Here are two photos of cops taking a knee. In some quarters, one is good and the other is bad. I find them both offensive. Both are examples of bad police work.

Here is a photo of a military funeral that took place in Arkansas during WWII. Take a closer look at he flag draped casket and the uniforms of three of the mourners. Military honors but no Nazi salutes.

Below is a tombstone for a German soldier interred at Ft. Sam National Cemetery. I guess it depends n point of view. To me, the Iron Cross with the Swastika gives future visitors to the cemetery warning that the remains are those of a former enemy and not due the honor of an American military member.

It is possible to honor a fallen individual and at the same time reject that for which he stood.

In one instance a police chief joined the marchers. In an another it was the Sheriff. I’m okay with that. In another instance police and national guard lowered their shields and riot batons as the crowd marched past. I don’t have a problem with that action.

In each instance the actions of the police chief, sheriff and shield wall was acknowledged in a positive manner.

Floyd didn’t deserve what he got. But, let’s not forget. Floyd, a convicted felon was engaged in yet another felony. He set the wheels in motion by resisting arrest. That doesn’t mean he deserved to die. It does mean that the escalation of events is on him.

Some have said that his past doesn’t matter. I disagree.
He was an old hand at getting arrested. He knew that resistance against four officers was not going to end well for him. He did it anyway.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think that many victims achieved that status by their own action or lack. Again they didn’t deserve the end result, but they made it easy to fall into the victim category.

I am reminded of the time I was processing prisoners from the night before. One was a burglar, thief and all around brawler. We had a history.

He started complaining about the officers that arrested him. He had just stolen two trees from a nursery. Both were about ten feet tall and hanging out of his trunk.

Three patrol units teamed up to make the stop. Therein lay the problem. The first officer yelled, “Get out of the car!”The second officer yelled, “Freeze!” The third officer yelled, “Hands up!”

As the crook put it, “Right then I knew I was going to piss two of those guys off.

I guess the moral of the story is that every arrest entails some degree of cooperation on everybody’s part.