Getting What We Expect
I wasn’t shocked at the recent murder of a Fargo Police Officer. I was saddened and sickened at the malicious disregard for the life of a human protector, however I wasn’t shocked. I don’t mean that I felt it was going to happen, it’s just that it has happened enough in my adult life that it didn’t seem as uncommon an event as it should have been for me.
My first memories of an officer’s death while on duty were probably US Marshals Robert Cheshire and Kenneth Muir. They were killed by Gordon Kahl in 1983 when I was 17. I began working at the local Sheriff’s Office in 1989 and there was a book that listed officers who had died while on duty. I had to check for the Marshals names to confirm the crime was true. It just seemed impossible.
There have been officer deaths in the area throughout history. The passage of time has given me a more historical perspective of those tragic killings so they still seemed surreal to me. I didn’t believe such a crime would ever occur again. I felt like people were better now and another officer shooting was impossible.
The death of Mahnomen County Deputy Christopher Dewey shocked me. I had never spoken with him however I had seen him on the booking cameras a few times when he had transported inmates to the Pennington Jail. Deputy Dewey’s story was so courageous and his death so tragic. I thought that would be the last violence against an officer I would hear about however that is far from true.
Officers killed on duty sadly only highlights all violence against officers. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Uniform Crime Report, there were 467 officers assaulted statewide in 2019. A 140 percent increase was reported over the three years ending December 31st, 2021. Pioneer Press reported that Agencies reported 339 officers were assaulted in the first four months of 2023, up from 293 during the same time in 2022 but down from 377 in early 2021.
What has happened to our culture that we feel violence against an officer is a choice? I think there is a cultural tacit approval created by reduced penalties and cashless bonds. Criminals are deterred by laws and penalties but laws only do so much. The other element of preventing criminal acts is condemnation of such crimes by parents,elected officials and civic leaders. When these same people use soft words and excuses for such criminal acts, they miss their opportunity to use their bully pulpit to do good and instead use it to be popular-or to get elected… again. Acceptance of petty crime is an evil tool which grows stronger over time until it can be used to kill.
We now pardon crime as a way to forgive the criminal and to signal our good virtue. Forgiveness is for the person, not the offense. Accepting criminal behavior is only a step away from expecting it. If we begin to expect the worst from each other, we will get it. We may already be witnessing it today
