by Kerby Anderson

This is a commentary I should have written a week ago, but I had to think about it for a while and wanted to get the quotes right. I wanted to talk about Dallas Police Chief David Brown. In many ways his worst day on the force was also his greatest hour. We saw that in the press conferences he did, and we also saw it in the messages he delivered at the funerals of his officers. Some have called him an American folk hero.

One of the most powerful statements he made in one of the press conferences had to do with the amount of pressure we put on law enforcement. He explained; “We’re asking cops to do too much in this country.” Unfortunately, they have to pick up the pieces of society’s failures. Here are a few lines from his follow up comments.

“Not enough mental health funding? Let the cops handle it. Not enough drug addiction funding? Let’s give it to the cops. Here in Dallas we’ve got a loose dog problem. Let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail. Give it to the cops. Seventy percent of the African-American community is being raised by single women. Let’s give it to the cops to solve that as well.”

When I heard those comments I had to agree with him that we expect too much from law enforcement. And often we provide little support and appreciation. It has always been a tough job, and often it is a thankless job.

Chief David Brown also had a word for those protesting the police. He reminded them, “We’re hiring. Get off that protest line and put an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood and we’ll help you resolve some of the problems you’re protesting about.”

He also knows the answers to life’s biggest question. At the memorial services, we heard him briefly refer to his Christian faith and his belief in the resurrection of the dead. Perhaps now you can see why I believe we need more men like Dallas Police Chief David Brown.