In a shocking recent move, Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore has banned the blue line flag from being displayed by any member of LAPD. He claims that his decision is based upon a number of complaints from the community claiming that the flag is racially biased and indicates a belief in totalitarianism.
The reality is that the flag was intended to pay respect to those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to the protection and service of others and those who given lives in service. It was never intended to divide the country into camps, each with their own agenda.
The Chief of Police in Los Angeles serves a determinate period which is renewed with the approval of a Board of Supervisors. Chief Moore is up for his renewal to hold his job. To claim that there is no correlation between the two is unrealistic.
The same thing is happening in large cities nationwide, where the Police Chief, Superintendent, commissioner, or Director serve at the pleasure of ONE person. That ONW person serves at the pleasure of the community, so he or she needs to mollify the electorate to hold their position. You can see it in action in Chicago, Washington, D.C, Houston Philadelphia, and Dallas where they change Police Chiefs regularly.
This is not an issue of republican and democrat. This is an issue of an ideology that wants a utopian society where no one suffers and the people in power remain in power.
The people who choose law enforcement as their career do so mostly intending to serve their community and make a living with a good retirement system. There is a miniscule segment that abuses that privilege and, for the most part, they are weeded out.
The true issue is the lack of respect in the current world in which we live. Respect starts at birth, but has a second tentacle attached. That tentacle is fear. Fear that there are consequences to actions. Let us look at a few of the high profiles cases to illustrate that.
GEORGE FLOYD – The death of Mr. Floyd was a tragedy, but had he allowed them to place him into the police vehicle, he would likely be alive today in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SAMUEL DuBOSE – Mr. DuBose would likely be alive today had he not placed his vehicle in drive and attempting to drive away with a police officer attached to his vehicle in Cincinnati, Ohio.
LaQUAN McDONALD – Mr. McDonald would likely be alive today had he dropped the knife he was carrying and stood still in Chicago, Illinois.
The list goes on and on.
Law enforcement was formed to provide a safety net for members of the community to live, work and play without fear of being victimized and, if they were, that the responsible person(s) would face consequences.
An example of the issue is a CBS television series called Blue Bloods, There is constant conflict on the show between the Commissioner, who clearly serves at the pleasure of the Mayor, bur no adverse action happens because the show would be cancelled and the writers would be out of a job. The loss of their paycheck is a powerful weapon to keep them in check. There are no consequences when the Mayor fires the Police Chief in the real world.
Police Administrators need to be insulated from retaliation for effectively performing their duties. Otherwise, there is chaos and an inability to effectively protect their community.
THE TME FOR A CHANGE IS NOW!