The killing this month of young Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston left many of us feeling numb and quite angry. As we as a nation and a metropolitan area go through the stages of grief to begin to understand why young people would allegedly take the life of a police officer, it’s essential that we realize the shooting was a blatant attack on our civility as a city and a nation in some sense.
It’s time for us to take back the power from those who want to do harm to our men and women in uniform by humanizing the police.
I recall the days when we saw a police officer in uniform, and he or she received instant respect and gratitude and greetings like, “Hi, officer” or “Have a good day, officer.” Then we’d make an attempt to be mindful of our demeanor, tone and attitude. We valued the police.
Consider how times have changed. A uniformed officer was gunned down near her own home. If that wasn’t enough, her badge and gun were taken: the ultimate act of disrespect and denigration.
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What has happened in our society that would lead youths to allegedly commit such an egregious act? What were their lives like before this heinous act? How does a civil society respond to such behavior?
We need experts to study the assailants to understand their past and identify what went wrong. That may help all of us who work with youths to help identify triggers and antecedents could give rise to certain behaviors.
Police officers will carry on serving and protecting, sometimes in hostile environments that don’t appreciate their work and sacrifices. This lack of appreciation is driving many away from this valued profession. In 2020, more than 80% of U.S. police departments reported a shortage, according to a report by the National Police Foundation. This shortage leaves us all less secure and protected.
If youths would kill a police officer in uniform, where does that leave the rest of us? We might have assumed that once the perpetrators saw the uniform, they would have kept driving to find a different victim. Unfortunately, the uniform may have enticed them, or it simply did not matter. And that unfortunately is the problem. The institutions and people who work in these professions we grew up respecting are now being marginalized and told they don’t matter.
It’s way past time to put an end to the rhetoric, “Defund the police.” To defund is to be one step away from doing without. Clearly, our civil society cannot function without our women and men in uniform. Police officers not only serve and protect, but they also stand amid adversity, risking their lives every day and demonstrating bravery and courage. We diminish their importance with such rhetoric.
The hard work of recovering from Preston’s death must begin with us coming together and recognizing this kind of violence is unacceptable. We should then talk to our youths about it and ask them how they feel. You may see, as I did when talking to some, a look of sadness, confusion and shock. Have that conversation and validate their feelings.
Also, bridging the gulf between police officers and our youths is a priority. Perhaps the effort to remove police from schools needs to be reconsidered. Instead, give the officers a different role that isn’t focused on law and order but rather is designed to foster relationships between them and youths. That could include informal conversations that explain the complexities and the intricacies of the profession. The need to humanize police officers for our youths may be more essential now than ever. We must not cross the point of no return, in which efforts to improve relations are futile.
So many of us long to return to the days when respect was given to institutions and professions that aimed to serve the public good. It’s necessary to not only educate our youths about the respect that these institutions deserve but also encourage them to demonstrate it.
As we mourn Preston, let it be a turning point for us all. Let’s show the world that her life meant something to all of us. As we hold the individuals accountable for their unthinkable actions, let’s also do our best to teach our youths to not follow in their footsteps but be a beacon of change and hope like Preston. That is how we can truly honor her memory.
Jerald McNair, who has a doctorate in education and a graduate degree in public policy, is a school administrator in South Holland School District 151.
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