No Better Time Than Now (re-post)

 

Given what unfolded in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis last week, a poem I wrote last summer has been running through my mind.  I posted it here originally, though in a very rough form.  A call for publication last spring encouraged me to get it back out and rework it.  It was ultimately rejected, but that doesn’t diminish my desire to put it up here.

Downloadable:  Press Release (Police Departments)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  (month, date, year)

(City)

On (date) at (time), officers responded to reports of  (criminal code number + criminal act).  Upon arrival, officers noted that (first and last name of citizen) was (circle all that apply)

1. behaving erratically
2. reaching for a possible weapon
3. making eye contact with them.

Officers were unable to de-escalate the situation with Mr. / Ms. (last name of citizen) because they feared for their lives and had to make a split-second decision to (circle one)

1. restrain
2. tase
3. shoot.

While it is unfortunate that Mr. / Ms. (last name of citizen) died (circle one)

1. at the scene,
2. in transport to custody,
3. while in custody,

police investigators have recommended that officers not face disciplinary charges based on (circle all that apply)

1. review of dashcam video that did not include sound
2. the lack of forensic evidence gathered at the scene
3. statements from witnesses who were found to be unreliable
4. reports submitted by the officers.

These findings were accepted by (circle all that apply)

1. the chief of police who hired the officers
2. the mayor who is running for re-election on a “tough on crime” platform
3. the prosecuting attorney whose family member was killed by someone from the same demographic as Mr. / Ms. (last name of citizen).

The issue is now closed.  The (City) Police Department remains committed to effective policing strategies and building positive relationships with the community.

####

~Jeff Burd