Lessons I’m learning as a white man…
Should a person’s actions at the time of their encounter with a police officer affect my response when they become the victim of police brutality in that same encounter?
Yes.
I say yes because police officers as well as citizens have the right to use lethal force if they are under the threat of lethal force. That is pertinent to me because if an officer is at risk of death or seriously bodily harm then what would be police brutality in once instance is now justifiable self defense.
I also want to know how either the officer or the citizen was provoked. Not everyone will share this sentiment but I feel it would be intellectually dishonest to not explore this point. Provocation is always a factor in conflict. However, whether the officer is the provocateur or the citizen is the provocateur, it does not justify police brutality or violent aggression towards an officer. Each person must be held accountable for their own actions including how they contributed to the conflict through acts of provocation. And each person must also be held accountable for their own actions in response to acts of provocation.
That being said, I believe law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard. Because of their training, because of their role in society, because of the their rights to arrest and detain people they should be held to a higher standard when facing acts of provocation. I believe as a pastor, I should be held to higher standard when it comes to my conduct and behavior. Any public servant should be held to a higher standard. Once we accept the responsibility of caring for others, leading others, protecting others, serving others…we should understand that a higher standard in all manners of conduct, morals, and ethics are now our normative benchmark.
Should a person’s reputation and criminal record affect my response when they become the victim of police brutality?
No.
Regrettably, I have been guilty of this sentiment. Our Constitutional rights, basic human rights must not be abridged because we have done bad things. “They got what they deserved” is a dangerous sentiment. None of us want to live in a society where one person gets to arbitrarily decide what another person deserves. That’s not America. When we permit the civil rights of one person to be violated, we are opening the door to everyone’s civil rights being violated. This is why even the most abhorrent criminals are still afforded the rights of a trial, the presumption of innocence, and a competent defense.
Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:17-19 both caution us to not take vengeance into our own hands. Please consider this: vengeance is not just action, it is a mindset. As actions, this means that we are not free as Christians to pursue the punishment of others beyond or outside the legal constructs of the society in which we live. To do so infringes on the sovereignty of God. If a person who has suffered police brutality has done bad things, then that person will give an account for those bad things one day when they stand before Jesus. Vengeance is also a mindset. My job today is to guard my heart from trying to be “Jesus” toward that person. I am not saying we aren’t free to acknowledge the wrong acts of others. I am saying we are not free to determine what they deserve outside the bounds of the law because of those acts. That is a mindset of vengeance and is equally an infringement on the sovereignty of God.
I want you to consider something sobering. I believe as I trust you do as well that all people are going to be judged. Heaven is promised to everyone who has made a vow of devotion to Jesus but that does not mean we won’t be judged once we get to Heaven. Scripture clearly states that we will all give an account for the lives we lived, the words we spoke, and the thoughts we pondered.
Before you begin judging someone because or their criminal record, I want to ask you to reflect on something. That criminal might have accomplished far more in their life than you or me. Remember the parable of the talents? We are accountable for what we have been given; to whom much is given, much is required. If you have been given much…loving parents, material resources, a safe neighborhood, a healthy Christian witness, an authentic local church, positive role models, etc. then it might just be we are the ones whose judgment will be even more severe because were given so much and did so little relative to our potential.
Lessons I’m learning as a white man…