Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JANUARY 2017 33 cops don’t care about their fellow workers. The truth is that cops take orders. They don’t get to make calls about how to respond to protests, disturbances or other po- lice matters based on their worldview or political ori- entation. When the job says, “Move ‘em out!” law enforcement officers comply with those lawful orders. But as individuals, officers, deputies, troopers, etc. are wildly diverse and frequently use their discretion in ways that reveal the image of cops as uncaring is false. In Benicia, California last fall, Police Officer Kirk Kef- fer spotted a young black boy in a hoodie walking down the street. “It kinda caught me off guard because I n o r m a l l y don’t see a n y b o d y out there. And there’s n o s i d e - walks. And he’s kind of walking on the side of the street,” Keffer told CBS News. The officer initially thought the boy looked suspicious. And the boy was nervous too. “I noticed it was a police car. And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to move. I don’t want him to think I have any weapons,’” the young man, Jourdan, told reporters. Jourdan told Officer Kef- fer that he was just walking home from work and that he wasn’t a victim or suspect. He just wanted to get home and go to bed after a hard day’s work. The officer of- fered the boy a lift. Generally speaking, when older people talk about younger people it’s usually about how the kids have no idea how good they’ve got it. But Jourdan clearly did not have it easy. He walks two-and-a-half hours between home and work each day. “Not many 18-year-olds you meet have that kind of mindset,” Keffer told report- ers. “They don’t even want to walk down to the store, let alone walk seven miles just to get to work.” Jourdan says he started walking to work after his car broke down last year. Pe o p l e have of- fered him rides but he wants t o d o things on his own. And that made Offi- cer Keffer decide to something nice for the young man. With some help from the Benicia Police Association and the generous support of a local business owner Keffer got Jourdan a bike. Recently Keffer ran into Jourdan again. “He said, ‘Hey, Jourdan, you remember me right?’ Jourdan remembered. And I was like . . . ‘How could I not?’” The officer reassured the boy that he wasn’t in trou- ble. “We just want to give you something,” Keffer said. And then he presented Jour- dan with a new bike. Jourdanwasoverwhelmed. “This bike is going to be cherished,” he said. Keffer also managed to raise $20,000 to help him buy a car and pursue his career. It turns out Jourdan wants to be a cop. In the great American bust-out, where each generation will do worse than one preceeding it, most young people are lucky if they can afford a bike to get to work. Things like cars and homes are basically out of reach for many of them. Could be one of the reasons there are so many protests for a living wage. Continued from page one Not many 18-year- olds you meet have that kind of mindset. They don’t even want to walk down to the store, let alone walk seven miles just to get to work. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” – Charles Dickens Now he can ride Officer, union, business owner help out NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION GLOBAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WWW.SHERIFFS.ORG/GCPS The Global Center for Public Safety provides professional development, leadership training and resources to increase and strengthen the impact of individuals in middle and senior level management across all law enforcement disciplines. Court Security Jail Operations Homeland Security Leadership Community Policing