each other is utter nonsense, disgusting and pathetic and a dishonorable excuse for allowing a fellow officer to get away with crimes and dishonoring the badge and the oath they swore to uphold. Protecting your fellow officers on the street in the face of danger and having their backs is not the same as being complicit or quiet or acting in accordance with these bad police officers’ criminal activity or actions that they commit, crimes like murder, rape, and police brutality. The fact that the hand full of cops who do speak out are ostracized and harassed just proves the criminal element inside of the police departments across America. The so-called good cop who spoke out against a fellow cop who committed a crime and dishonored the badge now has to worry not only about being harmed or killed in the line of duty by some criminal on the streets but also by the criminals in badges, their fellow officers. The same officers who believe or at least through their actions and complicit behavior. Believe that it is best to remain quiet and not say something when they see, they know, and everyone else in the department knows that one or a group or the majority of their police department is filled with murderous criminals and officers who routinely break the law. This is not to say that every individual officer is committing a crime but if you are on the scene during the commission of a crime, like murder, or you are with the murderer when they commit the crime of murder, then you usually are charged with murder or charged with something, at least ordinary citizens are. So why not these so-called good cops who stand by and watch their fellow officers commit murder or battery? Even charging the so-called good cops who stand by and do nothing or say nothing should be charged with obstruction of justice because they knew that a crime was being committed or had been committed and they refused to uphold their oaths and protect not only the citizens of this nation but the laws of this land. People who are police officers choose to become police officers. They are not born police officers or forced to be police officers or are drafted into the police force. They know the dangers that they are signing up for but that does not excuse the actions of bad and murderous and criminal cops. They should not only be fired but held accountable and face and answer for the crimes that they have committed. Not only indicted and charged but if found guilty then they should receive the harshest punishment allowable by the law because they, the officer or officers, betrayed our trust and broke the laws that they swore to uphold. So before the police and their department and other public officials and law enforcement officers demand that the public, especially Black communities, to say something if they see something. How about they look in the mirror and look within their department and apply the same logic to themselves. Maybe if they do. The streets would be a lot safer because the communities that so many of these so-called bad apples, bad officers are patrolling and terrorizing, will one day get the sense that the community and the police department are in this together. Especially if these communities once terrorized by criminals wearing badges are prosecuted to the fullest for the crimes they commit and are no longer protected and shielded by the police union, the police departments, and the district attorney’s offices across the nation. Then the trust and respect between the communities greatly affected by police officers who terrorized their streets and the police department who are now holding their police officers accountable can maybe build on something that can change the way we view each other and see each other and hopefully that view of each other would be in a more positive light.
