The Truth Behind the Lies

In this episode, we discuss the frustrations and challenges faced by law enforcement professionals, addressing misconceptions and misinformation about law enforcement statistics and incidents. The conversation emphasizes the need for support and self-care within the law enforcement community.

Takeaways

Law enforcement professionals face significant challenges and frustrations in their profession, including dealing with traumatic events and critical incidents.

Misconceptions and misinformation about law enforcement statistics and incidents can create a negative perception of the profession and impact the morale of law enforcement professionals.

Support and self-care are essential for law enforcement professionals to cope with the demands and stress of their job, and it is important for the community to recognize and appreciate their service.

The conversation highlights the need for accurate and evidence-based information about law enforcement incidents and statistics to avoid perpetuating misconceptions and biases.

Transcript

Critical Aspects Podcast (00:00.828)

Welcome back to Critical Aspects. I am your host, Vernon Phillips. And today we're just gonna talk about some things that can be frustrating in the law enforcement profession. So last episode, I talked about addressing LEO challenges, specifically some of the things that manifest in the law enforcement profession. I share a lot of statistics, I shared just some information, kinda how to offset that a little bit. So it's kind of an educational piece. But this week I'm gonna focus a little bit more on some of the frustrations that we get from a you're bringing up some of that type of information. So we know that I talked about that. We know that I shared a lot of statistics, just how many critical instances law enforcement's involved in, what the percent of PTSD is, what that rate is in law enforcement, things like that. So with that, you gain a lot of support from people. People are like, man, I never knew those numbers, that's crazy.

I'm gonna be more apt to thank law enforcement to make sure I support them. And then you've got others that kind of want to just get off into topics, kind of, you know, they want to get off the sideline. They want to get off in the muck and the mud and bring up stuff that's just statistically not proven to be true. All right. So in response to that, that piece I did last, last episode, there's an individual that made some comments. I won't, I won't name them. I'm not going to call them out. That's not what I'm going to do but I do wanna kind of draw out some of the stuff they did say. And there were some things that, you know, you can look at any type of comment, any criticism in your life and you can say, okay, let me find something in there that, you know, I can say, okay, I can work on that, I can deal with that, or I can see a little bit in there. So, you know, that's what I did. I didn't respond back in any negative way. Just said, hey, I appreciate what you're saying, and I'll keep that in consideration. Now let me address the inaccuracy of the information that was provided in the comment. All right, so I'm gonna share with you just a little bit of the excerpt, a little bit of some of what was said, but I'm gonna do it, like I said, I'm not gonna share any names, I'm not gonna do anything like that, because that's not the point of this. The point is to bring up some information, right, to address some of the stuff. So,

Critical Aspects Podcast (02:28.668)

First starts off and you know, they're pretty positive. Hey, this takes you to you're bringing up it in your presentation. We're striking in your insights are crucial for everyone to consider. Hey, awesome. Cool. Especially those who are not in law enforcement. All right. We're tracking. Good. Right. Continues on from there. Officers encounter many emotional and psychological challenges due to traumatic experiences they witnessed and personally experienced while serving. Okay.

Right, tracking. And then it just goes off the rails. It just kind of takes a side turn that says, however, it is equally important to include this sobering reality of civilian deaths caused by law enforcement, which is often racially driven. So we're just going to go way off this side over here, right qually important to include the sobering reality of civilian deaths caused by law enforcement as if law enforcement is out there running around just willy -nilly causing death to citizens for no apparent reason. There is some statistics that are used, there's some sighting, but I call all that into question as far as its validity and authenticity because then from there,

It goes into the individual then quotes the Washington Post. All right, so if you're anybody who is in any type of academics, we're not going to quote the Washington Post. We're not going to quote the New York Times. We're not going to quote anything like that. That is not a scholarly source that you can base any type of statistical data on. All right. You can disagree with me if you want to, but that's just the way it is. Then they go on to say the Washington Post reported in 2023, there was a historic peak in killing caused by police officers, surprisingly surpassing previous record in history. So it goes on to say that, you know, a lot of it's racially motivated, that killings are disproportionate, high rates compared to other racial groups as far as, you know, black civilians, things like that. And again, quoting Washington Post, things like that. First of all,

Critical Aspects Podcast (04:51.932)

It's the Washington Post. All right. So what do we do with it? How do we address a culture, not everybody, but how do we address a culture that then says, hey, what about the surprising number or what about the important impact where civilian deaths that are caused at the hand of law enforcement? Okay, first of all,

No law enforcement officer gets into this profession with the desire to take a life. That is, now are they trained and skilled to do so? Yes, absolutely. In the context of their job description and duty, right? To preserve life. But I don't know of any individual officer that got into the profession because that's what they wanted to do. Because that's not. So it's ignorant and just inconsiderate to say otherwise.

So when we start thinking about the Washington Post, I would like to, I wanna share something. I'm gonna share my screen just so you can see. And so I'm using, I actually went and I searched journal articles that are scholarly sources, all right, that do the research to put the time in that actually vets the things that they're doing. So I'm gonna go ahead and I wanna share my screen.

Critical Aspects Podcast 

So if you look at the screen here, I'm going to share this article that addresses the validity of the Washington Post, right? So they say they also criticize the way in which the Washington Post classified and coded data while calling for a better empirical understanding of the nature of police or violent police -citizen conflict. But moreover, they also then go into saying that they caution the use of the Washington Post data as it uncovered multiple liabilities encouraging them to identify and bring up better vetting. So here's the thing, if you're going to quote the Washington Post, you better understand and realize that it's not a credible source. It's not a reliable source. All right.

So when we start talking about this, it's important to really understand where you get your information, what statistics you're using, and making sure you're presenting good, sound statistical data. So this idea that law enforcement, their encounters, hey, let's talk about the fact of how many citizens law enforcement kill every year. Okay, so we're just gonna throw that out there with no context and no backdrop to that as far as really what's going on. So.

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about officer involved shootings. Let's talk about some of the statistics involved officer involved shootings and some of the data that's out there. All right, so check out the screen.

Critical Aspects Podcast (10:24.092)

All right, so take a look at the screen, right? So this is on police shootings and the statistics involved.

Do you see what it says right there? It says Miller estimates that police use of force against citizens occurs in less than 1 .5 % of police contacts and the deadly force is used in approximately 360 cases per year compared to the 60 ,000 reported cases of assault against police officers each year. Less than 1 .5%.

Critical Aspects Podcast (11:01.82)

And it continues to say estimates the use of force in general by police range from point one to thirty one point eight.

Critical Aspects Podcast (11:14.62)

Obviously, it's gonna talk about, hey, yeah, the percentage of police shootings compared to all police contacts is rare, but yeah, it's emotionally a powerful event. It's a critical incident. It's a traumatic event. It is a high stress event.

But look at down here towards the bottom and it says approximately 1 % of police shootings appear unjustified. Less than 1%. Name any other profession that has a better success rate than that. I don't see anybody talking about doctors and lawyers and all that stuff, but man, let's talk about police.

Right? It says, despite those handful of cases, less than approximately one to three percent of police shootings are deemed unjustified when all the facts and the full content of the circumstances, context is examined. So there's the key part, right? So when we start talking about the authenticity or the whether or not a shooting is justified, right? We're talking about all of the facts, all of the content, everything involved is examined. And then it says approximately 1 % of police shootings appear from justice.

Approximately 1%. But not only that, but then you want to bring up the fact that police shootings are racially motivated. Are they? Are they racially motivated? Hmm.

Critical Aspects Podcast (12:57.468)

Well, what does this say? Well, it says that more whites are shot and killed by police at higher rates, sometimes as high as 50 % or higher.

Critical Aspects Podcast (13:11.004)

Huh, that's interesting.

Critical Aspects Podcast (13:16.156)

So.

Critical Aspects Podcast (13:21.532)

So let's talk about...law enforcement. Let's talk about the fact that we have individuals that are going out each and every day that are interacting with, yes, some of the best of humanity and some of the worst of humanity and interact with them without any complications regularly each and every day. Right. But then you have those situations where things do not go textbook.

But things don't go the way they always need to go. And they adapt and they respond to the situations accordingly. And it's handled in a professional manner, but we don't talk about that. We talk about all the times that things are brought into the limelight because somebody's Monday morning quarterbacking on a profession that they don't know anything about.

Law enforcement officers are expected to make a split in the second decision. It could result in them losing their life or somebody else life being lost.

Critical Aspects Podcast (14:29.02)

It's a profession that does not get the justification or the consideration or even the respect that it deserves, especially in today's culture.

They interact with people each and every day seemingly routine but then there's the not routine. Then there's the person that is bent on taking as many people out as they can and they present themselves to law enforcement as a threat and then law enforcement responds accordingly. But then there's a lot of other things that law enforcement does, but then when we start talking about bringing in statistics based on the Washington Post and talking about things that aren't empirically backed, and trying to paint law enforcement in a light that is not conducive to who they are.

Critical Aspects Podcast (15:31.836)

It's frustrating. And I'm not going to sit here and say that, yeah, there aren't some bad apples in the long forking profession, but they're in every profession. But do we consider all teachers to be bad because some teachers have inappropriate relationships with their students.

Critical Aspects Podcast (15:57.98)

So to share these statistics and then say that, well, this may not be flattering or paint a favorable picture for law enforcement.

Critical Aspects Podcast (16:12.444)

Well, no, it doesn't because that's the purpose of it. The purpose is to paint law enforcement in a way that is negative, right? To create that distance between the community and the law enforcement community, right? Between citizens and law enforcement to create this disillusioned idea that law enforcement is out there to harm innocent people and that they're not capable of doing their job all the while in their career, like we talked about last episode, they're going to experience at minimum in their career, in a 20 year career, 188 plus critical instances, traumatic events, high stress events, however you want to say it. Right? So that could be an officer involved shooting. It could be an accident. It could be you're responding to a coworker being injured. It could be seeing a dead person could be responding to doing a death investigation that somebody took a 12 gauge and blew the whole top of their head off going in, doing their job, and then leaving there and then not expecting that to impact them in a way that it would impact somebody else. The things that law enforcement officers deal with and see each and every day is significant. It is a hard job, it is a stressful job, it's a job that demands a lot on the individual, on the individual's family.

Critical Aspects Podcast (17:55.452)

And one, that even with all of that, even with all of the trauma that they incur, all the trauma that they see, still have a higher than 99 % success rate when it comes to active law enforcement shootings.

Critical Aspects Podcast (18:23.612)

If you don't support law enforcement...

Why?

Critical Aspects Podcast (18:31.132)

Why is it?

Critical Aspects Podcast (18:35.004)

Because that's an institution that was set, that was established, that's given authority from God. They are there to protect and to impart when needed.

Critical Aspects Podcast (18:52.156)

So rather than trying to discredit them and bring them down and paint them in a negative light, why don't we encourage them? Why don't we support them? Why don't we come alongside them? Why don't we say, hey, look, I appreciate what you're doing. I appreciate the hard work. I appreciate the fact that you miss birthdays, you miss family dinners, you miss holidays. You see things and deal with things. So I don't have to. You go in and you deal with individuals that...intently hurt kids. Just absolutely heinous things to children.

Critical Aspects Podcast (19:34.396)

that you go in and you deal with the individuals that harm their significant others. The guy that repeatedly abuses his wife or his children or the mother that abuses her children or the individual that...steals just imparts trauma on individuals so that I don't have to. So I don't have to be exposed to that.

Critical Aspects Podcast (20:12.668)

188 plus. Average citizen is two to three. Two to three critical incidents, traumatic events you'll experience in your entire lifetime. Well, the law enforcement officer is going to be at minimum of 188, up worth 800.

Critical Aspects Podcast (20:31.676)

So yeah, it gets a little frustrating.

But there's individuals that support law enforcement that say, hey, thank you for the service you're doing. Thank you for the job you're doing. Thank you for keeping our community safe. Thank you for doing your part.

Critical Aspects Podcast (20:55.)

So, you know, there's not a lot to say on this. It's just saddening, disheartening, but you know what? For every one of these, there's two that support law enforcement. So, for those who do support law enforcement, I appreciate it. For those of you who work in law enforcement, continue to do the exceptional job that I know you do each and every day. But more importantly, make sure you're taking the time to take care of yourself, right?

It is a profession. It is a calling. It is one to be done at the utmost integrity. Everything we do should be above reproach. Everything, any, every interaction we have with individuals should be with the intent to leave, have that person say, man, that was a great interaction. It doesn't always go that way, but we should always conduct ourselves in a professional manner in a way that is above reproach, but you have to do so by taking care of yourself. If you're not taking care of yourself, you can't expect to take care of somebody else. You can't expect to be at the top operating level that you need to be, right? Some days are better than others. Some days it's like call after call after call, and it just is just daunting, right? It just takes a lot out of you. And there's other times where, right, it's a little bit more subdued, but.

You have to take care of yourself. When you're off, you're off. When you're not working, spend time with your family and your friends and your support group. Invest in yourself. Find a hobby, find something to do. Don't just work law enforcement 24 seven. Find a way to step away. Find a way to decompress. Find a way to offset things that you see, the things that you experience, the things you deal with. It is going to be vital for your overall wellness. Try to engage in activities that bring you purpose and meaning outside of the career. If this is your calling and this brings you purpose and meaning, that is awesome. But on your days off, find something else. Invest in somebody else. Invest in those other people in the community. Go to a nursing home. Go visit the people there.

Critical Aspects Podcast (23:20.028)

Those are a lot of people that are just seeking to be encouraged. Become a mentor.

Go invest in the community. Just do something. If your drive is service, then go serve, but find another avenue. Don't just allow your life to be in law enforcement 24 hours, seven days a week. You're gonna burn out and you're going to end up just being completely shot. Don't do that. Please invest in yourself. Please find a way to decompress. Find a hobby.

There's a lot of great resources out there. My good friends over at 107 Fishing, that's what they do. They promote when you're off, you're off, right? Do something, get out, just go do some fishing, right? If you're into mountain biking, go mountain biking. If you're in a running, do that. If you're into reading, invest in yourself. Find a way to get out of that head space that you're always in 24 hours a day, seven days a week where you're just always in this law enforcement mindset. I'm not saying stop, just get complacent. That's all I'm saying. Invest in yourself, step away from the job turn it off, turn the phone off, just when you're off, be off. It's hard to do that. I get it, but find a way to do it. So as always, be safe, God bless. You need to contact me for any reason. Look, the information's in the show notes. Reach out. All right, stay safe.