74
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2014
Too strong for too long
Before reading this brief editorial, I would like to
preface by saying this is not an academic- or
research-related article with boring statistics and
big words that half of us don't even remember. Nor
is it my intention to offend anyone.
Rather, this is one heart trying to reach another
heart. If anything, I hope this article invigorates you
to take a stand. Too many of us are dying because
we are afraid to ask for help. Death takes on many
forms. The death I am speaking of is your spirit,
your love for the work you were born to do.
For those of us who, despite the stigma and the
consequences you frequently face and often stand alone, I praise
you for your courage and valor to continue the fight. This enemy
is far more insidious than the criminals we face on the streets. This
enemy is often disguised in blue.
I hope and pray that if nothing else comes from reading this
article, you find the courage, if not for yourself, than for those who
love and care about you, to ask for help. Please don't wait until it
seems like there is no way out.
I would like to take this opportunity to present some questions
that I would like all of you to think about:
Why do so many of us (law enforcement officers) find it so difficult and challenging to ask for help?
Is it the stigma we face? Or is it the so-called brotherhood inside
the building which becomes our biggest obstacle?
I was a law enforcement officer in 1970's during a time when
the brotherhood would compel us all to literally take a bullet for
Dr. Michael
Bizzarro
each other both on and off the streets. It was a time, right or wrong,
when we would protect each other because when the chips were
down that was all we had.
Today, we live in a very different time, a time when cameras,
smart phones and the internet can expose us instantaneously, a
time when promotions, pension issues and many other concerns
are troubling to all of us law enforcement officers.
Yet, there is a resonating message I hear repeatedly when a
brother or sister officer is down. Whether it be alcohol, prescription drugs, an injury on the job, depression, anxiety, PTSD, a
domestic or an Internal Affairs investigation, why is it that we
choose not to stand together and help each other in a time of
need? Why do many of us run away? Aren't we the ones who run
toward danger and not run away from it? Is this any different than
responding to “an officer is down, shots fired, and officer needs
assistance? Or, does this become an opportunity for our selfish
desires at the expense of our brother and sisters misfortune?
Why is it that when officers make rank they forget how they got
there? Why do they forget that before anything else they were
cops? Is it the power that causes them to forget why they took this
job in the first place?
Really, it’s not a power issue but a fear of weakness. We don’t
need to spend any more time or space reminding you that asking
for help, or providing help for a brother or sister who is afraid to
ask for it, is not a sign of weakness but rather it is an act of courage.
You know that. What you need to realize is that there are brothers
and sisters all around you who have summoned the power to ask.
So please find the strength to make this change with the times: