Last month I met for coffee with one of the true good guys - CPS Inspector Chris Butler. He published this editorial piece a while back:
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/col...olice-officers
After reading this I submitted a formal compliment to professional standards and the Chief's office commending Inspector Butler for his courage and leadership. As a result, Inspector Butler and I met up and swapped a few tales as two professionals who play different but mutually respected roles in the justice system.
It came as no surprise to me that we both had very similar views with respect to how officers should conduct themselves. And after more than 30 years of policing, Insp. Butler (who as a use of force expert is not afraid to say when police force was unjustified) still demonstrates outward respect for the presumption of innocence and the judicial process.
The core of my compliment read as follows:
Quote:
While I have very little knowledge of Inspector Butler’s career in policing, I am nevertheless prepared to say that his action in speaking out to defend those critical of recent police-involved shootings may prove to be one of his greatest accomplishments as an officer of the law.
His column will not garner any actual awards and in reality its text will likely be quickly forgotten by most. But at a time of critical importance in the shaping of the CPS as an organization that will continue to serve my children, and one day their children, Butler’s column has normalized and legitimized critical debate while simultaneously undermining an “us versus them” mentality that is antithetical to legitimate modern day community policing.
It is extremely short-sighted to think that silence, or worse yet mindless support of all police all the time, is somehow a more respectable approach or one that leads to better policing outcomes for officers and the community at large.
|
We all need to keep in mind that open and strong criticism of police is an important part of keeping their powers (given to them by the citizenry) in check. And as suggested by Inspector Butler, such criticism is not inherently anti-police at all. As such, I encourage everyone here to continue to question and challenge what appears to be bad police conduct.
But also, if you can take the time to publish accounts of bad experiences you have had, then make sure you also take time to submit formal compliments for the good experiences. It matters to the individual officers as people trying to do the right thing to know that it had a positive impact to a citizen; and formally it matters to their chances for promotion.
Perhaps most importantly, reinforcing the positive experiences as often as possible has the biggest chance of spreading such conduct throughout the service from the bottom up. And in the end, the goal ought to be to improve our police service even when we are harshly criticizing the conduct of one or more of its members.
The official compliment form can be found here:
http://www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Publ...ry-Police.aspx