Just protect and just serve

Whatever happened to the motto "to serve and protect" as the prescript for some of our police forces. It's being made a mockery of by more and more renegade lawmen, their departments and their associated jurisdictions.

These peace officers inevitably take an oath but some of our sworn officers have deviated from it to the point where it no longer has relevance.

Given the abundance of crime they continually deal with, it's no wonder that the letter of the law oftentimes takes a back seat to survival instincts. Nonetheless, there's no excuse for abusing the badge, the gun and the state's authority.

And as tempting as it is, it's still no use to cite individual incidents considering how long-suffering and pervasive this problem is.

How do we curb the homicide, brutality, profiling, roadblocks, fallacious warrants, harassment and condescension?

We have to demand it. They have to manage it.

Demand it from your elected officials. http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Let your county commissioner, your city councilman, your mayor and most importantly the hierarchal leaders of your local police force know that you want your police force to serve and protect and not intimidate non-violent, non-threatening members of the citizenry who are just going about their normal daily activities.

Our law enforcement officers are oftentimes referred to as 'Our Finest'. Well, our finest need the finest training and management. They need continuing education on how to best keep our communities safe while peacefully co-existing with the residents. They need to be reminded of their ultimate responsibilities on a regular basis (like every day).

In the days before police forces there were tribunals. If someone in the village violated the code of conduct, they went before the tribunal and were dealt with accordingly. Somewhere along the line the tribunals got replaced by the Fuzz. Dialing 911 won't put us through to one of the esteemed and exalted village elders. For better or worse, however, we have the “Po-leese” now and they do come in handy when the bad guys have us cornered.

But, to all my policemen and policewomen, please review your police officer oath every day and let it be your guide.

http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=40363@ktvt.dayport.com