When Cops Go Good

I spend a lot of time listening to my brothers and sisters on the street rail against what a good and decent person would probably consider crimes against them perpetrated by police officers acting under the color of authority and laws designed specifically to cause hardship and used for coercive purposes (e.g. "trespassing waivers" that are "on file" at the police department and therefore do not have to  be posted in a spot visible so that you know when you stand under an awning of a business on a city sidewalk that your are in fact trespassing upon that business's location). 

I know that a great many cops have become hardened to the plight of those experiencing homelessness because let's face it and be real and honest; there are times when some folks experiencing homelessness have acted in inappropriate and illegal ways, and I'm not talking here about activities associated with their survival (like breaking into closed building in the middle of the night when the temperature is below freezing. Not saying this is okay or acceptable behavior, but I am saying that the perpetrator is clearly acting in a self-preserving way here and has no interest in stealing, destroying, or otherwise molesting the premises once they've gained entrance). 

The old adage "one bad apple" stands pretty tall here, especially for cops, and most cops with any real street time under their equipment belts will tell you that police work changes your perceptions about humankind and makes them a little more cynical, suspicious, and less likely to be swayed by tales of hardship, excuses, etc.

But just like those of you reading this piece who noticed I was extremely careful to say "'some' folks experiencing homelessness" as I described the situation, it's unfair to lump all cops into the "bad" category because of the actions of a few "rotten apples" within the ranks of our men and women in blue. 

Case in point of course is the action of NYPD officer DePrimo, whose act of kindness, compassion and humanity was caught on camera by a passerby. 

But the truth is, DePrimo's act I think is replicated hundreds of times every month, all over the country, by cops doing the real "protect and serve" duty they swore themselves to do when they joined the force; we just don't see or hear about them.

Now, I believe I know this because I've had the incredibly good fortune to work alongside cops who I know are good and kind and decent people at their core.  One officer in particular, Nashville city police officer Andrea Swisher, who I've written about before here, comes immediately to my mind, but there are others - many others - who do unbelievably good and kind and humane things for people who often don't get a second glance from many in the community.

And before any of you think I'm somehow slanted towards the efforts of police, let me assure you that I've been the victim of an incredibly hateful and targeted campaign by crooked cops to destroy me, and they damn near did, so I come to the table with my own bias towards cops who behave badly.

But I'm smart enough to recognize that blanket assumptions about a particular group of people are not only worthless, they're dangerous and unfair on more levels than I could possibly list here.  It does none of us any good to lump all cops into a "crooked" or "bad" category when at the same time, we ask them to stop doing this same exact behavior to those who find themselves on the street. 

Officer DePrimo, Officer Swisher, and hundreds of thousands of other officers stand as prime examples to this, and don't request or require anything in return.  At a time in our country when it seems like everyone asks "what's in it for me," this is refreshing, honorable, and admirable, indeed.

 Officer DePrimo's kind act (via NYPD Facebook page) (Credit: Jennifer Foster of Florence, AZ)
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/29/cop_gives_boots_to_homeless_man_becomes_online_sensation/

Cop gives boots to homeless man, becomes online sensation

While campaigns against police brutality struggle for attention, one heartwarming NYPD-promoted photo goes viral

By Natasha Lennard
The NYPD have received the gift of holiday-period good P.R.: A tourist in Times Square snapped a photo of an NYPD officer giving a pair of boots and warm socks to a barefoot homeless man. The image — an undeniably heartwarming scene of protection and service — became an online sensation once the NYPD posted it to its Facebook page on Tuesday. More than 370,000 users “liked” it as of Thursday morning, and over 109,000 shared it.
Officer Larry Deprimo, the cop who gifted the boots and reportedly told the recipient, “I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you,” showed the sort of human kindness worthy of sharing online and “IRL” (in real life). Little wonder the NYPD would use the photo of Deprimo as an image boost over social media. There is, however, something galling about the viral celebration of the image as something representative of NYPD’s attitude toward the homeless when there is an ongoing battle by homeless advocates in New York to combat mistreatment by cops. Equally, it’s worth noting that images of severe police brutality get far less online attention. Meanwhile, reporters and citizen journalists have repeatedly in the past year been physically prevented from filming NYPD aggression.
Bronx-based homeless organizing group Picture the Homeless has for over 10 years been conducting a citywide civil rights campaign specifically aimed at curbing police abuses against individuals sleeping on the streets. PTH highlighted that police regularly use force, arrest and ticket homeless individuals for “disorderly conduct” without citing an offense, essentially (and technically illegally) criminalizing homelessness.

“The NYPD has been on a warpath against the homeless, going back decades,” Jean Rice, a PTH member and longtime civil rights campaign leader, told Salon Thursday, adding, “The kindness of one individual officer is a drop in the ocean of the NYPD’s pattern and practice of violating homeless people’s civil rights. The level of corruption and illegal police behavior that exists in our current city government has not been seen since Teddy Roosevelt  was this city’s police commissioner. Random acts of kindness and mere cosmetic adjustments will not provide the progressive reform that disproportionately communities of color in this city need to ensure their survival.”
Through surveys and testimonies, PTH is building a case for a possible lawsuit against the NYPD. This hard-fought and ongoing campaign does not, of course, detract from Officer Deprimo’s generosity, but it does highlight a counter-narrative about the NYPD that is deserving of vastly more attention.
The disturbing footage of two NYPD officers brutalizing a shirtless, shoeless homeless man found sleeping in a Brooklyn Jewish community center is not undone or counteracted by the photo of Deprimo giving a homeless man boots, nor does the brutality undo the kindness — that’s not how it works. But the NYPD is an institution and should be judged as far as possible by the sum of its acts and effects. Thus, when evidence of police goodness is splashed over social media at a rate and an extent far outweighing evidence of brutality, it’s clear that some skewed judgment of the institution is being produced.
It’s worth noting too that in New York and other major cities, journalists both professional and citizen have been prevented on numerous occasions from filming or photographing police acting aggressively or brutally. Famously, journalists and photographers were physically removed (some with force) and cordoned off at a distance while police evicted Occupy Wall Street’s Manhattan base in Zuccotti Park last year. A New York Times freelance photographer was on one occasion arrested and on one occasion physically roughed up by NYPD officers attempting to photograph arrests (which is legal in New York). It was only this week that the Supreme Court ruled against Illinois prosecutors seeking to enforce a law that banned people from filming police. Items of media showing police kindness must then be viewed in a context wherein conveying police wrongdoing has been prevented both legally (in some states) and at street level.