This October my son and I joined a Veterans for Peace delegation for 25 days, nine cities, and 10,000 miles across China, from Shanghai to the Silk Road cities of Xinjiang.
Most of what I thought about China before I went turned out to be wrong.
What follows is my report: officers walking their beats unarmed, streets safe at midnight, vibrant churches and monasteries, and warm conversations with Uyghur neighbors.
It also covers the price of that order, which is policing that answers upward rather than to the people. In the end, it’s all about people.
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.
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