I am 71 years of age. I was raised to believe that police officers were our friends, and that they would protect us from the ‘bad guys.’ Today far too many of them are the bad guys. For more than a decade they have become defensive and fail to display any compassion or understanding for the majority.

Television shows meant to glorify them are far from accurate. 

In the last year they have been encouraged to be more aggressive towards minorities and the poor by your illegitimate president, and Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.

There are thousands of situations which prove that all law enforcement officers are poorly trained and biased.

I will not retell the sad stories of dozens of African Americans and men, women, and children living in poverty who have been mistreated by those who are employed to protect and serve all of the American people. What I will do is tell you a personal story which is typical of the failure of law enforcement in the United States.

My wife, Sandra and I, live in Northern Nevada. Our home is located in an area called “Sun Valley, Nevada.” Our specific community is known as “Highlands Ranch.” It is located at the north end of the area. There are more than 2,000 homes in our community, and it is for the most party quiet and a wonderful place to live.

Sandra and I closed escrow in December of 1998, and moved into our home in January of 1999. We were the first residents in our cul-de-sac, and continue to love our home. Like any community, we have had home owners and renters who disrupted our peaceful existence. Recently we have experienced situations which have been ignored by both the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, and the Highland Ranch Homeowner’s Association.

In Washoe County it is illegal to explode fireworks. In the summer of 2017, Sandra reported several instances when our neighbors had violated the law. She informed both the homeowner’s association and the Sheriff’s department. She was ignored, even after her report included that fact that the residences from which the fireworks were used had allowed their backyards to become overgrown with weeds and brush.

It was unsettling that the homeowner’s association told her that they were not concerned. The Sheriff’s department offered the same attitude, although this was an obvious fire danger in a tract home environment. We are far from a wealthy community.

Last night was Christmas Eve, 2017. Around 10;30 in the evening, my wife was on the phone with the Sheriff’s department. Residents to the south of our home, one block away, were exploding fireworks. While she was on the phone, the backyard of one home exploded in flames. Fortunately, we have a fire station just minutes away, and no serious damage incurred.

Tonight, Christmas night, We looked out of our front windows and witnessed fireworks exploding above Bureau of Land Management territory to our north. Sandra phoned the Sheriff’s department, and they ignored her. They were likely too busy playing cards or eating donuts, although a potentially dangerous situation had occurred just yards away on the prior evening.

We moved into our home 19 years ago, and less than a year later the BLM land to our north erupted in flames. Aircraft spreading fire retardant were in the air until nightfall. I watched as flames continued to erupt over the night. Fortunately nothing of a serious nature resulted, mostly due to the efforts of our homeowner’s association who cleared a defensible area earlier in the day.

During the last two evenings, it was obvious why there was no response to the reported dangers expressed by my wife. We live in an area where most of the residents are low-income; we don’t deserve to be respected or taken seriously.

This is more of the ‘Trump Effect.’

If Sandra had not been on the phone when the fire exploded last evening, one or more houses could have been heavily damaged or even destroyed.

If you trust law enforcement today, you are part of a very small minority. This is Donald Trump’s America, not mine or yours.

What happened in our neighborhood is an example of what occurs daily in many communities across the United States. If you are wealthy, and live in a gated or protected community, you will never experience the real United States of America in the 21^st century.

Please re-post; thank you.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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