8/20/20
Dear Police Officers,
Thank you for your civil service. So many of you serve your communities honorably and have saved many lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few critical questions to ask.
We can have amicable discussions and learn from one another.
First, I would like to ask, what is wrong with citizens asking officers to do better at protecting and serving all of us, without bias?
What is wrong with cameras if what you are doing is according to the law?
Can you evaluate an officer’s capacity to make rational and reasonable judgment calls even under stress?
Can you work on training officers on how to deescalate instead of escalating a situation?
How about training officers approaching and talking to people respectfully regardless of the situation, especially when things are calm? It decreases the animosity, defensiveness, and fear.
Can you please help officers with anger management issues or other issues that negatively affect how they protect and serve?
What can we, as citizens, do to help you to help us? Maybe a multidisciplinary team is what is needed to help you deal with mental and domestic calls.
When you put on that uniform, you are in charge, which means you must display professionalism, ethics, rationality, and self-control. You can't take anything personally or allow your emotions to control your actions. You are also responsible for calling out your peers and even superiors when they are clearly and deliberately violating their oath. When they fail to protect and serve or deny citizens due process, we need you to say something. How your profession is perceived should matter to you. There is always room for improvement in every profession and practice.
Please do not be complicit when one of your fellow officers consistently violates protocols. When they express racist ideologies and act unprofessionally and unethically, you cannot look away. If one of your fellow officers is always inclined to racially profiling and stopping POC without any reason, you cannot cover it up. When you do, you are also failing to protect and serve. You fail the citizens; you fail yourself and your fellow officer who probably needs better training or a different profession.
We would not have had Chauvin if somebody had said something, and suggested a different career path. He did not uphold his oath to protect and serve and was a poor mentor to the officers in training even before he murdered George in front of the whole world. Maybe Elijah would still be alive if someone had held a higher standard. He was, without reason, judged as being a suspicious Black man. He was a harmless human being, a citizen who deserved protection. The rogue officers and unethical EMTs who murdered him were heartless, ignoring his plea for his life.
We know that you are human beings, subject to error, misjudgment, biases, etc. so, what is wrong with introspection so that those things will not cloud your judgment? Why not remove the police who do not follow the protocols, abuse their power, or fail to protect and serve? The time to talk about this is now before the situations occur.
Nurses and Doctors are held accountable for their actions or inactions. People's lives are in our hands too. There is always mild anxiety attached to that, but it keeps us focused and sober. We understand our sacred duty and calling: "First, do no harm."
When sentinel events occur, an immediate investigation is launched. We are cleared if we followed the protocol, but any loss or error greatly concerns us. Unfortunately, there are hospital-related deaths, so we are continually evaluating and working toward improving our practices. We step back and review what we could have done differently. We have had to change processes and practices repeatedly to obtain improved patient outcomes and preserve more lives. We do it. We learn new methods. We can't afford to go rogue. Failure to follow evidence-based research, protocols, guidelines, best practices, or pathways can cause unnecessary loss of life or function at our hands. Many errors can be prevented by following the protocols even while under stress, like cardiac or respiratory arrests.
When adverse reactions, falls, errors, sentinel events, or neglect occurs, the investigators make conclusions based on
1. Whether we followed the protocol and is it current?
2. Used rational judgment,
3. Did what any prudent medical person would have done in a similar situation, using appropriate and approved processes or techniques.
4. Did we do the best we could with our knowledge and training without prejudice?
5. Did we, or the provider, have the appropriate level of competence and experience to correctly carry out the procedure?
6 Did we verify the information, accurately identify the patient, and call a 'timeout' so that everyone involved was on the same page?
The entire system and other collaborative depts are evaluated, as well. Evaluation of our processes and individuals are what make our patients safer. We are not above being corrected. We are committed to being transparent, even if it means that there will sometimes be lawsuits unless the investigation proves otherwise.
Healthcare providers get sued for negligence or malpractice, so they make every effort to practice cautiously, follow the proper protocols and procedures, and collaborate to avoid incidents. Most do better because they would rather save a life than lose one, especially those surgeons.
Let's be clear; we are not anti-police. We are anti-brutality and anti-inhumanity. Instigators try to distort our cause. Please tune out those who want to promote more discord under the guise of supporting law and order. We should all be able to seriously discuss these real issues without them being ignored or pushed away again. Failure to do so only results in more distrust between Police and people of color.
I am saddened every time I hear of a police officer being shot or killed. I took care of many Police and had to eat a lot of doughnuts because you guys always bought the nurses doughnuts to show your appreciation. We appreciate you too, and what you do. We know you put your lives in jeopardy. We are not advocating that you lose your life if people are attacking you or others, or putting people's lives in danger.
We know that sometimes you must make fast decisions; we do too. We are just saying, please don't be so quick to shoot people in the back if they are running away, or when they are not posing a threat—tone down aggressive treatment and use alternatives when feasible.
We are only asking you to stop profiling innocent citizens without reason. Let us live free too. We want our children to see you as 'Officer Friendly,' like other children, not another threat to their lives.
Many are upholding their oath, but too many are not. That is in every profession. Those who do not wish to make improvements need to turn in their guns and badges to end the unwarranted abuse and killing of Black and Brown people. It is too much.
The history of Blacks and Police has been a contentious one for a long time. And we are aware that some officers have expressed a disdain for Blacks and POC. But if a person's color determines how you treat them, then you need introspection. This unrest that is going on stems from years of abuse and disrespect of Blacks and POC by Police. It is time to put an end to this. Still, it requires acknowledging the problem before we can make effective, sustainable changes. We must change the hiring practices and community relationships. I am advocating for ongoing dialogue, transparency, and, ultimately, transformation.
Transformation brings you to a higher level of humanity. It changes the way you see a person, which inevitably affects how you treat them.
And changing the subject when we say Black Lives Matter, does not help. There is no need to counter a legitimate reality. It only confirms what we have been experiencing. Your life matters too; it always has. It's a moot point. But it's time for brutal honesty, and denying the real problem will never solve it. Please take the time to hear and consider our simple request. I believe we can find common ground and create mutual respect for our communities and Police. Be safe.
By the way, my sister is a Police Chief. She is an exemplary public servant.
Thank you for listening,
Brenda G. Stanley
Brim4peace@gmail.com
