Unless and until we acknowledge the problematic structure that brought us to this point, we won’t be able to change the system. And this is a system desperately in need of tangible change, especially for those who are most impacted by the current state of policing and the violence it perpetuates.

Cutting funding for vital community programs in favor of militaristic police programs is why we’re in this mess. We need to rethink the necessity of incarceration, engage in restorative and transformative justice whenever possible, and level the system to a place of true justice for all. Let’s build up programs that support community wellbeing instead of fostering a system focused on and enmeshed in punishment. Let’s reallocate overinflated police budgets and redistribute funding to practical community services. Let’s fund schools, community centers, libraries, affordable housing options. Moving in this direction will make our communities stronger, our police more effective at addressing serious crime, and our people feel safer and more secure. Police should not have unchecked power. We are a part of our communities, protectors of our communities, but we are not dictators or soldiers at war. We should stop thinking of our role as literal “enforcers.” We are protectors, public servants, and, ideally, peace officers.

When I hear “Defund the Police,” I hear a call for change. I, like many of you, don’t want or expect to live in a lawless society. But as a community member and a 34-year police veteran, I don’t want things to continue the way they have been. I want us to reimagine policing, reinvest in communities, and find a better way forward. For all of us.”