Police and citizens, like nation as a whole, should stand united

By Joe Lombardo

Sunday, July 17, 2016 | 2 a.m.

We learn as children that words have power. We learn that words hurt and we need to control what we say. They can incite fear, anger and even hatred.

They are so powerful that there are few exceptions to free speech. We cannot yell “fire!” in a crowded theater. We cannot utter words to incite a riot or slander someone with a lie.

Arguably, one of the most powerful words is “hate,” an emotion that compelled one man to strike down five Dallas police officers July 7 while they protected citizens’ First Amendment rights. It was also hate that drove two people to walk into a crowded pizza shop in 2014 and murder two Metro Police officers while they were at lunch.

Now, two cities 1,200 miles apart share tragedies two years apart. Both were fueled by hatred toward police. This is a cautionary tale of two cities. It is also the story of many agencies across the country whose officers were struck down by hate — deaths often unrelated to events outside their control.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

As every city turns to its leaders for answers in times like these, we are poised to use this moment to drive positive change.

The most effective weapon is knowledge, because hatred often thrives on ignorance. So we must ask ourselves, what is the driving force of the public’s anger? And who will be the voice of reason to bring the temperature down before things boil over?

The answer is that we all play a part in coming up with a solution.

As shapers of public opinion, national media outlets should look inward and apply the same hard line of questioning to themselves as they do to the agencies they cover. They should be asking, “Do we cover each shooting fairly?” As gatekeepers of information, media outlets choose to cover certain shootings over others. What drives that coverage? In the rush to be first, news outlets often don’t have enough facts, so they keep viewers watching as they speculate and fan the flames of doubt. When people turn on the television and see only hopelessness, they are robbed.

Police agencies must take a look at their practices as well. Metro Police did this in 2011 and implemented bias training and de-escalation techniques to avoid loss of life whenever possible. And to the credit of many other agencies across the country, they have followed suit.

The public has its role as well. Citizens have a responsibility to act within the law. If they are not being heard, the law allows the freedom to protest peaceably. If people have been treated unjustly, they can argue their case in court. If an officer has treated someone unfairly, that person can file a complaint with the police department.

For real change to occur between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, participation is needed from all sides.

In Las Vegas, residents shape Metro’s decision-making process in a number of ways. They sit on the Critical Incident Review Process, in which citizens can weigh in on officer-involved shootings.

Leaders of the police department rely heavily on input from faith-based leaders, business owners, neighbors and the department’s Metro Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee, where a diverse number of interests have a voice. Area commands hold meetings every first Tuesday of each month to hear neighbors’ concerns and share information.

A police agency is only as strong as its community. In Las Vegas, the police department is listening. The question citizens must now answer is, what are your solutions to drive positive change?

In times of tragedy like the profound loss in Dallas, we are unified as we stand with that city in sorrow and support. We are not two cities. We are one. We are not two countries. We are one. We should remember as we move forward that we must be one nation, undivided.

Joe Lombardo was elected Clark County sheriff in 2014. He joined Metro in 1988 and rose through the ranks, becoming assistant sheriff in 2011.