If Not Now, When?

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE POLICE LEADERS OF AMERICA: THE TIME IS NOW

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE POLICE LEADERS OF AMERICA: THE TIME IS NOW!

To my fellow Chiefs, Sheriffs, and National Leaders at IACP, PERF, and NOBLE:

I spent over 30 years in this profession. I have seen us evolve and work for over half a century to professionalize our work to both serve and protect. But right now, that progress is being dismantled by a culture of silence within our own leadership.

If not now, when? Do you wait for a killing in your streets to find your voice?

The Desecration of the Badge

For five years, we have watched elected leaders defame the officers who held the line on January 6, 2021. We have endured systematic lying from those who claim to support “law and order” while they trade the truth for political points. But last week’s “celebration” near the Capitol by pardoned insurrectionists reached a new level of depravity.

To see those who attacked the seat of our democracy treated as heroes, while the officers who defended it are mocked, is a slap in the face to every person who has ever taken the oath of a police officer. How much more desecration can we take before we speak with the strong, ethical words this moment demands?

The Killing of Renee Good: A Professional Insult

Look at what just happened in Minneapolis. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet, was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Within hours, the President and his allies were already spinning a narrative that video evidence flatly contradicts. They called her a “professional agitator” and a “domestic terrorist.” They claimed she “viciously ran over” an officer who, in reality, was seen walking around the scene unharmed.

On top of all this, the feds have denied Minnesota state investigators from joining them in the investigation of this most questionable shooting. So much for years of collegiality.

When the President and his allies use these terms to justify the killing of a citizen by an under-trained federal agent, it is an insult to the discipline of professional policing.

• We spend years training our officers in de-escalation and the constitutional use of force.
• ICE spends a little over a month training agents to operate in our neighborhoods.
• We answer to the community; they answer to a political agenda.

When they call themselves “police,” they defame the work we have done for 50 years. It is a joke, and it is unacceptable.

Remember Our Code of Ethics

I challenge you to again read your Police Code of Ethics. We all swore to maintain “courageous calm in the face of danger” and to “protect the constitutional rights of all.” We gave our word.

If you stand by while federal agents—with a fraction of your training—ignore due process and break into homes without judicial warrants, you have broken your word. You are violating the code that makes us professionals. You cannot pick and choose when the Constitution applies based on whose federal grants are in your budget.

A Mandate to our National Leaders

To the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), The Police Executive Researcy Forum (PERF), and The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE: Where is your courage? 

I know the tentacles of federal money run deep into our professional organizations, two of which I am a life member and one in which I was one of the early founding members, but that is no excuse to shirk your duty as our leaders.

The Directive: Stay Out

You must now draw the line. Your message to federal enforcement must be absolute: Like Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, passionately and angerly stated: “Stay the f*ck out of our city.”

Let the feds know that if they have a judicial arrest warrant for a dangerous person, to let you know; you are the professional, and you will handle the arrest. Do not bring your fear-based tactics into our jurisdiction.

And let us be clear, “If you step outside your federal authority—if you illegally injure or kill one of our citizens, or break into their homes without a judicial warrant—we will take action. We will arrest you.”

As a retired leader who has dedicated his life to this craft, I say: Stand up. Speak out. Have the courage to lead. And do it now!

Here is a suggestion, a sample of a Public Notice, that you might sign along with your city’s peace, justice, faith and immigrant support groups.

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Joint Public Notice Regarding Federal Immigration Enforcement Activity 

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Federal immigration enforcement personnel operating in our city are hereby placed on formal notice of the constitutional standards and professional expectations that govern law-enforcement activity within this jurisdiction.

Our city is not a lawless zone. Any enforcement activity conducted here—by any agency—must comply with the United States Constitution, [our state] Constitution, and the professional standards long required of American policing.

Local police officers and sheriff’s deputies in our city are sworn constitutional officers. Our oath is to protect life, uphold the rule of law, and defend the rights of all persons within our jurisdiction. That oath and our code of ethics governs our conduct and informs our expectations of all agencies operating in our community.

Accordingly, we publicly affirm the following Three Principles:

1. Non-Participation in Civil Immigration Enforcement

Police officers in our city will not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement. Immigration enforcement is a federal civil matter. When local police are drawn into it, community trust erodes, crime reporting declines, and public safety is compromised. Our mission is to serve and protect all residents, regardless of immigration status.

2. Duty to Intervene and Report Unlawful Conduct

The duty to intervene does not disappear because an officer’s badge is federal. If any agent engages in unlawful detention, excessive force, lack of valid judicial authorization, or civil-rights violations, our officers retain both the authority and the obligation to intervene and to report such conduct through appropriate legal channels.

3. Protection of All Residents

Constitutional protections apply to persons, not only citizens. No individual in our city should fear calling 911, seeking assistance, or cooperating with us because of immigration status. Public safety depends on trust, transparency, and accountability—not fear.

Federal agents operating in our city are expected to clearly identify themselves, display agency affiliation, act pursuant to valid judicial warrants, and respect due process. Masked, unidentified, or unaccountable law enforcers that instill fear rather than ensure safety are inconsistent with the tenets of democratic policing and will not be normalized in this community.

This statement is issued to clarify boundaries, prevent conflict, and affirm the rule of law. Our city stands for constitutional governance, human dignity, and public safety rooted in trust. Those federal agents who operate here are expected to do the same.

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