Dear Future President,

I understand your position. You are not a miracle worker. You are not God. You are not a genie in a bottle, and I do not have three wishes. All I have for you, is one issue that I ask we work on together. I have recently watched as the violence and backlash of the brokenhearted has ended the lives of police officers all over the country. My father has served in law enforcement for over thirty years. Needless to say, I am concerned.

Remember the police shooting in Baton Rouge? I do. I remember Dad getting a message from his boss the day before, asking him to check the expiration date on his bulletproof vest, because the sheriff was ordering replacements. I remember going to church the morning of and being bombarded with “Did you hear what happened in Baton Rouge?” and watching my Dad get stopped in the hallway so people could find out what he knew. I remember my dad’s phone going off in the middle of the church service with a message from the sheriff saying “Be prepared to be sent to Baton Rouge in the next 48 hours.” I remember the shock on my mom’s face when Dad showed her that message, before standing up and walking out of the church to go home and pack a bag.

Days before, I remember running into an old friend at the pool and her immediately asking “Are y’all okay? Is your Dad okay? I know things are getting crazy.” I remember asking my father to remove the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office bumper sticker from the rear window of my car, because it no longer served as a safety tool, but quite the opposite.

We are only nine months into 2016, and ninety-three law enforcement officers have been killed on the line of duty (Mail). Eight of those lives lost have been in Louisiana (Mail). The New York Times reported that the July shooting in Baton Rouge left three Law Enforcement officers dead and three wounded.

I understand that in the past few years many of these fatalities have been linked to racial tension and hostility. Because of story selection by the media, people tend to hear of and focus on certain occurrences. We cannot take one and form an opinion for the whole. People see or hear of one incident and immediately stereotype an entire group. All African Americans are not guilty, and all cops are not bad cops.

Although no clear solution seems to exist, I ask that you work with me to lessen the issue. Publically show the American people that you support our law enforcement and that many of them are good people risking their lives for our safety. There is no reason my family should worry when my father is in uniform. There is no reason my father shouldn’t be proud to wear his badge. Law Enforcement protects us everyday, so now it’s up to us to return the favor.

Sincerely,

Rachel Escudé

Works Cited

Bloom, Julie, Richard Fausset, and Mike Mcphate. "Baton Rouge Shooting Jolts a Nation on

Edge." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

Mail, By. "2016." ODMP RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.