With all of the problems that are surfacing in police departments throughout America, it is fair to say that police are under siege and will continue to be until these problems are solved.  They are not only under siege by communities in states like San Francisco, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Missouri and Ohio but it seems that all of America is a participant.

America and all of the exasperated communities where these problems are rampant are demanding answers and a solution to what, at least, appears to be a systemic problem with America’s policing of its citizens.  This problem involves police brutality and excessive use of both non-lethal and lethal force by police against people of color and especially against African American males.

Our communities need the police.  Too many clean police officers are suffering because of the things that the few dirty police officers do.  However, the suffering that these clean cops are left to endure is not brought on solely by an angry and unfair public; these clean cops are also partially responsible for it because of what they have thus far refused to do.  They have a responsibility to expose these rogue groups of dirty cops in police departments around the country but they continually shirk this responsibility.

It does not matter whether they avoid exposing their fellow police officers because of the so called ‘Blue Code’ or out of fear of reprisal by them.  The fact is that they refuse to expose these officers: they keep silent when they witness police brutality and excessive use of force and are fully aware that misleading or false reports are regularly being filed.

Is this situation a tangled web for clean police officers and are they right to be fearful should they bear witness to the truth?  The answer is probably yes because many times this ‘dirty cop’ virus has already invaded the highest levels of the department increasing the likelihood that those in the chain of command that ultimately lead down to the lowest level police officer on the street are also tainted.

This presents a dangerous situation for clean police officers, which can make it hard for them to do the right thing.  But police officers are placed in dangerous situations every day that they put on their uniform and that danger does not end with their shift.  The only way that they are going to even have a chance to rid themselves of dirty cops and make police departments throughout the country the law enforcement bastions that they should be; and ones that represent the places of honor and service to America that they should be, is to rid them of those cops who view honor and service as nothing more than mere words.

It is understandable that most police officers choose to fraternize mainly with other police officers; the nature of their job tends to skew them in that direction.  This does not have to stop in order for them to do their part to foster trust between police and the communities that they serve and protect.  There will still be anger and animosity that at times exist between police and civilians but the trust level and desire to assist the police in better and more effectively doing their job will be there.  It cannot help but to thrive and grow!  I believe that even a reasonable angry citizen who has had a bad experience with the police, if they believe that that police officer treated them fairly and was simply trying to do their job, will – overall, still stand in support of that police officer.

I hope that police officers around the country will read this article and sincerely contemplate the message that it is intended to send.  Then, even after they consider the danger that they may expose themselves to by standing up for the truth, they will do it anyway.  I hope that they will decide to be heroes and do the right thing.  Being a hero does not necessarily mean that one is without fear when they perform a heroic act, it means that even if they are afraid they perform it anyway.

Police officers are accustomed to receiving medals for being heroes.  There have likely been many times when they have even received one of these medals for taking a life if it was under the right circumstances or unfortunately, if it was falsely depicted to have been under the right circumstances.  To step up and be a part of ridding police departments of dirty cops would truly warrant a heroes’ medal: it would be a giant step forward for America.

For those of us who are not police officers and especially those who live in some of the previously mentioned communities that have been hit by these unfair policing methods, we must realize that we too have a responsibility to fulfill in order to foster and build trust and cooperation between police and our communities.  When the police are being fair and treating their subject with dignity and respect, we must respect and support them even when in the moment, from our perspective, they are not doing the right thing in detaining and/or arresting that person.

If clean cops will work to rid police departments of dirty cops and the police and community members will do their part to begin to foster and build trust and cooperation, we can solve these problems.

Eulus Dennis