Recently the number of events causing tensions between the police and public has been increasing and inciting public outcry. There have been claims of police abusing their authority and discriminating against people on the streets. Videos of police arresting people have gone viral, with people commenting on whether or not it was justified and if too much force was used. Although general opinions towards police have declined, I personally have not had any overtly negative experiences with them.

I can count the number of interactions I have with the police in my whole life on two hands, but my parents interact with them on a more regular basis during their workday in the hospital. My mom is a nurse working in the emergency room and deals with all sorts of people over the course of a day. All sorts of incidents may occur with either patients or relations of patients which may require police intervention. On one occasion, a boyfriend of a woman seeking treatment threatened her. He said if anything went wrong or his girlfriend was not helped, it would be my mom’s fault and he would “get her” for it. My mom took it and calmly went to the hospital police right after to report the incident. They took this incident seriously and immediately went to have a talk with him, which led to him apologizing to my mom. There have been other incidents as well, in which patients have gotten violent and the hospital police had helped to restrain them. Overall, the hospital police my mom has encountered are generally helpful and willing to act.