So there’s this convicted murderer, Mumia Abu Jamal.  Decades ago, he shot and killed a young Philadelphia police officer.  My DA Chief handled the case for a long time.  Abu-Jamal is relatively famous – he has honorary degrees, a book, and even a street named after him in Paris.  He is still alive.  His victim isn’t, leaving behind a widow.  His name is less well known.  But it is the one to remember – Daniel Faulkner.

This one is about truth.

There’s this poem I used to teach my ethics students with – The Man in the Glass.  It is about how one must be able to live with oneself and what they’ve done.  No one is perfect.  Everyone has something.  But I think it’s about batting average rather than isolated incidents.  What we do and why.  We all have our hands but it’s how we choose to play them.  My friend who was a nun said it’s about the banner flying over your head that shows who who and what you served.  

The other trilogy of movies that has profoundly impacted me in addition to the Godfather is the Hong Kong Infernal Affairs.  It is deep and insightful.  About two moles – one who is an undercover officer infiltrating the underworld and the other a Triad infiltrating the police.  It’s subtle and understated in many scenes.  Both moles wrestle with their identities – the Triad does everything to convince himself he is a legit officer and the undercover wonders whether he’s too far gone and is now an actual gangster.  A key scene occurs at the end of the first movie when the latter reaffirms who he is.  He just knew.

I had some very misleading job titles at the NYPD for many reasons.  Civil service shenanigans and the fact they had to hide me.  So many times, I had to remind myself that they were titles and not functions, even if no one else really knew.  That wasn’t easy.  But at the end, I knew and maybe more importantly God knew.  And now my kids know.

Mumia Abu Jamal is probably more remembered in this lifetime than those who sought justice.  That is the sad state of this world.

But the name to remember is Daniel Faulkner.  Philadelphia Police Officer and hero.