My father was ex-military. Naturally, some of his very close friends were other soldiers he served with and trusted.
One of these friends, a very bright and aware gentleman, was of great interest to the police community. Their attempts to recruit him went unreciprocated time and time again. He did go to many interviews to hear them out and express his viewpoints on law enforcement.
When I was in my early 20's, I had lunch with him and my Father in NYC. As we walked to the restaurant, we saw 2 police officers belittling a group of men who were clearly of middle eastern heritage. I don't know what the deal was but the immigrant men were clearly scared mindless.
As we sat for lunch, my father's friend said this to me which I'll never forget: "A Custodian of Peace (COP) who has been charged with protecting the morals, ethics and laws of any society, specially carrying a firearm, should have a certain level of education. It's too much responsibility for a lowbrow person".
Every time I see these episodes of police violence on TV, such as Minneapolis, these words always ring round and true.
He went on to say: "Ideally, officers would have a B.A. in sociology. This would solve a world of problems. Truthfully, this will never happen. It's a pipe dream. The vast majority of applicants to police forces don't have the discipline to obtain a university degree and society would have a severe shortage of LE officers. Too many of them come from low income backgrounds and already have a bias towards minorities in society. Being 'caucasian' is the only worth they can find within themselves. Ex military is also a problem as they rely on hierarchy to absolve them of any wrong doing since they can fall back on the "I was just following orders" mentality. Training isn't enough, education is what's needed. This will never happen though. Things will only get worse."
As a young man hearing these things, I hoped for the best.
It's clear that my Father's friend was absolutely correct and I see why he never accepted any work in the Law Enforcement Community. He retired a successful and content man.
