Love The Police

In an era where community frustration over racial profiling, police brutality, and the notorious Stop-Question-and-Frisk policy has reached a boiling point, an unexpected phrase has been echoing in my spirit.

"Love the Police"

I have never been one to defend the policies and practices of the police in communities of color. In fact, I constantly speak out against overzealous police practices that criminalize young people. There have been rare occasion where I have been stopped and questioned (though never frisked) in my South Bronx neighborhood. More often, I’ve listened to the frustration, pain, and anger of Black and Latino young men whose encounters with the police were marked by considerably more aggression, humiliation, and disrespect than mine. I have often viewed the police as “the enemy” in the fight against mass incarceration, and seen them as “persecutors” of the young people I fight to keep out of prison.

Yet as one working in the tradition of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and other faith-led social justice activists from a distinctly Christian position, I am convicted and compelled to always choose a stance of love towards those I engage, even when we are at odds. Jesus gave the radical command to his followers: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In this short piece, I suggest several ways that people of faith can love the police in the struggle for community justice.

1.     Humanize the Police

Far too often, those of us who struggle for justice fall prey to the same evils we detest. “Why do I hate the police?” asked a young activist. “Because those pigs treat us like animals!” “I hate the boys in blue because they look at a young person and just because they see baggy pants and a hoodie they assume he’s a thug.” While the critique of police behavior may be true, we must intentionally choose not to dehumanize or to stereotype those who act that way towards us. We cannot reduce the person wearing the uniform to anything less than a fellow human being made in the image of God. We must remember that each police officer is also a son, a daughter, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, sister or brother.

2.     Hate the Policy, Love the Police

It is not wrong to hate bad policies like Stop-and-Frisk. We must hate police brutality. We should detest racial profiling. The Bible tells us to “hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9). Loving the police doesn’t mean we condone bad behavior, bad policy, and bad practices. We must not shrink back from hating the policy because we love the police. Yet we also cannot allow hatred of a bad policy to extend to the people carrying out the objectionable practice. Defenders of the NYPD often say that a few bad apples are responsible for the abusive practices. My opinion is that bad policy compels even good officers to engage in bad practices. As the Christian cliché tells us to “hate the sin, love the sinner,” we too must love the people who carry out the policies, even while decrying those same policies.

3.     Rebuke the Police

To love the police also means to speak out against discriminatory and abusive police practices. Love is not soft, spineless acquiescence to evil. It is not remaining silent in the face of injustice, or excusing bad behavior. The Bible sets a higher standard for love when God says: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (Rev 3:19) and “the Lord disciplines those he loves and disciplines everyone he accepts as a child.” (Heb 12:6).  It is an act of love to correct those who are doing wrong. It is an act of love to speak truth to power. We call people to repentance not because we hate them, but because we love them and want them to do right. The police, as public servants, must always be accountable to the community, not free from correction, rebuke or critique.

4.     Befriend the Police

For a time, I held a guarded – even hostile – attitude towards the police. Living across the street from the precinct, I had multiple interactions with police officers ranging from dismissive brush-offs, to outright rudeness. As my involvement in police brutality cases grew – Rahmarley Graham, Jatiek Reid, Reynaldo Cuevas, Wilson Reyes – I found myself increasingly suspicious, afraid and angry at the police. One morning, the Spirit spoke to me, saying “I want you to greet every officer you meet on the street.” After my initial protests, I was obedient to the voice of God, and began to loudly and cheerily say “Good Morning, Officer!” to every member of the police force I encountered. Their first response was surprise, confusion – perhaps they were accustomed to hostility from community members. But then they would warm up and respond with a greeting of their own. Over the last few months, I have even developed what may be the start of friendships with several officers in the 40^th precinct.

5.     Engage the Police

Finally, we must engage the police and offer our help and support in developing pro-active community responses to crime, initiatives to ease tension between police and community residents, and strategies to help police behave more responsively to the broader community. Last summer, I began to engage my local precinct with offers to help them deal with juveniles arrested for minor crimes. A new precinct commander displayed an unprecedented level of willingness to support collaboration, and now officers even divert youth to our program in certain cases instead of arresting them. I was nominated to join the 40^th Precinct Community Council, and now have the opportunity to help develop more initiatives to heal the police-community divide.

The criminalization of young people of color in New York City cannot be ignored and requires people of good faith to fight the good fight for justice and for peace. As we fight, we must remember that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph 6:12).

As we wrestle against these powers and principalities we must take care not to hate, for hate is a carnal weapon, and “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Cor 10:4). We cannot – must not – give in to hate, but rather, overcome hate with love, as this closing quote by Dr. King so aptly puts it:

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from "Loving Your Enemies")”

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.