Saw a social media post that stated, “Unless You’re Willing to Pick Up a Badge and Protect Your City, I Suggest You Stop Criticizing Those Who Are and be Thankful for Their Sacrifice.”

While eerily reminiscent of COL Jessup’s unhinged testimony in A Few Good Men, this post reflects an attitude that might not be as helpful as some posters believe.

I was a police officer for nine years, so I guess I am permitted to criticize police officers who fail to live up to their oaths.  I don’t do it much – and I practically never do it in public – because I understand how difficult and dangerous the job can be, and how often police officers are unsupported by their departments and their communities. But I also believe that a citizen can appreciate the sacrifices of public servants while preserving the right to point out instances when one of those servants performed poorly.

The idea that only a police officer can comment on the actions of another officer is transparently childish and is remarkably counterproductive. If a clerk at a fast food restaurant gives you the wrong sandwich, do you stay silent because you never actually worked behind a fast food counter?

Honest and accurate feedback on performance is critical to the well-being of any organization. Reflexively denying the validity or truth of any criticism and attacking the critic for not serving drives a wedge between the police and the community they serve. An organization that cannot accept and act on honest criticism is doomed to fail.  The results will be a lack of accountability, responsibility, and professionalism leading to a downward spiral of declining performance.

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill

From: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/winston_churchill_103863?src=t_criticism

November 1, 2018