Reflections from the Kitchen Sink on the Police

Police

About 11:30 last night, I had a full PTSD moment. I was actually in a deep sleep when one of the boys opened the door to take Lola out, and the alarm system notification of a door opening woke me. There was no emergency, but the wave of anxiety rattled me. There’s more to that, but that’s not important. 

Anyway…I’ve been up most of the morning since and decided to share some of my thoughts on law enforcement’s impact in my home and others whom I know personally. 

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If you’ve not had a police officer come to your house in the middle of the night to tell you your living dream has ended, you might want to at least take a breath before you clump all police officers into a single category based on “news” reports that are filled with leaning language. 

…that officer refused to leave my home for hours as I had collapsed in the floor and entered a shocked state…

…that officer sat on the couch with my high needs child and tried to manage his care and monitored my younger child as I was unable to…

…that officer made countless calls for me as I was unable to…

…that officer stayed until he was certain people were in place with each of the three of us…

…then there were the officers who had tears in their eyes when they finished testifying in court and came to me to express their condolences again before exiting the courtroom…

…and the officer who many times texted me to check on me and update me on the process…

…and the officers who came to the rescue when we had a couple of emergency moments here the last couple years…

…and the officers who regularly came to the alternative school to deescalate kids who had next to no adult guidance outside the four walls where I worked…

…and the officers who shopped for and with community kids at Christmas…

…and the officers who gave off-the-clock time to work ballgames between area rivals…

…and the officers who wrote my three speeding tickets…even the not really nice guy in another state…

…yeah, I could keep going.

We’ve all had “that” teacher, “that” clerk at a store, “that” neighbor, “that” hairdresser, “that” waitress, “that” whoever. Those “thats” don’t define everyone else in those professions. 

In this time of heightened stress, eliminating the structure of protection in our land is counterintuitive. 

More diligent screening procedures and more specialized training, yes. Totally dismantling and defunding the entire system, no. 

Let’s try some thoughtful dialogue during which people think about what’s being said by others instead of just waiting for their time to speak. 

All Reflections from the Kitchen Sink posts are written by Melinda Campbell. Melinda is a retired educator who currently focuses her efforts on raising her two teenaged boys, advocating for individuals with special needs and against drunk driving, and serving in her local community. New Kitchen Sink Merchandise-Click Here?