A Letter to Pastor Ken

by Johnny Youngblood

 Pastor Ken,

I am writing you this letter as a Christian, an African-American, a Father, Son and Police Officer. 

In this letter, I will be addressing the recent events with regards to Racism and Police Brutality towards African-Americans in our communities. First, as a person who has been in the law enforcement field for the past 20 years, let me start off by saying that NOT ALL COPS ARE RACIST towards African Americans. Now, let me define the word racist and provide an example of what a racist act would be.

Racist-Prejudice, Discrimination, or Antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority.

Example-While I was a rookie on patrol, my partner and I drove into a racially diverse middle class neighborhood and everytime he observed an African American walking down the street, my partner would remove his firearm from his holster and place it on his lap. After the second time this occurred, I asked him why he would retrieve his firearm and place it on his lap. His response to me was “Because these guys are up to no good.” I asked what guys and he said “You know, the black guys. If they are walking around this neighborhood, they are up to no good.” Now this was not a high crime area and about 85% of the residents in this particular community were hardworking, law abiding, African Americans. I would go on to encounter incidents similar to this one throughout my 20 year career in law enforcement.

I know you’re probably wondering what happened to this guy if this is his perception of the law abiding citizens in the community that he has taken an oath to serve. Well, after this particular incident, he promoted a total of three times and is currently in a high ranking position within the department.

So how does this happen? How do people like this slip through the cracks, promote and never are held to answer to their unethical behavior. There are many contributing factors that could lead to departments failing to their basic job which is to select and retain ONLY the best people for the job.

Agencies today, are more afraid of internal lawsuits than they are of lawsuits from the general public. Also, Police Unions play a huge role in preventing officers from being disciplined for unethical behavior. In addition to this, often times personnel that are in designated positions to make decisions on the discipline the bad apples receive, fail to do so because they are more focused on their personal aspirations (Such as promoting). I can write another 10 pages on the factors that contribute to this negative retention of police officers. The truth is law enforcement agencies put candidates through a rigorous hiring process, yet we still hire and retain problem officers. Why? One of the main reasons is agencies spend close to a half a quarter of a million dollars hiring and training just one police officer. So when issues like this arise, some managers feel that if they terminate an employee, then they will be taking a loss, in the form of “wasted money” they spent on hiring and training these officers. Sometimes when this occurs, it is hard to justify and/or request more money in the budget to hire additional officers because now the Chief or above will scrutinize or question your recruitment practices. Now think about what I said earlier about “personal aspirations.” The Officer in Charge of recruitment or backgrounds does not want to be seen as a problem because that may eliminate them from a promotional opportunity in the future. So the best thing to do, in their opinion, is to let it go and let someone else deal with it when it becomes a bigger problem.

As a father of an African American male, Unfortunately, I have to sit him down on a consistent basis and explain to him the images he sees on tv or on social media of police officers killing African Americans that are either unarmed or not a deadly threat. In addition to this, I have to tell him what NOT to do while in contact the police. This hurts my heart because I am an officer myself, and I have to tell and explain to my son why some officers behave the way that they do. I also tell my son not to ever feel like a victim based on incidents that occurred in past with regards to slavery, community redlining and all of the other atrocities that African American ancestors had to endure. I tell him not to let people or incidents define who he is. Only you can define you. Persistence, tenacity, education, confidence and asking the Lord to guide your path are the keys to being successful in life.

As an African American male, I have to be extremely cautious with regards to the neighborhoods I visit, live and pass through. I’ve been pulled over before and I recall both officers walking up to my driver and passengers side door, with their guns out, cussing and yelling at me to keep my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately I showed them my police ID and they quickly put their guns away and said “You know how it is, have a good night.” When I asked why did they pull me over, their response was “Come on, you know it is.”

I also recall being New Orleans and seeing a white couple asking two white State Troopers how to get to a certain hotel. I noticed the both of the troopers were very calm and relaxed while speaking to the couple. When I approached the troopers to ask about transportation services, they both immediately grabbed their firearms, took two steps back and I could see that they were very nervous while speaking to me. Because of that incident, more than likely, I will not be going to New Orleans ever again!

As a Christian, I remind myself that God will not task me with more than I can bear, along with loving everyone suspects and all, like Christ loves us; know that every negative incident that occur, God will work it out for good.

So how do we change this? What can I do to help bring the change that is so desperately needed in law enforcement? I’ll answer these questions and more in my next letter to you.

Thanks

-YB