Just after Dewey and I finished the World We Live In radio program, I received a text from my son, Bryant, who now lives in Nebraska. The text read, “What are the cops doing in your state?” I wasn’t sure exactly to what he was referring.
I did a quick scan of the local news after my son told me about a minivan full of children being shot at by state police near Taos.
Dewey and I have spoke about several recent incidents were law enforcement seems to have allowed situations to escalate beyond a reasonable point. From the dental hygienist shot to death in Washington D.C. by police as she tried to drive beyond the barricades at the White House to the unfortunate woman that was shot to death in New Mexico as she crossed from Texas.
There’s the recent incident of the man pulled over for running a stop sign but by the end of the night faced the rubber gloves, three enemas and a colonoscopy in search for hidden drugs, none were found.
It seems there is not a night that goes by without seeing an officer involved shooting or some other escalation involving law enforcement. So, I ask the question, what is happening to law enforcement in America? Is it the police or the citizens? The answer is yes.
Take the first incident I mentioned.
Oriana Ferrell was speeding. She was pulled over for doing 71mph in a 55mph zone. The officer was correct in pulling her over, that is clear.
She broke the law and New Mexico State Police officer Tony DeTavis was correct to pull her over and issue a citation. DeTavis is new to law enforcement, having earned his badge in June.
Oriana Ferrell was ordered by officer DeTavis to shut off her engine while he completed the citation process in his patrol vehicle. Ferrell choose instead to drive away.
Understandably, officer DeTavis pursued Ferrell and her minivan full of children until she pulled over for the second time.
By this time the state police officer is very upset by Ferrell’s actions and demands that she get out of the car. If DeTavis had allowed for some clarity of thought, he would have asked for the van’s keys first.
I would agree that hindsight is 20/20 and that he intended to handcuff her, but when dealing with the heightened emotional state of a mom in a strange state and a van full of kids, including a protective 14 year old, taking away the keys would have been wise.
Instead, officer DeTavis allowed himself to lose control and so did everyone else. What is going on?
The spirit of lawlessness is on the rise. From the president ignoring his constitutional limitations to a mom taking her children on an educational tour of New Mexico, the law is no longer observed or respected as it once was. As a result, law enforcement is stretched to the breaking point.
Consider Oriana Ferrell’s choices. First, she breaks the law when speeding. Second, she disobeys the state trooper’s lawful order to turn off her engine. She then flees from officers, not once, but twice. She also had drug paraphernalia in the form of two marijuana pipes police say she had in the van, which may have been part of the reason she fled.
Today, people are taught that truth is relative and that absolute truth absolutely does not exist. This leads to the, what feels good do it, mindset. In turn, laws, starting with God’s laws, are undermined. Morality is then ridiculed and rejected until we arrive at lawlessness.
It certainly doesn’t help that we no longer punish lawbreakers effectively or that justice has been removed from the courts by and large. New laws and regulations will not help because people do not observe and obey what we have now.
As the Apostle Paul put forth in Romans, a heart change is required. There is a choice to be made that will change our nation and the world. We are to submit ourselves to the Lord and His truth. Allowing Him to write his law on our heart as we choose to live it out in our daily lives. It is by faith that we receive this free gift of God. That faith is proven by our walk.
We are to walk in the light as He is in the light, not loving darkness. That light is the word of God, His law.
What is happening to law enforcement in America? It is being over run by lawlessness. Not just the over 300 gangs in Albuquerque, but by the lawlessness of average citizens. This lawlessness can only be countered by you and I choosing the Lawgiver, the King.
Living life His way.
