I was driving to work last night in my personal car. My route takes me through a relatively rundown section of the city where I work. I always tend to scan around as I drive, which sometimes prompts my wife to say, “Stop patrolling!”
On this night, I saw some people walking around and from the anonymity of my own car, I thought about the nature of my observations as a citizen verses those of a law enforcement officer. A red light stopped me at a cross street.
A young black male was walking up to the intersection. I gave him the once over: baggy black basketball shorts, loose black hoodie with a white logo, court shoes, dark do-rag. He was about 17 to 18 years of age. The innocent half of me saw what could be a nice kid who practices hard at hoops (based on his dress) at a local high school and gets good grades.
My trained side sized him up as any number of recent young cop killers that have become too common in Florida. Did he have a weapon on him. He kept his hands in the hoodies’ pockets, close at his front waistband…about where a firearm is appendix-carried.
In the last 20 months, Tampa Ofc.’s David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab, St.. Petersburg Ofc. David Crawford, and Lakeland Ofc. Arnulfo Crispin were all murdered by males of this general description in street encounters.
Off to my right was a white female walking south down the sidewalk. Probably around 20. She had on jeans and a t-shirt and was talking on a cellphone. She looked over her shoulder at passing cars a couple of times. Is she “working,” or just a kid headed to a friend’s house for dinner? Would she have a needle on her? I would have needed more information.
The traffic light changed and I continued my drive. Nearing a shopping center, my eyes caught a man with a distinct Middle Eastern appearance. He wore conservative white clothes, a Muslim prayer cap, and nice shoes. His face showed a dark complexion and a neatly trimmed full beard. In his right hand was a large department store shopping bag. We briefly gazed at one another as I motored past.
The man was dressed a bit nicely for the part of town. I noticed he was calm, but alert, and he walked with a confident gate. He obviously saw me look at him. He appeared to be a man of education and a professional. My skeptical alter-ego wondered if a man such as this could have ties to enemies of the State here and abroad.
I bring up my thoughts during the drive because as police officers we tend to profile people in jaded terms based upon officer safety. Our heightened situational awareness also helps us investigate more effectively. In these cases, political correctness is trumped by duty and self-survival.
As a road cop, I have encountered murderers, prostitutes, and even a couple of watch-list terrorists. Can you tell them from innocent, ordinary citizens at a glance? I can’t. Each street encounter with a person by a law enforcement officer must default to professional suspicion. It keeps us alive.
We sacrifice many things to wear the Star or the Shield. One of them, perhaps, is optimism.
Randall
