Police escort at Brown's funeral no big deal

There's a huge difference between an escort and an honor guard. There was no police honor guard at the funeral of David Brown Jr., the slain son of Dallas' chief of police. There was an escort. An escort is the polite term often used for the person paid to accompany someone to the theater or some charitable event. In this case, it's the individuals on motorcycles who stop oncoming traffic when funeral processions are making their way from site of the funeral to the grave site.

I never knew where these escorts came from. I always assumed they were police officers and I imagine most of the rest of civilized society assumed the same thing. And I could care less whether they were off-duty police officers being paid extra by the funeral homes or whether they were on-duty officers performing a much-needed public safety service. I usually have a lot more important things in my own life to be concerned about.

That's why I can't see a reason for any furor over the fact that this service was provided for Brown's funeral entourage. This is an issue that has far more resonance with fellow police officers and city staff members than it has with the public. I do empathize with their concern, even if I don't share it. David Brown Jr. shot and killed an on-duty Lancaster police officer. My feeling, however, is that the escort has nothing to do with Brown but in preventing someone from smashing into a car in a funeral procession that is traveling through an intersection when the traffic light signals they should instead be stopped.

Apparently these escorts are provided by private escort services of a kind not found in the back pages of tabloids. I came to that conclusion after reading the following letter written by First Assistant Police Chief  Charlie Cato to the members of the Dallas Police Department:

On the day of the funeral for Chief Brown's son I was Acting Chief of Police. I attended the funeral and was present in the procession to the graveside ceremonies. Deputy Chief Julian Bernal was in the vehicle with me at this time. My impression of the procession was that it was larger than anticipated and quickly exceeded the capacity of the two assigned private escorts. After the procession began in Plano, circumstances began to develop, including intermittent rain, heavy traffic and an accident at Walnut Hill Lane that caused both Chief Bernal and I to become concerned about public safety.


Chief Bernal and I discussed options to make the procession and public motorists safer. The decision was made to request assistance from motor officers if any were available. I concurred and take responsibility for this decision. The decision to utilize these resources was unplanned and the sole purpose of their presence was to address the immediate public safety issue.


As police officers, we are required to make daily decisions and be judged by the impact of those decisions. Chief Bernal and I must also be held to this standard. We recognized there might be concerns about our decision. I truly regret and apologize to anyone who has been offended or hurt by this decision. Please know that neither I nor Chief Bernal intended in any way to be disrespectful to any fallen officer. I believe that both he and I have demonstrated our commitment to fallen officers and their families during our careers. Our deepest regret is that our decisions on Friday may detract from the Department's history in this regard.


The City Manager has informed me that an investigation will be conducted concerning the actions taken on Friday. I want to assure you that I will fully cooperate with and accept the outcome of this investigation.

I don't know Chief Cato, but individuals whose opinion I respect and who do know him, say his selection as assistant chief was a brilliant move on the part of Chief Brown. So I'm going to give Cato the benefit of the doubt. But that's not all.
 
About seven or eight years ago, when headlines blared that Dallas had the highest crime rate of any major city in the country, a huge hue and cry emanated from the public that this trend must be reversed, giving birth to that wonderful euphemism of "public safety," which, as defined by those doing the hueing and crying, meant arresting all those minorities committing crimes. The leaders of our fair city heard the hues and they heard the cries and responded by adding unprecedented numbers to the ranks of our police force in the misguided belief that the greater the size of a police force the lower the crime rate. (In research I conducted while at the City of Dallas I learned that the major cities with the lowest crime rate also had the lowest police-to-population ratios but also the more innovative crime fighting techniques.)
 
The dilemma that resulted is that if you are going to insist on "public safety," you can't pick and chose which members of that public you're going to protect. And that's what Chief Cato is saying in his letter and why I think any protests about escorts at Brown's funeral "don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."