Dear American Police Officers, if you are making an arrest, do not handcuff the arrestee, if he punches you, do not punch him back, if he attempts to take your weapon, let him have it, if he fires your weapon at you, do not retaliate in any way, and if he runs away, do not pursue. Be smart as I have outlined, or you could be executed in the name of Justice.
That’s my opening statement for today, and reading it, it sure sounds like literary use of sarcasm to make a point. But really, it’s not. Yesterday, Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced a murder charge against police officer Garrett Rolfe and an aggravated assault charge against the second officer, Devin Brosnan. Numerous news sources have stated that punishment for Mr.Rolfe “could extend to life in prison or even the death penalty” (NY Times) and that (AP online) “The felony murder charge against Rolfe, 27, carries life in prison or the death penalty, if prosecutors decide to seek it. He was also charged with 10 other offenses punishable by decades behind bars.” DA Howard says that the arrestee, Rayshard Brooks, was kicked after being shot, and was stood upon as he lay dying, claims which have been denied by lawyers representing the police officers. Howard also says that “they concluded from witness statements and the videos that Brooks never presented himself as a threat.” And that “Even though Mr. Brooks was slightly impaired, his demeanor during this incident was almost jovial.”
Taking these statements, I can see where the police officers made their mistake – they attempted to handcuff Mr. Brooks. According to some witnesses who were apparently standing to the “Extreme Far Left” a black man is justified for fighting off being handcuffed by a uniformed police officer because of the history of what happens to a black man once he is handcuffed, with George Floyd being “Exhibit A.” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms obviously agrees, jumping on the “blast the cops bandwagon” almost immediately. But if the videos mean anything, this case bears no resemblance whatsoever to the George Floyd incident, and plenty of Black leaders agree. I’ll say this for Mr. Brooks, “He can fight.” He handled the two officers quite well, leaving one flattened on the ground minus one of his weapons, and that’s the officer who has been charged with aggravated assault. Imagine that all by itself; a uniformed police officer gets punched out, his weapon stolen and used on his partner, gets a concussion out of it all, and now must turn himself in to the DA today to face charges that he assaulted the man who punched him out. And remember, he was a uniformed police officer doing his job in a courteous manner, and the other guy started the ruckus.
One of my closest loved ones gives me this perspective: “Let’s just chill. To me, Black Lives Matter just means let’s all be together, and have unity. Leave people alone and enjoy life.” Well, let me unequivocally state here that I agree with that perspective. Thank you, My Son Lyle.
But there’s more. Drunk drivers kill almost 30 people in the United States every day - that's one person every 48 minutes. Who is going to police that? 277 rapes are reported every day and over 44 murders take place in America every day. Many completely innocent Americans are being slaughtered on our highways, and killed or defiled on our streets every day, leaving fathers, mothers, spouses, children and friends devastated for the remainder of their earthly lives. We had better have some professionals to try and make sure we’re not next! I am Caucasian, and it is possible that this affects my own perspective, but I don’t believe that race is the driving factor in the Atlanta situation. Situations escalate, lives are obviously on the line, and in the first 50 weeks of 2019, 38 police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty, with some dying responding to robberies or domestic disturbances and others being ambushed. Let’s not ever think that the matter of enforcing our laws is easy. If you’re a cop, the next traffic stop you make could be your last stop before the mortuary. Those who think it’s easy have never tried it.
Defund the police? Are you crazy? Give this officer “the chair” because he got in a life or death struggle with a felon and didn’t lose? It’s a travesty. No wonder a bunch of Atlanta cops are sick today!
As a child, I looked to my teachers for justice. As an adult, I look to my cops for justice and the judges that sit behind our benches. As I have written in recent blogs, America’s judicial history has not always been a perfect one, but one day soon, the Isaiah 33:22 blueprint for true justice will be implemented “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.” Then will be perfect justice, but until then, I’m all for “chillin.” If the cops pull me over, I will chill and prayerfully so will they. But if we don’t have “and support” the Peace Officers of America, there won’t be any chillin’ – there’ll just be a whole bunch more killin’.
Love and Prayers to all,
Pastor