My condolences go out to the family of Detective Sergeant Allen. He was shot in the line of duty on Sunday, April 17^th in the early morning hours. The perpetrator of the crime (allegedly) was Esteban Carpio. Esteban was a suspect in a crime that Detective Allen was questioning. I will not go on further about how it happened since you can get a lot better reporting on that topic at local news organizations.

I would like to say thought that it is very chilling when a police officer gets shot in our state. It is their job to protect the public. They are the men and women who stand behind the shield to keep the peace and serve the public. I think that that is why the medals on their shirts are called shields. They shield us from evil criminals that would do us harm. They put their lives on the line everyday for our welfare and get grossly underpaid for their troubles. If it weren't for these courageous individuals, the general public would have to put up with all sorts of violence and mayhem.

My Grandfather was a Providence police officer for around 25 years. My cousin was the Chief of Police in Warwick for many years and I have other relatives in these and other branches of law enforcement. I also have friends that are police and correctional officers. This is why I know, kind of first hand, how important it is to have individuals like Detective Allen to step up to the plate to protect family, friends and neighbors.

With all the above said and with all respect given to our law enforcement, I have to speak my mind. I had great concern after seeing the face of Esteban Carpio on television the other day. I was concerned with the amount of, and kind of damage done to Esteban’s face. It seemed an awful lot of damage done for falling out of a three story window. I know that this kind of fall can do a lot of damage, but it would seem that there was way more damage done to his face than should have from one fall. The family of Mr. Carpio showed and voiced similar concern in court the other day when Esteban was being arraigned.

I am an understanding person and know that in a struggle with the police he could have sustained damage from resisting, yet I was so struck by the damage done to his face that I had great concern that the police might have taken out their anger on the subject. I am not saying that they did such a thing, but I am saying that watching Mr. Carpio on television the thought didn't just creep into my mind, but sped into it. If there is an investigation into this allegation by the family, then that is something for the courts to figure out. It is not my job to do so.

My job is to seek out the human spirit. It is to seek out the soul of the individual. I feel that God has given me the gift to write in such a way that my words fall softly onto the goodness and kindness portion of the human spirit, put statements to it, ask questions of it, and then let the individual decide what is right or wrong.

With this explained I put forth these statements: I understand the desire to take out rage on someone who you feel has done wrong to you and your family. If the police did something to Mr. Carpio that wasn't exactly "above board", in a much human way, I can understand it. It is a natural reaction, but not the right one. I know that some people out there would argue: "Hey, that guy got what he deserved!" or "It is obvious that he did it and I wish that they had beaten him even more!", but if we were to follow this type of logic, then we might as well get rid of the law, set up vigilante justice and start lynching again.

We must seek out the heart of the law and enforce that. I believe that one portion of Law Enforcement’s job is, to put aside any personal grudges or prejudices and follow the law the way it is intended. The police don't have an easy job and it is made even harder and more frustrating by the leniency of the legislature. This does not diminish the fact that the officer on the job must look into the eyes of the perpetrator and ask himself: "How would I want a loved one to be treated in this position?", and then treat that person in that way.

I don't know if a few angry officers did anything wrong (I hope not), but if they did, they didn't avenge a fallen brother. I think the only thing that they would have accomplished is given a black eye to law enforcement and tacked a bad memory on an upstanding law enforcement officer.

Romans 12:17- Romans 12:21