Rallying for law enforcement

Lack of respect for authority is contributing to a lot of the tension between law enforcement officials and the public, a retired New York police detective said. But compassion can help break down the figurative walls between the two groups.
Retired Nassau County, New York, Police Detective John Ash was guest speaker at a law enforcement support rally Wednesday at Patterson High School’s football stadium.
The East St. Mary Ministerial Alliance organized the rally held in conjunction with “See You at the Pole,” a day when students across the country gather around flagpoles to pray.
Members of the ministerial alliance decided to honor local law enforcement officers and other first responders in the midst of “the turmoil that’s happening around the country,” said the Rev. Mark Gowan, alliance president. Gowan is also pastor of Word of Life Family Church in Patterson.
“We’re just trying to show them our appreciation to-night, pray for them and tell them that there is a community that’s behind them,” Gowan said.
Ash, 54, retired in 2014 after 27 years with the Nassau County Police Department in Long Island. The Rev. Steve Manville, associate pastor of Bethel Pentecostal Fellowship in Patterson, invited Ash to speak after meeting him a few years ago in New York City.
Seeing community members and church leaders come out to support law enforcement officers means a lot to Ash.
“You don’t see this in New York. You see protests,” he said.
There’s a rebellion in society today and “a hatred for any and all authority,” Ash said.
As a young man, Ash hated authority, too, but he realized God put authority there for a purpose.
“Compassion changes everything,” Ash said of his work as a police officer.
Ash used to pray to not let his heart harden and not “become a mean, evil, nasty guy.” It’s a miracle he was able to stay compassionate “because I went through a lot,” Ash said.
If officers show compassion to members of the public and are patient with them, “no matter what, that eventually breaks them down,” Ash said.
Ash served nine years as an officer before becoming a detective and then going into the juvenile division, working missing children cases, child abuse cases, gangs “and every crime that anyone” up to age 16 was accused of.
He then went up to the “precinct squad” and handled cases from petty larceny to homicide.
Ash later worked for the chief of detectives and fugitive task force, among other assignments.
Officers learn how to approach different situations by “experience and prayer,” he said. But they have to be ready to face “new, crazy things” that happen every day in their line of work.
Sometimes an officer’s first instinct is the right action to take, and other times they have to step back, listen and think before reacting, Ash said.
“People hold them (law enforcement) up to an incredible standard, and they should be held to a high standard. But they’re not perfect,” Ash said.
Ash cautioned people to not rush to judgment in response to police shootings of civilians.
“Don’t always believe the first thing you hear on TV. Don’t always believe the political angles. Wait until the whole story comes out,” Ash said.
When an officer shoots someone, he can’t tell the public right away what happened. The investigation has to run its course, “but the truth eventually comes out,” Ash said. “When the whole truth is out, then judge.”
Chances are, if the police made a mistake, “they’re going to get in trouble,” Ash said.
Each year in the country, there are only maybe six or eight cases of officers shooting civilians that are questionable, Ash said.
“It’s unbelievable, when you think about that, how amazing a job these guys are doing,” Ash said.
Ash was also scheduled to speak at a luncheon for law enforcement today at the Bayou Vista Community Center.