Letter to the editor

My wife and I served over 67 years with the Chicago Police Department prior to retirement. “ We serve and protect” was a motto that we both believed in wholeheartedly. 

Now we see the headlines on a daily basis here in Chicago highlighting police misbehavior.  The David Koschman affair would never have come to light without brilliant reporting by local reporters.  The road to the truth was stymied almost forever by members of the department.  The Laquan McDonald video shocked all who observed it. 

Which brings me to these questions: Has our Police Department lost its way, and is it in need of a complete revamping? 

This got me thinking about the thousands of other officers who crossed our paths during those years.  I would never try to defend wrongdoing, bad behavior, criminal activity or any other charge that may be leveled at those who are sworn to serve and protect.  Are bad cops outliers in a department of 12,000 men and women?  Before the U.S. Department of Justice started an investigation of our department, mainly triggered by the horrific Laquan McDonald video, were we a systemically corrupt, brutal, racist organization?  Not in my opinion. 

There is always talk of the code of silence.  Does it exist?  For the most part, you bet it does.  Just as it does in any other profession on the planet.  Does that condone the behavior?  No, it does not.  But as long as cops are human beings and come from the society we live in, from time to time we will have that circle-the-wagons mentality. 

No matter how much we are trained, or for that matter how much we are screened before becoming a cop, we are human and vulnerable to the bad behavior and unprofessional actions of a few.  Is the department scrutiny deserved?  Are there a very few bad apples?  We often hear that we should never judge a people by the despicable actions of a few.  Are we forgetting that when it comes to our Police Department? 

I, for one, cannot wait for all police officers to be equipped with body cameras, because I believe it will show, without question, what cops are up against and how many times they get it right without headlines.  John Le Carre, in his brilliant book “Russia House,” said, “Some things are necessary evils and some things are more evil than necessary.”  We have to be careful not to judge an entire department because of the actions of a few.