Growing up in the Lower East Side, I witnessed a few police interactions, but the police presence in my neighborhood was not particularly rampant. Perhaps my closest encounter was in high school, when I was leaving my apartment to go to school. I was waiting for the elevator when the door opened to reveal a pair of police officers holding a man against the wall of the elevator, hands cuffed behind his back. It was quite the shocking view in retrospect, but it was early in the morning at the time and I was too tired to really register what I was seeing. The two policemen kindly told me to take the next elevator and I groggily abided. When I reached the ground floor of the building, I could see the two officers loading the suspect into the back of their car, and I resumed my day like nothing was different.
When I walk past police officers on the streets or in the subway stations, I don’t feel an immediate threat to my own safety. Like many people, however, I am slightly more wary of their presence than I should be, since their job is to protect and serve. This is possibly due to the fact that I have always been taught that they are figures of authority, so I am more aware of my own actions and behaviors when I notice that they are around. I try to “act normal,” even if I wasn’t doing anything particularly sketchy before I came near them, and I try my best not to look suspicious (usually probably looking even more suspicious in the process). In light of more current events, there is even more tension around police officers. Although it is true that there are a few bad cops out there, I think it is important to note that the news only reports the bad. It’s possible that I speak from a biased and privileged standpoint, but it’s true that kindness is not documented as often as crimes. People don’t go through training just to gain a badge to wave around, and it’s important to remember that the general intention of the police force is to protect and serve.
