I went to another protest. It was a very well-behaved crowd of people who came out in a light rain to express their concerns over the apparent lack of respect for the rule of law of our current administration.
There were police present, though they had precious little to do. Everyone was staying on the public sidewalk, respecting passersby and adjacent private property.
At one point, however, a uniformed police officer swaggered — there’s really no other way to describe it — over to a pair of women in their 70’s. He apparently wanted them to move farther away from a driveway, though they weren’t obviously obstructing it in any way. He was stout, uniform too tight, swinging his body with his club and handgun swaying from his belt. I seriously thought he meant to do them harm, though I couldn’t see that they had done anything even remotely provocative.
The officer spoke briefly with the septuagenarians who then moved a few feet further from the driveway. The officer returned to his vehicle. All was well. But I’m willing to bet I wasn’t the only observer who was bracing for a confrontation.
Things could easily have gone badly, all because the officer was approaching with an arrogant and belligerent affect. Why would he do that? I’m 100% sure he wasn’t trying to provoke a violent response. There was simply no reason to, and unless the five officers present had a large group of reinforcements nearby, it’s unlikely they could have controlled the crowd had they managed to incite a riot.
Thinking about it, though, it occurred to me that it is probably part of their culture and training to approach any confrontation — no matter how benign it might seem — as potentially able to escalate. It’s also, I believe, in the nature of cop work to see the worst in people and to prepare for it. The swagger, the belligerence, and the fierce expression were likely the result of him mentally rehearsing a worst-case scenario.
I’m just glad it didn’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
—2p