One of the better statements that I've come across in the past few weeks comes from Ed Stetzer:
Only a fool thinks you cannot simultaneously support the police and listen to those who think they’ve been treated unfairly. That’s the kind of thinking that divides rather than brings reconciliation.
So far, the police in Nashville seem to be doing a pretty good job as outlined in the article Nashville Police Chief Refuses to Crack Down on Ferguson Protesters, No Violence Ensues:
On Monday, prior to the announcement of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, Police Chief Steve Anderson and newly-elected District Attorney Glenn Funk, who won his election in a campaign that promised a focus on hardened criminals rather than good kids who make mistakes with drugs, scrambled to meet with clergy leaders in the African-American community, listening to concerns and creating relationships with those who would become leaders in the following day’s protest.
Chief Anderson’s police force met protesters with hot chocolate and bottled water, rather than tear gas, marched alongside them, and ran the type of security that one might expect in a civic parade, communicating on an ongoing basis with protest leaders.
Also worth reading is Off duty, black cops in New York feel threat from fellow police.
