New Perspective 4.29.2007 | 0 Comment(s)

This weekend I worked an event where I walked away with not only a sun burnt face, neck and arms, but with a new appreciation for some city cops.

Most police officers I've encountered haven't had really positive things to say about the community they serve. I remember reading the St. Louis cop talk forum a while ago and being more scared of city cops than the criminals in this town, but maybe I'm wrong and the disrespectful officers are a vocal minority.

This weekend I had a brief conversation with a Sergeant who said he wouldn't want to live anywhere but the city. I thought that was a rather unique thing to hear from a city police officer considering how hard they lobby and push to lift some of the residency restrictions city employees know about when they apply for a city job. He went on to say many other surprisingly nice things about St. Louis. I could tell he had his frustrations, (don't we all?) but his frustration was directed at the criminal mind and mentality rather than the city in which some of those criminals live.

It was a pleasant surprise to hear a city officer actually talk about his city with pride rather than disdain. I'm not optimistic about it, but maybe it's the start of something?