First and foremost, I started my Police career 35 years ago and although I am no longer a Police Officer/Detective, I still work in the criminal justice system and I still conduct criminal investigations. The difference now is that I am appointed by the Courts and am assigned to the Defense. I no longer work the streets and face the immediate danger as Police Officers however, just like in my "Cop Days", I seek justice and truth to ensure that the Justice System works as it is designed to work.

To all of those who chant or use the term "Defund The Police" to forward your agenda, please, allow me to give you each a public invitation to change it.
I invite all of you to apply to become a police officer at your local police department. Fill out the application and let them schedule you for the Physical Fitness tests. Then, if you're lucky enough and fit enough to pass this battery of tests, they will schedule you to take your written test. Whew! This is harder than being an activist, right? If you pass your written test with a qualifying score, then you get scheduled for your "first oral interview". If you make it through that, then you get to advance to your oral boards. The Oral Board is a panel of Veteran Police Officers who question you and put you through various scenarios to see how you would react and what your answers would be. If they score you high enough, you're on your way...pending the background investigation. This just isn't a "run-of-the-mill" background check. For me, they went and spoke to some of my High School teachers, friends, and former employers and, the Detective who conducted my background even called my Mom to see what she thought of me becoming a cop. If you have lived your life in an unsullied manner and you have met all of the criteria, you might get selected for employment. If you are, you're sent to the Police Academy where you go through intense training in driving, firearms, defensive tactics, race relations, dealing with mental subjects, and everything else that you can imagine. The length of the academy varies. I know my Academy in Virginia is now six months (my Great-Nephew graduates in June). After graduation, you go back to your department and start your Field Training where you are teamed up with a Veteran Officer. That also lasts for many months ( I had great FTOs). Once you finish your field training, you're "cut loose" and start your solo patrol. There, you will respond to domestic disputes, dead children, shots fired, fights in progress, and armed robberies. You get dispatched to a child abuse call. It tears at your heart. When you're done, you clear and you're dispatched to a fight in progress. Your emotions go from sad to excitement in a matter of minutes. In a normal shift, your emotions are constantly up and down and you're "supposed" to be so robotic that you can forget the last call and concentrate on the next one. Because of the nature of the calls, you draw your weapon several times a shift, hopefully without firing it. Your objective is to protect everyone, treat the suspects fairly, and most of all, return home uninjured. I had a daily routine. I would put on my uniform, strap on my gunbelt, pin my badge onto my chest, look into the mirror, and say out loud "Okay, with some luck, you'll get home at the end of the shift looking the same". Most of the time I did...several times I didn't.
So, put down your skateboards, your umbrella "shield", your can of soup (for throwing at Police), your black masks, and urine-filled water bottles, and go through everything that I previously described and become a Police Officer and make the positive changes to the lives of other's as well as positive changes to YOUR department.
I invite you to leave your parent's basement and to Stand Up and BE the change that you demand. If you won't, find something else to complain about that you may actually be willing to be a part of to build it up rather than to tear it down.

What is all of this talk about the "Thin Blue Line" flag? Schools and businesses are being told to remove them because they are considered "racists". How can that be? It is an inanimate object.
A racist is "a person who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized."
How can a flag be racists? Is the implication that the flag is a symbol of racism? Is that what you're having such a difficult time trying to say?
What is the thin blue line? Oh, I've heard that the line means that cops don't tell on other cops. I've been told that cops commit offenses against civilians, especially minorities, in the presence of other cops and the brother cops turn their backs.
WRONG!!!
That is the "blue wall of silence", made famous in agencies such as NYPD and LAPD. No, that's not the only two but they are probably the most famous. I would like to think that the blue wall of silence is dying out. I remember when I was going through the selection process, I was asked "What would I do if...". The question was asked because we didn't want cops who were willing to turn their backs while another cop committed a criminal act or violated someone's civil rights. Of course, my answer was that I would try to stop the act and then report it to the supervisor. I think that's what most cops would do and hopefully do now. The badge is a shiny piece of metal that carries a great deal of responsibility. A responsibility that should not be taken lightly. We work hard to earn that badge and we work even harder to keep it shining. No other cop has the right to tarnish my badge or the badge of any other cop due to illegal or improper actions/behavior.
So what is the "Thin Blue Line"? What does it mean? Is it a symbol of racism?
The Thin Blue Line represents the thin line that separates civilized society from chaos. Blue is the typical color of the police uniform. The line is the line of officers who protect the citizens and property in a civilized society from chaos. The Police Officer is that person who is charged with maintaining that separation, keeping the chaos away from the order. To suggest that the Thin Blue Line flag is a symbol of racism would suggest that minorities are the root cause of the chaos and police officers must keep them away from the civilized society. We all know that is not true. We know that chaos is created by many, regardless of color. The media, the politicians, and that ridiculous "woke" crowd will continue to push the Thin Blue Line as a symbol of racism because it advances their agenda.
We as Americans must look at all of these people, especially those in the media and those we've elected, and ask ourselves if what they are saying benefits us as Americans or does it benefit them?