Regardless of what side of the issue one is on, it’s not difficult to conclude that United States uniformed law enforcement personnel have a serious image problem. The image problem includes allegations of arrogance and excessive use of force, including the question of why, when the use of deadly force is used, are the subjects of that force shot 8, 10 or even 15 times? This does not particularly please me, since both of my grandparents were Irish cops, and I remember as a young person truly believing that policemen were my friends.

There is one observable that unfortunately underwrites these charges of arrogance and self-importance, and that is when one police chief or county sheriff after another appear on the news sporting 4-star collar devices, and in one case, actually that 5-star circular device that less than a dozen U.S. military personnel (such as Eisenhower and Nimitz) were awarded. It’s hard to believe that such inflated self-esteem of a leader doesn’t trickle down to his subordinates.

Pope Francis has beautifully demonstrated that humility is a valuable asset of the truly important, and has shown that quality does not detract from one’s ability to be effective. 

James H. Patton Jr.

North Stonington