Idealist

I signed up

to help people

arrest drunk drivers

be first at the car accident

stop the bad guys

the benefits helped

the pension helped

so why am I

Uncle Tom!

Sellout!

Traitor!

Called

Coon!

In my riot helmet

I’m no enemy

The officer who knelt

on George Floyd’s neck

is an enemy.

Every good cop should speak up.

See my two-minute video on Facebook.

Edwin Raymond, a black lieutenant

***

Knelt

with protesters

in solidarity

“If you are asking to pray,

you kneel.

So I kneeled too.

I think we were all looking for a sign.”

Sergeant Khadijah Faison, a black officer in Jamaica, Queens

***

Worried

“someone’s going to hurt you.

You understand the fight.

You’ve seen the racism.”

Officer Pedro Serrano, South Bronx

***

Secured

“Kids who look like me

need to know

they are secured.

This protest is as much about us,

as it is about them.”

Detective Felicia Richards, current president of NYPD Guardians.

***

Three Worlds

“People treat me different in uniform,

because they only see the uniform.

At the end of the day

I am a black person

who dons a blue uniform.

I am a trans male.

I walk in all these worlds.”

Officer Oriade Harbor, assigned to Police Headquarters

***

This Is Not Who I Am

“As an African American myself

I’m viewed as some kind of traitor.”

Jay Stalien

Welcome To My World

We receive many more threats

than we used to.

We can’t wait

for a person to shoot first.”

Iowa state trooper

***

“Why did you let up

on that drunken old man?

You missed a free slap.”

***

“It’s easy to abuse our power.

You take a 21-year old

give him a uniform,

a gun,

pepper spray,

a taser,

a nightstick.”

***

“We’re not automatons.

We see people at their worst,

and it makes us jaded.”

***

“I get a lot of calls

where I see children who are abused

neglected.

I’ll go into a house

no running water

no electricity

feces all over

kids there haven’t eaten for days.”

***

“We’re a close-knit command.

Hard for outsiders to get in.”

***

“Advice to my rookies:

Forget everything you learned

in the Police Academy.”

***

“ Why are you going to community events?

Are you for the community

or for your band of brothers?”

Welcome to my world.

Privileged

I’ve been given all kinds of breaks.

Pulled over for speeding

but given a ticket for a dirty license plate.

Stopped for driving without lights

but given a warning.

I could not produce my insurance card:

“You have insurance, don’t you?

Yes, officer.

Carry it.”

I could see the car heading right toward the passenger side

Night.

My car pushed sideways

airbag popped in my face.

The police arrived

cleared the intersection

called the ambulance

took the information

filed the report.

Order.

Professional care.

No need for my insurance card.

“We’ll get to it later.

I’ll just run the check right now.”

Everything went so smoothly.

Right age.

Right demeanor.

Right race.

Welcome to my world.