Support and Defend the Ungrateful

No Respect

Five years after I graduated from the Military Academy, several of my classmates had been lost in Viet Nam. Although I had spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, it was always in a support role, and I felt like I wasn’t quite doing my part. My request for combat assignments had been denied, so I decided I would leave the service. I lined up a job with a large engineering firm at a salary much higher than I was making at the time and submitted my resignation. When the word came out, one of my bosses called me in to his office and asked me what I really wanted. I told him I wanted to serve my country in a manner that would honor fallen heroes. He said he understood, and he would see what he could do. The next day I received a call from Air Force Personnel and was offered an assignment to Special Operations in Shadow Gunships. I withdrew my resignation and went on to fly over 300 combat missions. I felt I had served my country well and honored those who had sacrificed their lives. I was proud of my service. I returned home, however, to an ungrateful nation. The reputation of the American Soldier was at an all-time low. The police today are in a similar situation.

Soldiers are human beings before they put on a uniform. Humans are generally honorable, but some have no sense of right and wrong. A few committed atrocities in Viet Nam, and the reputation of all of us suffered. The same is currently true of police. The vast majority want nothing more than to serve their communities. Following Viet Nam, it was fairly easy for the military to withdraw from the general society. Our bases were our refuge. The police cannot do that. They must be visible to do their job. With neither the respect nor the support of the community they serve, their job becomes very difficult.

The role of the police is difficult in the best of times. Consider a routine traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle is usually upset at being stopped and naturally harbors some animosity toward the officer. There is the potential that the driver may be armed and dangerous, and the patrolman must protect himself accordingly. Or consider the position of a policeman called to a domestic dispute. The officer must determine if one or more of the parties involved in the dispute is in danger and protect the innocent. It is common for both parties of the dispute to turn on the officer. More officers are injured in domestic disputes than any other call. Consider further the job of an officer who is required to arrest a suspect. Guilty or not, the suspect probably doesn’t want to be arrested. To accomplish the job, officers may be required to use force. A hostile public armed with cell phone cameras makes every incident a matter of public record. Americans want the police to protect their persons and property. Thus, when we call for help, we expect the police to respond. And we expect them to respond perfectly. When crowds hurl verbal insults, we expect the officers to ignore the taunts and do their jobs in a professional manner. At times, we even expect our police to restrain from retaliating when individuals within a crowd throw rocks and firecrackers.

After the end of the Viet Nam war, the public saw no need for a large peacetime force and congress essentially defunded the military. When our embassy in Iran was occupied in 1980 and our diplomats held hostage, we had no response. Our police are the guardians of law and order. I see a very real probability that public opinion will force some cities to reduce the size of their forces below what is needed to enforce the law. When that happens, the job of the police will become even more difficult.

The Seattle City Council vote last week NOT to defund their police department. That is a step in the right direction.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.