Life on the streets is not safe whether you are a gang member or a police officer.

Rioting and defacing monuments to those who have gone before us, especially those sacrificing their lives in the line of service while trying to keep us safe .... that's sick. It's like standing back and watching someone deface your Grandma's memorial because someone else's grandma was abusive. Tell me how that would work?

Talking with a friend from Colorado the other day.  She relayed the story of rioters who were allowed to pour red paint all over a monument erected to honor fallen officers.  The police were told to stand back and let it happen. 

First, define violence and the actual perpetrators. Pin the responsibility squarely where it belongs, don't enable it. If charging into an angry mob with riot gear presents a risk, I have a creative alternative. Pull the fire hoses out and administer some safely monitored water pressure to those who think it is ok to disrespect our fallen officers. Clean up the mess, put out the fires ... before they get started! Arrest them, putting them all in a holding cell.   Give them paint brushes and paint. Let them paint the walls and each other. Call it the graffiti project.

I don't know .... just understand that there are more good officers out there than bad and discouraging them is not the answer. I still wonder what a couple of weeks without police officers would be like. If our officers took a two week moratorium, I think they would have much greater respect when they came back to work.  If they still wanted to, I mean. 

Yes, there are some wearing the badge that are no better than the common criminal on the street. The majority though are good, brave and decent people who have a lot in common with the people protesting them. A small minority are giving the others a bad name. A lot are paying for the sins of a few .... both sides considered. We need new solutions.