(The cartoon image above is by Matt Wuerker at Politico.com.)I spent more than 30 years working for the state of Texas -- and nearly 30 years of that service was in law enforcement. And throughout that service, there was a hard and fast rule that all state employees were required to adhere to -- they could not engage in any kind of political action while on duty, or while wearing a uniform designating them as a state employee. The reasoning behind that was that, while on duty or in uniform, we were representing the government (not ourselves) and government employees must be seen as being neutral on political matters. They must not give the impression that the government has taken sides in any political or social matter.
I always liked that rule. Because, especially for law enforcement, government employees must be perceived as treating every individual or group fairly -- and expressing any kind of political or social view destroys that perception and creates unneeded problems.
This does not mean a law enforcement official cannot express a political or social view. They have the same right as all other citizens to speak out or demonstrate (i.e., petition their government for a redress of grievances). They just must do that only when they are off duty and out of uniform. That makes it clear they are expressing their own personal opinion -- not the view of the city, state or federal government.
Many thousands of New York City Police Officers violated this basic principle of fairness in governing. They did it by turning their backs on the mayor at the funeral of a fallen officer. And many did it again at the funeral of the second fallen officer -- even after the Police Commissioner has requested (but not commanded) them to show respect for their job, their uniform, and their city by not repeating the action (an action that was very political). And it also showed a disrespect for the families of the fallen officers. The event was held to honor and mourn the fallen officers. It was NOT the time for a political demonstration.
Don't get me wrong. In my years of service, I met and worked with many honest and competent law enforcement officials -- men and women who adhered to the highest professional standards of conduct. And those men and women earned my respect and should have the respect of the community at large. But those NY officers who engaged in that political conduct while in uniform violated those professional standards -- and in doing so, they showed no respect for their job or the many thousands of law enforcement officials across the country. They should be ashamed of their conduct.
Let me add one more thought. The police expect the community to respect their authority when they are performing their legitimate duties. But how can that happen when they show public disrespect for the authorities in their city -- authorities who are just trying to perform their own legitimate duties?
