Last week, there was an ambush of police officers in Dallas, resulting in the murder of five Dallas area police officers. That day was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001. By order of President Barack Obama and Gov. Bill Walker, the flags were lowered to half-staff. Juneau Police Department officers wore black mourning shrouds over their badges, and two JPD officers traveled to Dallas to participate in the memorial services.
This week, law enforcement saw another ambush, this time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resulting in the murder of three more officers. When the news broke of the killings in Baton Rouge, my wife, who has been a cop’s wife for 25 years, broke out in tears. She cried for the families left behind. She cried because she was seeing her worst nightmare play out on the national news before her eyes. I can only imagine that a scene like that played out in every home of police and troopers in Juneau, the state and the nation.
We have seen similar circumstances playing out on the news for years now. Controversial police shootings, riots, officers being killed; the cycle seems to keep repeating itself. It is a tragedy on every level. Life is so precious, and it is being wasted. The politics of race relations and policing, I think, will be debated for years to come. As public servants, police officers do not have years to wait for the politics to settle. Life is too precious to have any more wasted.
The truth is that the Juneau Police Department has great support and respect from a great portion of the community. We work hard to be an open, courteous and community-minded organization devoted to quality public service. But like all human organizations, we are imperfect. Other parts of the community are very distrustful of JPD. Even in Juneau, we are one police error, or publicly perceived error, away from the troubles that have erupted across the country.
Below I am going to list a series of steps that I will insist the police department follow, and I encourage the community to follow, to prevent those troubles and to help the police department work for everyone.
The Juneau Police Department:
1. Must be honest enough with ourselves to acknowledge that much of the history of policing is not flattering. At many points in American history the police enforced the status quo that was often unfair or brutal to disfavored groups.
2. Must understand that the life experience of people of color is very real. Even if we as police officers, in our core, feel that we are acting without regard to race or ethnicity, our actions look different to people of color with a different life experience. We must seek to understand that difference. We must see people as people and understand the impacts of our work on them.
3. Must individually and as an organization check ourselves to ensure that we are not engaging in biased policing, even unconscious biased policing.
4. Must continuously reach out to communities that have traditionally been at odds with the power structure of government. We must continuously seek dialogue and positive relationships with communities of color and other traditionally disadvantaged groups.
5. Must constantly train and look for ways to de-escalate potentially violent situations and use force only when reasonable and necessary — as a last resort.
The community of Juneau:
1. Must become involved with law enforcement and be a community that cares. The National Night Out against crime is quickly coming on Aug. 2. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people participated, especially in communities traditionally not represented?
2. Must wait for the facts. In today’s world of instant communication it is very tempting to get a slice of information about something that is occurring and make judgments based on very incomplete information. The Juneau Police Department strives to get as much information out as quickly as we can. Please reserve judgement until the facts are known.
3. Must not teach children that the police are the problem. Society has many problems. The police are on the front lines trying to help solve many of these problems, including mental illness, suicide, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, poverty, hunger and racism.
4. Must be a part of the Juneau Police Department. We are hiring. It has been over a decade since the Juneau Police Department hired an Alaska Native as a police officer. In a few short years, the several Alaska Native officers we have will reach retirement. Come and be part of the solution.
5. Must not fight with the police. Five Juneau police officers have been injured in the past several years when they were violently attacked on duty. If you don’t think the officers are in the right, go to court or call my office, but don’t fight with the police. If you attack a police officer, the officer will defend him or herself.
The events of the past year and especially the events of the past two weeks have illustrated to all of us that there are racial tensions in America, and police departments are where these tensions are playing out. FBI Director James Comey has observed that racial bias isn’t epidemic in law enforcement any more than it is epidemic in medicine, academia or the arts. Law enforcement overwhelmingly attracts people who want to make a difference and do something good for a living. It attracts people who risk their lives because they want to help others.
People don’t become Juneau police officers to help the white people of Juneau, or the Hispanic people of Juneau, or the Alaska Native people of Juneau, or the black people of Juneau. They become officers because they want to help all of the people of Juneau.
• Bryce Johnson is chief of police for the Juneau Police Department.
