It’s Getting Crowded in the Chief’s Office!

David Couper, , ,
Unknown
“I’m right there in the room and no one acknowledges me.” (The New Yorker Magazine)

The big reason it’s getting crowded in those offices of is because of three, huge, and residing elephants!

And it’s getting more and more difficult to ignore them.

These three “elephants” constitute the three essential problems that must be addressed and resolved by our nation’s police:

  • THE RESPONSE TO PUBLIC PROTEST.
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Recently, protesters have seen police show up to monitor demonstrations being highly armored with military surplus equipment.

See one of my earlier BLOGS on this subject.

 

  • THE USE DEADLY FORCE IN STANDOFFS NOT INVOLVING FIREARMS.
knife attack 3
Man with a knife and a stand off in Times Square ended when man was shot and killed.

See one of my earlier BLOGS on this subject.

 

  • THE TREATMENT OF RACIAL MINORITIES.  
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Being respectful is being civil. And, is the chart shows, covers a range of questionable behaviors that can be interpreted by others as discourteous or disrespectful.

See one of my earlier BLOGS on this subject.

 

These three problems also reveal deeper issues of:

  • Constitutional protection.
  • The sanctity of life.
  • Community trust and respect.

Within this blogsite and my book, “Arrested Development,” there is discussion and solutions to these three major and pressing police problems.

These elephants can no longer be ignored.

They take up needed space, are difficult to feed and take care of, and emit a foul odors!

Let’s put them out to pasture!

 

 

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Published by David Couper

I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader. After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After almost 30 years serving in and leading two Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Milwaukee, I am "sort-of" in the process of retirement. Life is good.

3 Comments

  1. The best way to deal with the elephant in the room is “one bite at a time”. I think you offer some excellent examples of first bites. For some police leaders, those damn elephants are so overwhelming they often times dont know where to start. Having a plan that outlines first steps is essential. In my book civility has priority and it’s for all of our interactions with the public, not limited to any one special group.

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  2. Pingback: Oh, Oh, Another Elephant! | improving police

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