Once again we were tragically reminded that there is no such thing as just “another day at the office” for police officers. The protean front line of public safety is their daily reality. Some present dangers are more clear than others.
There are, to be sure, no “routine” traffic stops, as we witnessed last summer with the murder of two Tampa policemen. And there are no “routine” warrant servings as we have just seen from the killing of two St. Petersburg officers–and as we saw last week in Miami where two officers were gunned down in Liberty City.
And we are also reminded that “off duty” is an oxymoron to police officers. Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, one of the slain St. Pete policemen, was “off duty” and on his way home after a night shift, when he responded to a call for backup in south St. Petersburg. It’s what cops do. Comes with the parlous territory.
And not unlike last June’s TPD killings, there is again a disturbing contextual element as well. As unfathomable as it seems, such horrific shootings were not regarded as tragedies by everyone proximate to the crime scene. It’s a function of the “us-vs.-them” dynamic that still prevails in some predominantly black, relatively high-crime areas.
During and after the St. Petersburg shoot-out, neighbors reportedly milled about amid blaring car stereos, some jeering and a debate about police and race. About historic mistrust between cops and black neighborhoods. As if a tragic murder that leaves widows and orphans in its bloody wake could yield two rhetorical sides. Revolting.
And recall how the three black women who tried to aid the dying Tampa officers were subsequently treated by some of their neighbors. They were harassed, threatened and called “traitors” for violating the spirit of the “no-snitch” ethos still prevalent in some black neighborhoods. They later moved. But arguably the mindset of a dysfunctional sub-culture is still in place among too many who remain. Frightening.
Here’s another sobering thought. Who would blame a cop for acting on a knee-jerk impulse? Do I really want to go there? Do I want to stop any motorist at that hour in that neighborhood? Do I really want to do backup in that neighborhood and not go straight home to my wife and three kids?
Fortunately for society in general, and, ironically, for those crime-familiar neighborhoods specifically, well-trained, disciplined, professional law enforcement officials don’t act on thoughts like that. They take their oath to serve and protect seriously. But as manifestly tragic as this latest, horrific incident was, it could get even worse.
Unless, of course, none of those officers died in vain.