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I see myself as a “glass half full” kind of guy who looks for the positive in every situation, but like most people, 2020 has definitely tested my ability to remain positive like no other year in recent memory. Many would agree that 2020 has been one of the most stressful years of their life, with layers and layers of negativity, stress, depression, and anxiety.
As a nation, we have witnessed one heck of a contentious presidential election that has, almost literally, split our beloved nation in half; a relentless worldwide pandemic now in its second devastating wave, civil unrest involving looting, arson, and other acts of violence; opposition and support of quarantining and stay-at-home orders; and the widespread proliferation of conspiracy theories that extend well beyond the likes of hidden aliens in Area 51, the controversial assassination of JFK, and the supposedly mysterious deaths of Elvis, Jim Morrison, and Marilyn Monroe combined.
And of course, there is the focal point of my article: the continuous erosion of police-community relations, often stemming from videos uploaded to social media depicting the shooting deaths of Black citizens by White officers. In some cases, the court of public opinion has been quick to cast a verdict of innocence or guilt within hours, sometimes minutes, of the incident.
I must emphasize that there is good and bad in every profession, and law enforcement is no exception. But law enforcement appears to be among the only profession in which the acts of a few define the many. Granted, police officers are held to the highest ethical and legal standards in enforcing our nation’s laws under the U.S. Constitution—and rightfully so. Scientific studies have consistently determined that the vast majority of our nation’s police officers will continue to uphold those duties.
This article is not intended to debate the legality or morality of each shooting, but rather to explore the dangers of prejudicially labeling all law enforcement officers as rogue, unstable, racist thugs. Why? Because there is no credible scientific evidence to support those claims, and after 30 years in this profession as both a practitioner and educator, I cannot personally recall any officer that I have ever worked with, known as a friend or acquaintance, or taught as a student, to have been involved in an excessive or deadly force incident that would validate the anti-police rhetoric claims being expressed by some politicians, celebrities, and citizens.
As a nation, we are well aware of the dangers that come with policing. But we are largely unaware of the fact that our nation’s police officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Let me repeat that: Police officers are more likely to die by their own hands than being killed on the job. According to a recent ABC News report, a record number of officers died by suicide in 2019. Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, stated, "Suicide is the number one officer safety issue, and we need more effective research to better understand this national issue."
My fear is that the rising anti-police rhetoric will only perpetuate episodes of depression that could very well contribute to an increase in police officer suicides, especially if we continue to broadly apply unwarranted negative labels to the entire policing profession, a profession in which many officers already report feeling defeated and deflated.
One possible outcome of negatively labeling and stereotyping a group of individuals—in this case, police officers—is that it can culminate into a self-fulfilling prophecy in which police officers come to view themselves in the same negative light as some in society do. As explained by Courtney Ackerman, if you wake up and immediately think—perhaps for no particular reason at all—that today is going to be a terrible day, your attitude might make your prediction come true. You may unconsciously work to affirm your belief by ignoring the positive, amplifying the negative, and behaving in ways that are unlikely to contribute to an enjoyable day.
According to the website Positive Psychology, self-fulfilling prophecies have been demonstrated in a wide variety of educational, occupational, professional, and informal contexts. The logic here is quite simple. Stereotypes are widely shared, yet more times than not, inaccurate. Stereotypes lead to inaccurate expectations. These expectations, in turn, can be self-fulfilling, and can, therefore, further exacerbate negative feelings associated with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Widow Kim Colegrove emphasized that police officer suicide rates are thought to be much higher than reported. "It’s widely accepted that police suicide is woefully under-reported," she writes, "especially when counting those—like my husband—who commit suicide after retiring."
The negative labeling of an entire profession of dedicated men and women who have sworn an oath to protect and serve could lead to more harm than good, which in my view; concerns me. As of 2019, of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States, only three to five percent have suicide prevention training programs, according to Wes O'Donnell. Actions speak louder than words. We need to be more proactive, rather than reactive, to address suicide among police officers.
