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.
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