I served and advised some very good commanders and Commissioners at the NYPD – including the legendary Bill Braatron – arguably the most famous American police and up there with the father of modern policing – Sir Robert Peel, where the term for UK police officers “Bobbies” comes from.  Scotland Yard – our cousins – London’s Finest.  The one who hired me was a legend – he took down the mob and his kid brother was gunned down while on witness protection duty.  Another was our counterterrorism czar who interviewed Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan shortly after the September 11 attacks.  These were truly knights of knights.

Others were not so good.  

One almost ran me over with his sports convertible which he may have been unethically filling up with Department gasoline.  Another was considered the female version of Palpatine.  And the last one I directly served under was a playboy millionaire not named Bruce Wayne who threw the officers and Department under the bus while making light of officer suicide prevention and God during our meetings.  

A disgrace to what we stood for and aspired to.

This one is about the heart.

One of the lyrics that has profoundly impacted and influenced me is from Canadian band Rush’s Closer to the Heart – a song exhorting all of us to work toward and create a better reality more aligned to what is good and noble.  The very first line mentions “the men who hold high places” who can shape and mold with their power.  Everyone has power in some way but this is particularly insidious as their decisions flow down like a cascading waterfall.  When a poor decision or mistake is made, it’s not like the Starbucks barista messing up your order – here, so many will be affected.  

One of the reasons why I pursued my field was to potentially live out that verse.  I thought I’d have a high place.  That doesn’t look like it’s in the cards but at least I got to advise a few.  The saving grace is that the song also refers to other vocations that harness creativity and mentality to achieve that same goal of being close to the heart.

I am blessed to know many who live out this call.  You know who they are.  What is in their heart and soul is written on their face. 

I used to ask my students who the most powerful police officer was.  It has little to do with rank.

It is the one handling your case.