I was at the Lake Orion Police Department last week and there was a young man there, and he was obviously hurting. He had gotten into some trouble and had to be fingerprinted before he went to court.
Police Clerk Rebecca Shank came out of her cubicle and began to talk to the young man. It lifted him up quite a bit. He was sitting there, weeping a little bit, and she absolutely just cared about him.
And the young officer, Officer Chris Mires, came and took the young man into the back to fingerprint him. And when he came out of there with the officer you could just see that his whole countenance was changed. This officer had lifted him up, and it was really a delight to see.
And as I was sitting there, I was thinking, “You know, this is the way you would want your own child to be treated, the same way that he was.”
He had two complete strangers, both in law enforcement, and yet instead of trying to punish somebody they were trying to get him whole. And that was so enlightening to me.
In the past I’ve worked with some really good police officers in my lifetime, and I so thoroughly enjoy people like these two individuals, Rebecca and Chris. They’d be an asset to any community.
Rebecca and Chris were talking and they said, “I don’t think we’re ever going to see him back in jail again.”
That was the cherry on top of it, but it was a summation of everything that was going on. You hear so many negative things and reactions about police officers and police departments and here’s two people – hey, you’d want to go right to bat with them at any time. Just by the outpouring of their love and generosity. That meant a great deal to me.
The young man was just 18-years-old and he’s an electrician. He’s got a lot going for him. And so, we had simply told him when go in to court admit to the judge that what you did was wrong. Say, “I was stupid, this is not ever going to happen again. I made a mistake. I’m presently an electrician, I’m in the process of buying a home.”
Those are the kind of people; they’re worth saving. Everyone is, don’t get me wrong. But you can either bury them or lift them up.
It just fascinated me that here are two people I’ve never met before, and here’s this young guy: they could’ve buried him for all intents and purposes. But they didn’t. They didn’t treat him like he was a criminal. They just lifted him up. And when he walked out of there, he was much more upbeat, it was almost like he was floating.
And I thought, this is what the whole world needs, they need to see things like this.
Art Themm
Oxford