Street Smart

. I’ve kind of beat this topic to death so I’ll keep this last (yet complex) story very short and sum it all up from my perspective.

Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officers responded to a call of an armed suspect who had barricaded himself inside an auto body shop. During the incident, the suspect exited the building two separate times and fired at the officers, while using his infant daughter as a human shield. The situation came to a tragic end when the suspect’s 17-year-old stepdaughter tried to escape the building. While fleeing, the stepdaughter fell to the ground in the parking lot. The suspect exited the building at approximately the same time (still hiding behind his infant daughter) and began firing at the officers and his 17-year-old stepdaughter. The officers returned fire. The suspect was shot and killed, as was his infant daughter. One of the SWAT officers was shot in the shoulder. Initially, because it was such a chaotic scene, it was unknown if the infant was shot by her father or one of the SWAT officers.

Many of the officers involved in that incident are my friends. When the coroner’s report revealed that it was a bullet fired by one of the SWAT cops that killed the infant, the entire unit was devastated. Several officers fired at the suspect during that incident and the department (quite wisely in my opinion), out of concern for the officer, chose not to reveal whose bullet struck the child. To my knowledge, it’s still that way.

So why have I used three columns to tell these stories? Because it’s really difficult (infuriating!) witnessing events like those I’ve described and then watching the media castigate and criticize law enforcement every time something goes wrong. The truth is that, when things go wrong, the cops are negatively impacted as well. In each of the stories I told, the officers were only trying to help. Why is it always the cops fault when things go wrong?

Look at all of the recent incidents that are deemed so “newsworthy.” Where is the blame always placed? On the cops! However, break down each of those events (Breonna Taylor’s shooting is an exception) and there is one common denominator… the suspect’s failure to comply with an officer’s lawful orders/directions. Pick one. Now look at it critically. I’ll help with one example. Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, refused to comply with officers responding to a domestic incident. He was tased with no effect (often an indication of some sort of drug or mental impairment) while walking to his car to, as he stated, arm himself. He also had a warrant for his arrest for sexual assault. Blake reached into his car, as he said he would, and was shot. Now, walk that backward to the beginning. Would Blake have been shot if he had simply followed directions? The answer to that is no! Even George Floyd (as egregious as that incident was) would likely be alive today if he had simply complied and gotten in the police car. I can go back over a long career with stories like this and the cops are always getting the blame. I spent 33 years in a profession where every law enforcement critic I met seemed to know more about what I did for a living than I did! I’d love to have a dollar for every time I’ve heard a critic, with absolutely no law enforcement experience, say, “what the cops should have done…”

Nothing I’ve written is intended to suggest that mistakes are never made. I could discuss the importance of tactics and training all day. That said, I would add that it is absolutely impossible to train for every possible scenario an officer might face during his/her career. It simply cannot be done.

The media loves to push the narrative that police officers are somehow brutal and racist. They “fan the flames” more fiercely when a Black person is shot. Just this morning I read a headline that said, “Black man shot by police.” Why not just say, “Man shot by police”? The answer: in today’s environment, including the fact that the person shot was Black will increase the likelihood the story gets attention (fanning the flames!). Also, keep in mind that in the majority of these situations, the officers were called to the scene, they didn’t just drive by and decide to have a look. Contrary to what the media would have the reader believe, ethnicity of a suspect has nothing to do with the way cops are trained. It’s important too for the reader to understand that police officers don’t act… they react. Think about it. In each of the examples above, the officers responded to the behavior of the suspect. Consider each of the stories I told. In the first, the officers reacted to what they thought was gunfire. In the second, the officers were reacting to a call for service regarding an armed suspect. In the third, reacting to a call of an armed and barricaded suspect. Contrary to what the media would have everyone believe, cops don’t just drive down the street and start grabbing and abusing people. Furthermore, police officers don’t get to choose which calls they’ll respond to (although I think that day may be coming, if it’s not already here). A cop can’t be assigned a call and think, “I don’t like the sound of that one! Might be dangerous so I’m not going.” Not even close. I was taught that when you get a call… you respond. That’s it! Deal with whatever is there when you arrive.

A law enforcement buddy of mine has an idea that I think might have some merit. Remember “Just Say No” from the war on drugs? My buddy wants to see another national slogan; “Just Say OK.” His thought (and I agree with him) is that if a cop tells you to do something, “just say OK.” If there’s a dispute regarding the officer’s actions, sort it out later when emotions aren’t too high. Think critically. Would any of this even be a topic for discussion if the people mentioned above had just said OK?

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls. He can be reached by email at [email protected].