WIP Snippet

Magan looked out her office window, gazing out at the building across the street, and asked, “Whatever happened to the motto serve and protect?”

Julie paused for a moment in the doorway and mulled it over. She knew that this question was sincere. She didn’t know if the mayor would like the answer though. “The truth?”

“The truth.”

“The law is stretched thin, cops are underpaid, overworked, and tired. They see the ugly world of crime every single day. From dawn till dusk they wade in the filth of human folly and try to do their part to make the world a little bit better. But cops are only human, and sometimes they snap under the pressure. They react instead of think, and that leads to altercations.”

“As a public defender of the peace, it is your job to uphold the law by acting lawful. I know the thin blue line matters, but not at the extent of the safety of the public! You have to work harder to set a good example by doing what’s good for goodness’s sake. As police, you have to be better than the average citizen by showing you can honorably live up to the expectations of what justice stands for. If you cannot exemplify what is honorable and just, and merely resort to the tribalistic honor codes which only serve your own self-interests and not those of whom you’ve sworn to serve and protect, then there really isn’t any reason for the public to expect the police to have their best interests at heart. And if they cannot trust the police to do what is honorable and right, then who will hold us accountable for every time we fail to meet that very basic requirement of good law enforcement?”

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