Dallas police chief’s advice needs to be taken seriously

By any objective measure, Chief David Brown of the Dallas Police Department has performed exceedingly well in the aftermath of last Thursday’s massacre of five police officers by a heavily armed sniper.

Through openness, accessibility and straight talk, Chief Brown has largely defused a ticking time bomb. To be sure, there’s anger, racial tension and even the threat of further violence because the sniper, Micah Xavier Johnson, a black 25-year-old Army veteran, had targeted white police officers.

Johnson not only took five lives, but he injured nine others.

A total of 13 officers used force against him, with 11 of them firing their guns and two of them using the explosive that killed Johnson, according to the wire service Reuters.

The police chief says investigators will leave no stone unturned to find out what motivated the sniper. There are reports that he was struggling with mental illness of some level and snapped after the recent killing of two black men by police.

Brown also said he wants to make sure that Johnson acted alone and was not assisted in any way.

But during a news conference Monday, Brown, who leads one of the few departments in the country that has adopted the recommendations of a special White House task force on policing, had some words of wisdom that everyone should take seriously.

“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” the chief said. “We are. Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it. Here in Dallas, we got a loose dog problem; let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, let’s give it to the cops. That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all of those problems.”

Veteran lawman

Truer words were never spoken. And the fact that they come from a veteran lawman who grew up in a black neighborhood in Dallas makes what he said all the more significant.

Police officers around the country are under too much strain, Brown told reporters, noting the high turnover rate in departments such as his.

Indeed, the chief had some thoughtful advice for the protesters who have been demonstrating in Dallas and other cities around the country to focus attention on police brutality.

“Become part of the solution,” Brown said in comments aimed at groups such as Black Lives Matter. “We’re hiring. Get off that protest line and get an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood, and we will help you resolve some of the problems you’re protesting about.”

The demonstrations have resulted in confrontations between police and protesters and have spotlighted the lack of trust and, in some cases, respect that now exists.

It is a fact that in many black neighborhoods, police are seen as the enemy. Police killings of blacks and other incidents of brutality have raised tensions not seen since the days of the civil rights movement.

Police Chief Brown’s invitation to the protesters to explore careers in law enforcement is timely and necessary.

Indeed, an aggressive minority recruitment program nationwide should be launched with assistance from the White House to meet the needs of police departments in urban America.

At a memorial service Tuesday in Dallas for the fallen men in blue, President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush echoed the sentiments of all thoughtful Americans when they talked about the need for the nation to come together during these trying times.

“I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we’ve come against impossible odds.” Obama said.

Bush offered this observation: “To renew our unity, we only need to remember our values. We have never held together by blood or background.”

The five police officers who were killed in the line of duty are: Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith and Lorne Ahrens.

President Obama acknowledged the pressures put on the men and women in blue when he said, “So much of the tensions between police departments and minority communities that they serve is because we ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves.”