"BEHIND THE BARS" SERIES: INTERVIEW WITH RICKEY HARGRAVE (PART I)
Recently as I was riding back home on the fixed route bus that serves my current place of residence, I heard a comment by one of my fellow riders in which he made it sound as if all lawmen were crooked. This immediately prompted disagreement between him, myself, and another rider who once served as an on-call EMT. (Please note that I don't write these articles to deliberately fluff up or praise--in fact, my only concern is that you are aware of the truth so you can make up your mind for yourself--no matter how positive or negative it is.)
But why did this rider's comments provoke a disagreement with me? I guess it's because most of us don't get to see the real work our law enforcement officials do behind the scenes. Usually, the only images we have of them are either those written in the mainstream media or the rare times we see them in public such as traffic stops, parades, etc. We might perceive them as being donut addicts--but have we in the general public seen behind the masquerade of an officer's shiny badge and gun?
I asked one of the same questions I asked of our guest in today's edition of a Department of Public Safety trooper while I was exploring the possibilities of a separate project of mine. You might think that if given the chance these officers would ask for the moon. But I was shocked about (more than anything else) how little they asked of us and just the extreme simplicity of their request. In particular, you will find one of the responses our guest gave in Part II (to be shown next week) to be very astonishing indeed. But I can also tell you in advance that our guest is not alone in his opinions--for that state trooper would also probably concur with everything that our guest will be saying here. We in the public might do well to think about these statements and question whether or not our personal viewpoints might need an attitude adjustment.
Chaplain Rickey Hargrave currently serves as the police chaplain for the McKinney Police Department and has been instrumental in the establishment of a number of police chaplaincies not only in Texas, but also throughout the world. He is currently a certified master chaplain and a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains. Hargrave, more than anyone else, is the most qualified person I know who can put a voice to a certain group of people who might not be as able or willing to speak about their jobs as most of us in public might be.
