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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2016)
COMMENTARY A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016 Police chief proud to answer the call to serve get it right every single time? No. I have said publicly we The question why is some- are not going to get it right thing I value dearly in our all the time and when we do world. We hear why from not, we are going to rely upon our children and we hear why those relationships we have from people wanting to seek established to stand with us further enlightenment into and walk us to the other side. their own understanding. We We have made a calculat- also hear why from those who ed effort to hire oficers who have done something outside want to live and raise their the scope of the norms and/or families here. The average laws of our society. police oficer of the Herm- But why would any- iston Police Depart- one want to be a police ment has lived in the oficer in the society in Hermiston area for 20 which we live? Why years. We have tried to would anyone want to ensure we have a po- subject those they love lice department that is to the challenges faced commensurate of the with the conidentiality population in which of information or the Edmiston we serve. Currently, uncertainty of know- 23 percent of our ofi- ing who is friend or foe? Why cers are bilingual in Spanish. would someone be willing to When thinking about our His- walk out the door of their house panic population approaching to do their job full well know- 40 percent, I feel comfortable ing that may be the last time knowing we have several their loved ones will see them? employees that can commu- Here is my answer: Because nicate with a smaller segment there is something incredibly (not all of the 40 percent) that noble about serving the pub- is monolingual. lic and for those who believe, We will make mistakes. there is something incredibly We will not put our best foot spiritual about being coura- forward every time. We have geous in the face of danger. to uphold the law, including I chose to serve because I trafic laws. I have been on knew every single day would the receiving end of a trafic be different. I chose to serve citation and I agree it is not a because I love the community fun experience. But, we are I was born in and have been here to serve and we are here so blessed to live. I chose to to protect. We are here to fos- serve because I want my chil- ter healthy relationships as we dren to live in a community completely understand many where diversity is endured woes of society are pushed and compassion reigns. down to law enforcement to Does this mean your po- handle. lice department is going to In November of 2014, By JASON EDMISTON Guest commentary Chief Ed Flynn of the Mil- waukee (Wisconsin) Police Department gave a compas- sionate answer to reporters questioning him about his ac- tions during a public meeting. I would encourage everyone to look Chief Flynn up on the internet and watch the video. Chief Flynn also gave the fol- lowing response in an article talking about the challenges of law enforcement: “We are the agency of irst resort for the poor for virtu- ally everything,” he said, “as well as the agency of irst re- sort for every social problem that no one wants to spend money on anymore. I see the amount of mental health work that we do, but there are no fa- cilities for [persons with men- tal illness]. I see the amount of work we do with the home- less, but there are insuficient facilities for the homeless. And I see the amount of work we do with people with sub- stance abuse problems, but there are insuficient treat- ment centers for substance abuse. I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that society has decided there is no social problem so complicated that it can’t be ixed by more train- ing for the police.” I was fortunate this last month to travel abroad (to Europe) with my family. This time away gave me a tre- mendous opportunity to dis- connect from the daily grind (though like many, I checked my emails daily). I met peo- ple from around the world who without knowing I was a police oficer or prompting the conversation, showed in- credible support of the wom- en and men who don and doff the uniform each and every day. In one particular dinner conversation, a Latino couple from the Miami area were expressing their love of this country and their incredible support of the police. Toward the end of the conversation, my wife let them know I was a police oficer. Choking back emotions, I listened as they thanked me. These folks don’t know me. I don’t “pro- tect” that family in their com- munity. But I do know respect and love is a gift each of us was given and it should never be taken for granted. Over this last month, indi- viduals and businesses have shown their support for the women and men of the Herm- iston Police Department. Cards have been dropped off, food has been dropped off, a billboard south of town shows support for irst responders, and words of encouragement have been emailed and texted to me. Humbling to say the least! I have always believed the silent majority is out there but the incredible compassion and love shown to our depart- ment by this community has been amazing and brings that belief to reality. As the person who is so fortunate to walk side by side with our oficers, I want to thank each and every person who has shown their support for the amazing people in our department. Our employees want to do a good job serving and, more importantly, want to go home at the end of each shift. An incredible example of servant leadership was pro- vided to us some 2,000 years ago when feet were washed and sacriices were made. Each of us is here to serve you. Thank you Hermiston, we will continue to try and do our best for you. Jason Edmiston is the chief of police for the Herm- iston Police Department. Switch to U.S. Cellular ® now and get 50% off iPhone 6s. On the network that works in the Middle of Anywhere. MEDICAL DIRECTORY FAMILY DENTISTRY Family Dentistry ~ N ew Patients Welcome~ 541-567-8161 995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S . URGENT AND FAMILY CARE HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE & URGENT CARE Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 7:30am-7:00pm 541-567-1137 236 E. 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