“Unless this first step is taken, and leaders have the courage to act on what is reasonably suggested, the safety and effectiveness of our nation’s police will continue to be in peril.

My sense is that most police leaders get a high-level of support from those in their community that say they are doing just fine. “No need to change, Chief. Those ‘Black Lives Matter’ folks are racists themselves. And, by the way, where can I get one of those yard signs saying ‘We Support Our Police’?”

I worry that this unbalanced support is giving our nation’s police leaders a false sense of security and actually preventing them from moving forward and sincerely responding to this problem.

Let’s look at the facts. There can no longer be any doubt there exists a tremendous chasm of trust between police and people of color. To continue to deny this is to engage…