Do you want me around, or not?

We, as peace officers, have a real conundrum (there's a kick-ass word for you). The people we serve don't want to see us until they need us. But then they want to know why we weren't there to stop them from becoming a victim.

I can't tell you how many times I have driven through certain neighborhoods in my high profile marked patrol car, and had people of all ages staring at me. Kids, teens, adults and the elderly, all of whom have had some undesirable contact with the police, look at me as if they wish I would just die on the spot.

They don't want to see the police rolling around their neighborhood. I hear calls of "ROLLERS!" and "FIVE-O!" from street corners, warnings to cease illegal activity for the time being due to the presence of the cops. Kids who are barely old enough to wipe their own asses run away clutching at their waistbands. Seven year old kids stand on the corner with walkie talkies and cell phones. It's truly dumbfounding (there's one).

But God help us when one of these kids gets shot, or robbed, or beaten to a pulp because of his business or gang associations. Then it changes to "Where the fuck was you when my baby got shot?!" or "You motherfuckers don't give a shit about us! If you did you woulda' been here to keep Jerome from getting robbed".

Then when we come out and arrest the kids, we're just harassing them because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or some other miscellaneous bullshit.

Whoa! Wait a minute. Slow your roll there Mama. Check this shit out. If your "baby" wasn't slinging dope, he wouldn't have been standing on some other dealer's street corner, and therefore would not have been shot at. If he wasn't known to the entire neighborhood to be carrying large quantities of cash at any given time because of his illegal pharmaceutical business, he would not have gotten robbed. How does that hit you, huh?

Yes, no shit. Your "baby" is/was a criminal. He sold dope to other kids. He probably had a gun on him when he was shot too. And you know what else? The gun he had was probably stolen.

Excuse me if I sound cynical, but MAKE UP MY FUCKING MIND! Do you want us there, or don't you? If you do, you are just going to have to put up with us being there 24/7 for a long time to reclaim your neighborhood for you. And you need to improve your parenting skills because apparently you never explained to your youngsters that the shit they do is wrong.

If you don't want us there, don't call us when the shit hits the fan. Do as the gangbangers do and deal with your own problems, your own way. Either way, if you live in that neighborhood, you and your neighbors need to make a choice.

You can tell the kids who were raised properly, because they wave at the black and white with all their fingers, not just the middle one. There are still a few good kids in the bad parts of town, and they need all the help they can get. But if the adults are just showing them how to be criminals, they are beyond most of the help I can give them. I just send them to Officer Wright's hall, and they learn how to be bigger and better criminals.

Wow! The idea for this post started out as a rather light hearted jab at people who don't want us around until they need us. I guess when the feelings really start to come out, it can change the whole feel of a post.

Like I said when I started this blog so many months ago, if you can't handle it, go read someone else's warm and fuzzy blog. This is the shit my brothers and sisters and I deal with on a daily basis. If your kids are fortunate enough not to live in the shitty parts of town, consider yourself lucky.

Welcome to reality.