In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown expressed deep concern about the conversation about police in America.
Tapper began by talking about Brown’s personal story, which is highly relevant to recent events. “You’ve lost your partner, former partner of yours to gun violence, your brother to gun violence, and just weeks after you became the leader of the Dallas Police Department, in 2010, your son fatally shot a police officer and another man before being killed in a confrontation with police. How do you think these experiences have shaped the way you faced the horrific events of this week?”
Brown said he entered the force in 1983 because of the crack-cocaine epidemic which effected the poor areas of Dallas in which he grew up. “I’m an inner-city kid.” “I really appreciate my experiences growing up here, and this city has embraced me as its police chief. I’ve always felt a sense of urgency about delivering police service.” However, Brown added, “I never wanted this job to be about me, then or now. I’m a servant.”
“I believe that service is part of my direction, and loving people, despite themselves is something I aspire to be,” Brown said shortly before noting he didn’t want to talk too much about himself. “This is going to be about the men and women in blue who sacrifice their lives, every day, and these families planning four funerals.”
Brown went on to praise the bravery of his officers. “The day after this incident occurred, I looked at the daily rolls to see who comes to work. Everyone came to work the next day. Who does that, Jake? In the face of their lives being at stake the previous day, you’d think you’d have some call in and say, ‘maybe that’s not for me.’ Everyone came to work that next day. And I’m just proud to be associated with these people. I stay humble.”
With regard to the conversations about policing in America, Brown said, “The conversation about policing in this country—this is not sustainable to keep these officers encouraged. These officers risk their lives for $40,000 a year. $40,000 a year. And this is not sustainable not to support these people. We’re not perfect, there’s cops that don’t need to be cops. I’ve been the first to say, we need to separate employment with those types of cops, one or two percent. But the 98 percent, 99 percent of cops who come to work and do this job for 40 grand and risk their lives, not knowing whether they come home get this criticism. And that’s just not right and it’s not sustainable. And I’m just making a plea to this country—to stand up, as a silent majority, and show your support for these people, to keep them encouraged to protect you.”
Tapper asked Brown who specifically ought to show more support to police officers.
“Media, public officials, and our communities. How media tells the story. How you sensationalize the video. How you edit the video. Show the whole story, and when you don’t know the whole story, say there’s more to be determined.”
When asked about what message Brown has for protesters, he said, “We’re sworn to protect you and your right to protest. And we’ll give our lives for it.” He then likened the dynamic to a relationship wherein one person loves another, but the other doesn’t express love back. “That’s a tough relationship to be in. Where we show our love—because there’s no greater love than to give your life for someone. And that’s what we’re continuing to be willing to do. And we just need to hear from the protesters back to us, ‘we appreciate the work that you do for us and our right to protest.’ That should be fairly easy.”
Watch the video here:
