By Dan Hazen / Herald Forum
Some of y’all slept through your diversity and inclusion training and it shows.
You’re still lumping a category of people together and passing judgment on them without knowing them, walking a mile in their shoes, or confronting your own biases.
Let me give you a peek into their world that few in the majority, dominant culture see.
The aura of the room was sober intensity. The pace of dialogue in the group was quick, but not panicked. Each spoke in turn, slightly overlapping the last, but coherent; collaborative and professional.
There were many topics:
Legality: Property rights, constitutionality, rapidly changing laws, obligations and responsibilities.
Morality: What is “right” and where it intersects with law, the human beings involved and their virtues. Duty and compassion.
Safety: Where are the risks, how should they be addressed, who are the threats and how can the innocent be protected.
Provenance: How did we wind up here? Who put us in this position and why? Are we even the right people to deal with it?
After dozens of man-hours of dialogue, research, investigation, and diplomacy — after social services, private sector, family, individuals, and government agencies stepped away, reached the end of their authority or simply failed — an emerging tragedy was now the responsibility of this group because no one else could or would handle it.
You see, a homeless man with two children had received a temporary housing voucher and were living in a hotel. It seems he violated some hotel rules (complained about noise and smoked a cigarette in his car but on hotel property). So, the hotel complained to the agency that issued the voucher and the agency revoked it. When the man refused to take his children to sleep on the street, the hotel called the police.
So, a belligerent man (just trying to house his kids yet simultaneously putting them at risk) a property owner who took advantage of a convenient excuse rather than compassion, social service agencies so over-whelmed and locked in bureaucracy that their momentum of effectiveness approaches zero, and the entire legal system stand (ironically united) with arms crossed, impatiently tapping their feet, and waiting for the Marysville Police Department to “fix this.”
A half-dozen cops (men and women, black and white, gay and straight, older and younger, veterans and rookies) are left to sort through a quagmire of local, state and federal laws while contemplating how to protect themselves and two innocent kids should the father become aggressive (which he has already has, while inexplicably rejecting the offer of a family shelter in favor of confrontation with law enforcement) while still obeying rapidly changing laws on use of force (the mistaken violation of which could land them in jail), while up-holding property laws they are sworn to enforce (though anyone can see are being misapplied) and preparing to care for two children in the patrol room for several hours, waiting for a Child Protective Services worker to come and place them in emergency foster care …
… at the end of an overtime shift … while still handling 911 calls from the rest of the city … knowing that if any part of this scenario goes sideways, there are those who will say, “All cops are b**tards!” and there are lawmakers who will feverishly work to punish them for someone else’s failures.
Yet, with a determined sigh and a gesture from the sergeant, they all stood and departed to go “fix it” as best they could.
Some of you, (and some who hold elected office) while rightly decrying racial, gender or religious stereotypes, are at the same time convinced that “cops” are a bunch knuckle-dragging white supremacist bullies, looking for the next opportunity to beat up a citizen.
My hope is that through this brief look into their daily world, you might consider applying the same tolerant, nuanced and open-minded thinking to this group that you do to the many other deserving members of our community.
I mean, justice is justice.
Dan Hazen is the community pastor for Allen Creek Community Church. A Marysville resident, he also serves as the officer wellness coordinator for the Marysville Police Department. The opinions expressed here are his own and not necessarily those of the police department or its officials.
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