CAMERON GARY || sandiegouniontribune.com
I am a Black man, a baby boomer, a husband, father, brother, coach and a friend. I am a Godly man. I grew up in a redlined neighborhood. My family later moved to the suburbs and was greeted with hate mail, racist slurs, vandalism to our home and many other indignities, purely because of our Blackness. It was inescapable. But it was our life.
I am proud of my African heritage. I am proud to be American. My father served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was proud of his service, his uniform and the American flag. My parents grew up during the Great Depression. My mother on Chicago’s South Side, and my father in Birmingham. My paternal great-grandfather was 20 years old in Alabama when slavery ended. I remember the Rev. Martin Luther King’s assassination. My father told me about life in racially segregated Alabama during the Jim Crow era. The recently desegregated U.S. Navy provided him an opportunity for a better life, and that brought us to San Diego.
However, racial hatred was antithetical to how my parents raised us.
I am a retired law enforcement professional. My 30-year career included time with three agencies. I worked in jails, patrol, SWAT, investigations and many other assignments. When I retired, I was the lead defensive tactics instructor for a countywide agency and a court-qualified expert in police use of force. I was never reprimanded for any conduct violations. I did my job with integrity, professionalism, compassion and empathy.
Black men my age do not generally grow up aspiring to be police officers. I most certainly did not. Black officers constantly balance being Black enough or blue enough to be really trusted. I was Black long before I was an officer. This is why the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery killings hurt so deeply. The offenders’ vile, hate-filled callousness was shocking. They did not treat the victims as human beings. They treated them like animals. Something to be hunted … and displayed as a trophy for all to see. Much like Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” hanging from a poplar tree.
My white friends ask, “Why does race matter?” Frankly, I wish race had nothing to do with it. But society does not afford me that luxury because racism is so endemic. The things they take for granted, I must be constantly aware of. I know what discrimination feels like. I once interviewed for a job with a federal agency. I had already passed written tests and an oral board. When I walked into the interviewer’s office, he looked surprised. The first words from his mouth were, “I didn’t know you were Black!” But as Maya Angelou famously said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” Needless to say, I didn’t get that job.
I am not here to air my personal grievances. But I wanted to share a taste of what I — and many other Black officers — regularly face. But back to George Floyd.
Police protect and serve through a partnership with the community. Police have tremendous power because they can literally end someone’s life in an instant. I cannot tell you how many people I have arrested or handcuffed.
Most comply and go peacefully. Some do not. Society empowers us with reasonable and necessary means to gain compliance. Most often it is verbal persuasion. On rare occasions it can escalate to deadly force. Kneeling on a handcuffed, noncombative person’s neck for nearly nine minutes is not reasonable. Nor is it necessary.
So where do we go from here? California’s law enforcement training is unparalleled. The “why” is often times more important than the “how.” Police and firefighters are the most visible arms of government. They are trained to deal professionally with the human condition, regardless of the circumstances.
Police officers must be encouraged to hold each other accountable without fear of retribution. Sometimes good people make honest mistakes. But we cannot lose sight of those with nefarious intent based on internal biases. Police leadership must culturally diversify to reflect the communities it serves. This includes taking an honest look at bias in the hiring, screening and training processes.
Modern police culture and mentality must change. Police are not killers. Nor are they an occupational force, tasked with dominating an adversary. It is not our job to judge, much less punish offenders on the street. It does not matter if a person is Mother Theresa or Jack the Ripper. A police officer’s duty is to protect and serve … everyone.
Gary is a retired supervising investigator with the San Diego District Attorney’s office. He served 30 years with three different agencies including the San Diego County Probation Department and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
