Some of you may remember a story we shared the story of Georgia Police Officer Billy Ray Fields. Back in June, Fields released a viral rant against police brutality and corruption. You can see the video and check out the story here.
Fields recently released his newest video from inside his patrol car.
In this video Fields takes corrupt and apathetic police officers to task; he also addresses racism and the most recent cases of fatal police brutality. Fields went even further and did what very few — if any– other police officers would do: he apologizes to the families in those well-publicized cases. Here’s what he said:
“I felt in my heart as a Peace Officer through all the media and all the headlines police officers have been receiving – I haven’t seen nor heard the media display no condolences to the families that lost a love one to the hands of a cop. Even though I had nothing to do with these incidents – but as a branch connected to those trees – I want to say I’m truly sorry for your losses. The Martins, the Gray, the Hammond, the Brown, the Bland, the Garner, the Rice, the Scott and plenty more families.”
“I’m sorry that there is a lack of training that needs to be taking place in these departments. I’m sorry that there are not more psychological evaluations and stress-testing done.”
Fields then takes direct aim at police racism stating:
“I’m sorry that there is a plethora of racist cops dressed in police uniforms.”
Fields also explained how police need to step up and step in when they see a situation getting out hand.
“I’m sorry that even though foul play can come from both sides and play the part in some of these cases, there still should have been that one or more officers stepping in to neutralize the situation once they saw things getting out of hand,”
The case in McKinney, Texas was a perfect example of what Fields was referring to. In that case, there was one out-of-control police officer and 11 other “good cops” – all standing around and doing nothing to stop him.
Fields also acknowledged that his apology falls short in light of any solution to this problem.
“I know that ‘sorry’ is not enough when you lost a loved one to this degree, but that is all that I can offer, to ask God, our creator for forgiveness.”
Fields then addressed the current sentiment of the public towards the police, especially those who live in poor minority areas where police are more known to use a heavy hand.
“We’re in a state of mind, where everyone wants to say ‘F’ the police now. And no disrespect to N.W.A., because the things they went through in their era, was a disgrace to human life. So, saying F’ the police was needed, and I understand. But, it seems like history is repeating itself,”
Fields offers us his vision of what police officers should be doing to help solve the problems in the communities they serve.
“My objective is to create a brand of history so we can place that into the rotation as well,” explains Fields. “No more cops sitting around watching something bad about to happen. No more cops knowing something is wrong, and they decide not to tell anybody.”
“If you’re in this field just to come to work, get a check, and lock folks up, you’re policing for the wrong reason,” says Fields as he calls out those who unquestionably follow orders no matter how corrupt.
Fields explained what the term “Cop” actually stands for.
“Cops stand for Community Oriented Policing if you’re just riding around your zone for 12 hours straight and not once get out your vehicle to interact with the citizens of your area – you seriously need to reconsider another career.”
Fields also refused to pull any punches when addressing “bully” police officers.
“If you’re one of the ones who let your ego interfere with making sound decisions – please find something else to do because you’re making us all look bad and you’re going to end up costing your department a lot of dinero.”
And yes I know people will say plenty of cops do good acts on a day-to-day basis. However, when you listen to what Fields have to say about his profession, consider asking yourself if most police officers really see their jobs in the same light that Fields does. How many officers do you see walking around your neighborhood, hanging out with the kids, or talking to the members of their community?
This isn’t just a problem in urban areas; the overall attitude and role of police departments nationwide reflects an enormous departure from the earliest days of policing in the U.S. Police are no longer “problem solvers” for their communities, but rather “law enforcers” collection revenues and meeting quotas for their departments.
The saddest part is that we’ve become so terrified of crime that we are too afraid to dare dream of asking police officers to do more than what they are doing. Any attempt to change the way police operate in America is often seen as being “soft on crime.”
I’m often reminded of an interview where a European police chief kept referring to criminals as “poor people with problems.” This concept blew my mind. Just try to imagine a criminal justice system that holds this type of attitude from the top down.
When you look at a new home, one of the first things you want to examine is its foundation. The foundation of any building is the most important thing in determining its stability. The foundation the very bottom of a structure – and without a strong foundation the structure becomes unstable. Those we consider to be at the bottom of our society, the working poor, the drug addicts, the homeless, and those we call criminals – consist of our true foundation.
Many politicians would call the “Middle Class” or “Working Class” the foundation of America. However, those vote-pandering politicians are wrong. The true foundations of our country are the “weak links” who determine how strong our social chain really is. And people like Officer Fields are needed to help make those weak areas stronger within our social chain. We all need to realize that we have an investment in our nation’s poor, but especially in our criminals. If we continue building prisons instead of colleges, America will implode just like any building with a fatally weak foundation.
