New York and the Police

I can't believe I'm saying this, but for the first time in my life I actually agree with a union.

The recent edict by the mayor of New York has decided that as a result of the death of a person resisting arrest, the police will have to undergo retraining.  Naturally, the police union has rejected this idea.  Hmm, retraining sounds like something out of 1984.  I wonder what this retraining will mean.

Will the police have to approach a suspect and say, "Mr/Ms suspect, I'd like to invite you to accompany me to the local precinct to have your picture taken, your fingerprints taken and fill out some paperwork."

The better solution to the recent deaths of suspects who were resisting arrest would be to have this retraining of all the residents of a locality, city, state or even the country.  This retraining would emphasize treating the police officer with respect, treating the law with respect and treating your neighbors with respect and when you are approached by the police not resisting arrest.

All of this respect has been missing from the recent protests around the country.  We've seen bottles and rocks thrown at police officers, laws broken and neighbors' businesses destroyed, looted (stolen from) and burned to the ground.  I know this sounds very naïve, but if everyone respected the police, our laws and neighbors, the majority of our problems would be solved.

Getting back to NYC, there are times when I'm sorry that I left, but this new mayor DiBlasio has taken away those regrets.