In the Face of Protest, Police Must Embrace Their Role as Guardians for all Americans
Paul Noel, Chief of Police, Knoxville, TN, Knox News, Jun 23, 2025
“We do not need bullies with badges. We need leaders with courage – the courage to listen, to be criticized, to be patient, and to be consistent. We need police leaders who model calm in the face of tension, and who know that the use of power is most legitimate when it is exercised with restraint” — Chief Paul Noel, Knoxville, TN.
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Needless to say, I was very impressed by these words by Chief Noel. This needs to be said and said strongly. As a chief who has handled my share of protests during my 20+ years leading police in Madison, Wisconsin, I know what I am talking about. Chief Noel is absolutely correct in his challenge to the unsettling words of that sheriff in Florida and his defining his role of public “guardian,” not “bully.”
What Chief Noel is doing is leading. This is what leadership looks like. It is standing up to what is wrong and evil and defining himself and his department’s role in protecting and enabling free, non-violent protest; that is, protecting and guarding.
The following article warms my heart and is consistent with not only what I have “preached” over the years, but also experienced.
These are tough times we currently find ourselves. In tough times, local police are our nation’s guardians and solution.
Peace.
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Key Points in the Article:
- Contrasting voices in American law enforcement have staked out divergent approaches to handling protests.
- Threats by police against citizens rationalize violence and have no place in modern policing.
- Our responsibility as police leaders is to respond to protest proportionally, lawfully, and with respect for every person’s dignity.
- That doesn’t mean surrendering the public square to chaos. It means remembering that the best way to preserve order is through relationships – not threats.
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Here’s the full article by Chief Noel:
“In recent weeks, two powerful but contrasting voices in American law enforcement captured public attention for vastly different reasons. One was the calm, measured warning of retired Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore, who urged restraint in the face of civil unrest and reminded us that police officers, not soldiers, are best suited to serve American cities. The other was the disturbing public threat issued by a Florida sheriff, who declared that protestors who stepped out of line would be killed ‘graveyard dead.’ [In case you missed it, here’s the video.]
“As someone who has spent almost 30 years in law enforcement and witnessed the transformation of the profession, I feel compelled to speak to both messages – because they reveal something deeper about our current public discourse and the kind of leadership our communities need.
“Chief Moore is right. When police departments lose sight of their role as guardians, and when adversarial strategies and aggression creep into our response to protests and dissent, we lose not only effectiveness – we lose legitimacy.
“The same is true when police leaders stand before cameras and issue death threats against their own citizens. That is not strength. That is not law enforcement. That is fear mongering that not only rationalizes violence, but normalizes it. And that has no place in modern policing.
“Let me be clear: Protests can be hard. They can be loud, uncomfortable, messy, and unpredictable. But, the First Amendment doesn’t exist to protect polite conversations alone. It exists to protect dissent. And the truest measure of leadership is not how we respond when people cheer us on, but how we respond when people criticize us, challenge us, and demand more from us.
“Our responsibility as police leaders is to respond to protest proportionally, lawfully and with respect for every person’s dignity.
“That doesn’t mean tolerating violence or destruction – far from it, in fact. We train our officers to intervene when laws are broken, when property is damaged, or when someone is placed in danger. But, there is a vast and important difference between responding to unlawful conduct and threatening to kill people. That line is not subtle. And the fact that some have chosen to cross it should alarm all of us.
“When Moore speaks about the value of police, he’s not just making a practical point – he’s making a moral one. Police officers are not just ‘trained differently’ than military personnel. We are accountable differently. We operate under different expectations, in different contexts, with different missions. We are expected to know our communities – by name, by story, by need. We are expected to de-escalate when possible, to protect the rights of all, and to view force as a last resort, not a first reflex.
“Law enforcement at its best is not about domination – it’s about protection. It’s about defending the rights of those who disagree with us as passionately as those who support us. And it’s about rejecting the false choice between safety and liberty.
“That’s why I find it so troubling to see some voices within our profession resort to performative aggression. When a leader says on camera that he will notify protestors’ families where to collect their remains, he is not making anyone safer. He is undermining the legitimacy of every good officer who shows up every day to serve honorably, de-escalate conflict, and defend the Constitution.
“We do not need bullies with badges. We need leaders with courage – the courage to listen, to be criticized, to be patient, and to be consistent. We need police leaders who model calm in the face of tension, and who know that the use of power is most legitimate when it is exercised with restraint.
“That doesn’t mean surrendering the public square to chaos. It means remembering that the best way to preserve order is through relationships – not threats. Through trust – not fear. Through a posture of service – not a posture of intimidation.
“Every time a police leader steps to a podium and promises violence instead of protection, it becomes harder for the rest of us to do our jobs. It erodes the very thing we work so hard to build – community trust. And without that trust, there is no safety and no legitimacy.
“We are better than that. And we owe our communities better than that.
“As police leaders, we must reject escalation when it isn’t necessary. We must embrace our role as protectors – not just of public safety, but of the freedoms that define us as Americans. And we must never forget that the measure of our service will always be found not in how loudly we command, but in how faithfully we uphold the law – especially when it’s hardest to do so.”
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Paul Noel serves as the 27th chief of police for the Knoxville Police Department. He previously served with the New Orleans Police Department for 25 years, including seven years as deputy superintendent.
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