Ask the Chief

Did you know that all most everyone I have arrested in my many years of being a police officer has been either drunk or high?
Did you know that a majority of people I have arrested have also been mean, nasty, petty, malicious, spiteful, and cruel?
These same people also blame others for their actions. On Aug. 8, 2020 I was out of town and I saw a man verbally attack and berate a store employee because he was asked to wear a mask.
His behavior was so bad that I felt the need to stand by in case the man became violent. Had this occurred in Minneota, this person would have been a candidate for a disorderly conduct arrest or at a minimum being trespassed from the store.
After the man left, the store employee thanked me and told me she deals with this 3-4 times each week. We can be better. We can choose not to be intoxicated. We can choose to be kind.
Even if we disagree we can choose to speak to each other with respect and tolerance.
I have no idea what tomorrow will bring and I suspect that we will continue to be challenged by COVID, politics, and more.
However, that is no reason to treat others poorly. Be kind. Be loving. Be gentle. Be supportive. Be forgiving. Set the example. Treat people like you would want someone to treat your grandmother and if people don’t return your kindness, simply move on. Don’t return evil for evil.
This is the best way to be happy, avoid conflict, and to prevent having the police called to deal with your behavior.