In the wake of protests sweeping the United States after the death of George Floyd, a Minnesota police officer has shared a poignant anecdote online. The officer, a white man, met a health inspector, a black man, and immediately recognized a strong common bond between them.
“May 25, 2020 was my 10-year anniversary of becoming a cop,” Justin began. “In the first picture I posted, my wife is surprising me with a cake and my son is helping me blow out the candles.”
Justin explained that he had always wanted to become a police officer after he became aware that being a professional hockey player and R&B singer wasn’t possible. He first attended college before joining the army, serving in both Kuwait and Iraq in preparation for a return home to embark upon his dream vocation.
“When Columbia Heights gave me the job, I was thrilled,” the officer wrote. Justin maintained that to him, the job was not about dishing out tickets and making arrests. Instead, it was about forging partnerships and striving to make the world a better place.
“On same day as my 10-year anniversary,” Justin continued, “officers from the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd. There’s no other way to put this; this was a murder.”
“What I don’t understand is the pain and fear it must cause all people of color, especially black men,” Justin reflected. “We live in two different worlds and no matter what I’ve done while I’ve worn this uniform, this has not changed.”
Justin added that Calvin preemptively identified himself as “a big black man with dreads,” wanting to make sure that police were aware of his presence in the neighborhood.
The two men met, and Justin quickly realized that two of his friends had been in the same black fraternity as Calvin: Omega Psi Phi. “Calvin smiled, I smiled, and all of a sudden the apprehension in the air immediately dissipated,” Justin wrote. “[W]e decided we would spend the next hour walking the neighborhood together.”
During their walk around the neighborhood, the two men spoke about getting to know people and “how racism is borne of fear and ignorance.”
“Calvin spoke and I listened,” Justin regaled.
The second picture that Justin posted was of himself and Calvin, grinning broadly. At the end of their afternoon together, both men agreed that their shared conversation had been therapeutic.
“We were both hurting,” Justin posted, “and this was a small ray of light into a darkness that had covered us.”
In his post, the officer further urged people that “If you’re black and hurt and you don’t understand policing, I’m here to listen.”
“If you’re white and you feel lost and you don’t know how to use your voice, I’m here to listen. I’ll answer what I can, and when I can’t we’ll work together to find the answers,” he further added.
“I met Calvin today and I listened, and because of this I gained an ally and a friend,” Justin shared, concluding his moving post. “I know enough about change to know that you can’t tell people what to do, you need to listen to them and build change together.”
“So please listen to me for this brief moment as I tell you this one thing: I’m here,” the officer wrote before signing off his post, “[a]s both a police officer and as your friend. So speak. I’m listening.”
