BRATTLEBORO — It has been a dreadful week for law enforcement across our nation.
In light of recent events, I wanted to reach out to the Brattleboro police and thank you for all that you do to make our community a safer place for everyone. I know that your job is incredibly difficult, and as a citizen of this community I am deeply grateful to you for your service.
I was inspired by President Obama's speech at the Dallas funeral on July 12 for the officers who were shot and killed there. When he said, “Cops don't expect to hear the words 'thank you' very often, especially from those who need them the most,” I wanted to write this letter to show my appreciation to you for your service.
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I attended the Black Lives Matter gathering on Main Street in Brattleboro on July 13. I attended because I am concerned about the way people of color continue to be treated unjustly by law enforcement in our country.
I am a white woman with a white husband and a white daughter; however, my brother is a black man and I have many close friends who are people of color.
When I reflect about how people of color are treated so unfairly in our country, it fills me with anger and fear for the safety of my brother and other people of color.
At the same time, I realize that the majority of police officers are good people, are not intentionally racist, and are doing their very best to keep our communities safe.
I know that it's an incredibly difficult job, and that the police don't always get it right. I was a friend of Robert “Woody” Woodward, who was tragically shot and killed by Brattleboro police in 2001, which I think we all agree in retrospect was a clear example of police misuse of force.
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I attended the gathering to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, but please know that my attendance was not an attack on the Brattleboro Police Department.
We live in difficult times, and it's hard to put into words the complexity of my emotions, but my intention is to support people of color and acknowledge that great injustice continues to exist while also extending gratitude for all the good, decent police officers in our community who keep us safe and protect our right to protest peacefully and have our voices heard.
Again, to quote Obama, “I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds.”
“I see what's possible when we recognize that we are one American family, all deserving of equal treatment,” the president said. “All deserving equal respect. All children of God. That's the America I know.”
Obama asked us to open our hearts. He said, “With an open heart, we can learn to stand in each other's shoes and look at the world through each other's eyes[...]. With an open heart, we can worry less about which side has been wronged, and worry more about joining sides to do right.”
I would like to open my heart and join sides with you, as a supporter both of the Black Lives Matter Movement and of the good policing that happens at the Brattleboro Police Department. Let's work together to make our community and our nation a better place for all Americans.
At the gathering, I was inspired by Curtiss Reed Jr., executive director of the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, who advocated adoption of recommendations from an independent commission formed to review the curriculum and training methods of the Vermont Police Academy relative to the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
I strongly urge the Vermont Police Academy to adopt the recommendations of this commission as an important step towards ensuring that all people, regardless of skin color, are treated with dignity and respect, and I ask that the Brattleboro Police Department show support for this recommendation.
Thank you again, Brattleboro Police, for all you do to keep me, my family, and our community safe. I support you in being the best you can be, in rising above fear and hatred to do your jobs with dignity and respect.
To quote the president one last time, “As we get older, we learn we don't always have control of things - not even a president does. But we do have control over how we respond to the world. We do have control over how we treat one another.”