of my talk I want to lay a few ground
rules okay is that okay with you I
really like audience participation so if
I say something cool go ahead and a
little clap action okay also there will
be a test later and food references
during my talk okay all right I wanted
to give you a little an idea of sort of
the lens that I look through when making
decisions as a as a dad and as a chief
of police because there’s so many
obviously this time is a little
tumultuous in my my business but I
wanted to give you an idea of what I do
so there’s really three things that I
try to look through that are the basic
rules for me to make a decision or how
it applies to different things that I do
in each day it should be noted that I’m
a I’m a Rotarian and Rotary
lot of great things they do throughout
the world but one of the basic things
the Rotarians have are are a set of
principles and one of those principles
is Service Above Self
so that first lens that I look through
is what am i doing today that will
improve the lives of the community that
I serve or a single individual what can
I do today that can help bring that
forward that’s an important concept
Service Above Self I think it’s
something that we can use in many
organizations and in our daily lives as
well the second thing is something that
I borrow from our own vision statement
at the agency that I work at and it’s a
vicious statement that we
together as a group of employees that
would best represent our agency and our
city and one of those concepts and since
my second lens is always do the right
thing even when people aren’t looking we
know that we now have body cameras and
car cameras and cell phone cameras and
it’s important to always always do the
right thing but even when those things
aren’t around it’s still important to
the right thing because in your heart
you’re going to know and that’s the most
important projection you can do is be
that light especially if you are in my
business for those folks out there that
need it the last thing and probably the
most important concept for me is is I
borrow it from 1785 and that is all men
and of course women are create equal
it’s a very important filter that you
have to use and constantly remind
yourself each and every day of your
decisions especially in the position
that I have very important so we go to
ground rules alright great so one of the
things that I think is important for me
today to kind of invoke is that it takes
an incredible amount of love for
Humanity for me to do my job and I think
I’m going to have an argument later that
for police officers it is an act of love
each and every day they put their
uniform on but we’ll dive into that in a
second the most important thing that I
want you to know today though is I’m a
California man I’m a dad I’m a neighbor
I’m a friend I’m a police officer I’m a
chief but most importantly I’m a human
being and that’s that’s how I look at
all the things that I do each and every
day when I’m out there making those
decisions is it
good for the group and so good as me
representing the human beings as well we
see constantly in our in our news feeds
these arguments about politics ethnicity
poverty weight
if chunky peanut butter is better than
creamy what is it
chunky creamy chunky
alright okay I kind of like them both
the the thing is is that at the end of
the day all those things that we see in
our news feeds they all affect us and
really affect my job because what
happens nationally or regionally would
affect the way that focus people focus
their their views on my my officers out
there so something that happens in say
for example in Florida would be
something that that filter they would
see the police officers in that I have
worked for me as well so it is a
difficult thing to battle each day
that’s why it is so important this
concept of loving your fellow man is so
important that you must impart upon that
each and every day and I can tell you
how important it is it’s important for
me as a public servant to pick the right
people but it’s more important for me to
be that example each and every day for
both the officers that work for me but
also the public that that sees me is I
have to be a reflection of the public so
expressing that love for my fellow man
is one of my missions every single day
that I try to do it’s difficult when we
are trying to get into a discussion of
again politics and ethnicity race
immigration now
um of us to do our job it’s very
difficult in fact it’s it’s been very
hampered by some of the national
narrative right now so I always go back
to square one and how do i express my
caring for our fellow man and there’s a
number of ways I think again each and
every day that our officers get dressed
in the locker rooms and go out is an act
of unquenchable love for Humanity and
here’s why I say that these officers
including myself I’ve been shot at I’ve
been spit on
I haven’t stabbed hit by cars assault in
every way but I can tell you that I’m at
work early every day because I love the
fact it’s a simple concept that I can
make a positive change hopefully every
single day in a person in their life if
I didn’t arrest one more person for the
rest of my career I’d be completely
happy because I would know that first
off you were being good know if that’s
going to happen but I could have more
time to make positive changes in
people’s lives and that’s important to
me every single day the biggest thing
that I want to bring to you is this this
notion of Martin Luther King said that
he followed Gandhi so Gandhi you know
having a probably the most important
American that there was for civil rights
being followed by Martin Luther King is
is a real big deal Martin Luther King
was a guy that set for so many
principles for civil rights and was
really that the tip of the spear when it
came to to those but Gandhi said be the
change you want to be
and every day I try to be a little bit
emulate Gandhi but being the change that
I can be I tried you that every single
day and here’s my homework for you okay
it’s not why they’re best foods or
Miracle Whip is better but I think
they’re equally the same it is if you
can tomorrow when you’re at work or when
you’re at home or when your school or
wherever you’re at it see if you could
find that person or that situation that
you can make a positive change please do
it it’s my theory that those positive
changes of course are an act of love and
I think love is like a an easily caught
virus right B that virus is easily
caught love can multiply and multiply
and it’s important for us to have that
in these time for right now and it’s
important for our police officers out
there to hear that but also express that
as well and that’s my mission every
single day is to make a positive change
and show truly that it is a act of loving mankind thank you