We celebrate Independence Day, known as the Fourth of July, which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.  

   And that is great but unfortunately, we are still not free from the criminals and evil of our society. We are still waiting for our politicians and law makers to do more for our law-abiding community and law enforcement officers.  We need and want all police officers to build a positive relationship with the community and go after the criminals and conduct the investigations with one thing in mind - NOT just arrest but CONVICTION is the end game.  As law enforcement officers that is all you can do.  Then it is the job of our prosecutors and judges to carry out the justice needed to provide solace to the crime victims and show law enforcement officers that their hard work is not going to waste.  Criminals should not be roaming around free committing crimes in any community.  Yes, we are the police, but we also need the public and community to be the police!

  The lawlessness should be unacceptable, and the community should demand that the judges hand out the appropriate punishment.  De-escalation is great and I am all for it but it is also putting police officers in great danger as they continue to repeat their commands multiple times as they are ignored by the subject. There is an increase in subjects demanding a supervisor at the motor vehicle stops or other police encounters. The police officers' given authority is being undermined. There is a need to follow the laws of our state and country to ensure everyone's safety.

    The anti-cop and anti-law enforcement sentiments need to be removed from our society.  And therefore, the police officers also need to follow the letter of the law do their jobs with empathy and fairness. Dirty cops are nothing but criminals in uniform. And they definitely should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  This is where the training kicks in.  Every chief should provide additional TRAINING and not just rely on the academy training.  Training is continuous and the instructors must be qualified to teach the current case laws, search and seizure, street survival tactics, community relationship and many more topics needed to survive in law enforcement. What the community does not realize is that the police officers perform multiple 'jobs' - counselors, saviors, medical personnel, and many more.

    Last but not the least - Please stay SAFE! Get your head out of the phones and instead have your head on a swivel.