Could have been me…

The recent events in Fort Worth brought back a memory that is both similar and distinctly different and I do not say this lightly – that could have been me.

Back in 1992 I frequently worked the second shift as a valet parking attendant at the Dadeland Marriott hotel.  As with anyone working mostly for tips my income was largely in small denomination bills and every buck counted.  I was living in Kendall (South Miami) and one day I was sick as a dog with the flu but couldn’t afford to miss a shift so I worked until ~1am.  I was feeling like crap so I went to Eckerds, got some NyQuil and headed to bed.

I was woken up by some indistinct yelling.  As I tried to clear my foggy brain my bedroom door burst open and suddenly there was a police office in the room yelling at me.

I leapt out of bed in my t-shirt and boxers rightfully freaking the hell out.

….

…and basically nothing happened.  The officer asked me to show him ID, I went out to the dining / living room of the apartment where my wallet was…and the dining table covered in singles (maybe the occasional $5 bill) comprising all my tips from my most recent shift.  Thankfully, none of it missing despite my NyQuil-addled brain having not noticed that I never shut my door and it had remained ajar for some 8-10 hours.  A neighbor had called the police suspecting a break-in that fortunately had not happened.

That was it.  I showed my license and the officer left.

But then I realized – I had leapt from my bed to an officer with his gun drawn and…nothing happened.  That officer was trained and had the judgement to NOT regard me as a threat – and this in Miami, and this AFTER he had walked through a suspiciously open door and table scattered with cash.

Something has gone off the rails between law enforcement and citizens and I’m not sure exactly what, but it sure seems that deadly force is being used when a moment, literally a moment of hesitation would reveal a lack of justification for it.  I know that officers face that decision with an abundance of training that (in some instances) hesitation could be fatal and I absolutely want each and every one of them to go home after their shift – but likewise a lack of deliberate action and a presumption that every encounter is a threat seems to have taken root.  The officers tasked to serve and protect their communities should not fear the citizens around them, nor should citizens fear the police.  But that dynamic is there, even as violent crime rates remain at historical lows.

I don’t have any insight as to why these incidents have happened and no desire to point fingers.  Far too many brave officers are mourned and too many citizens are victimized by those sworn to protect them.  Too many because one is already too many.

It was pure luck I was not one of them.