HEART OF STEELE

Every journalist I know has a wild story that involves law enforcement in one way or another.

A friend recently shared on social media an old video of her being hit with a Taser for just a second, as part of a citizens’ police academy graduation. It reinforced my decision to reject that opportunity.

I was however, talked into taking part in an exercise that tested officers’ responses to a range of scenarios they might encounter while on the road. The stations were set up in a remote part of Kanabec County. I thought the biggest pain would come from mosquito bites.

Nope.

I and my partner, also a woman, were set up in the cab of a truck. The county sheriff told us we had just robbed a gas station and would be pulled over for speeding. We’d tucked an (unloaded) gun under the driver’s seat. Officers who took all the correct actions would discover we were fugitives and attempt to take us into custody.

If we wanted to add a little authenticity to the experience, the sheriff said, we could resist arrest and try to escape.

I wish I could explain my thought process here, but there wasn’t much of one. I was barely 30 years old and still believed people basically good and kind at heart.

We climbed into the truck, with me on the driver’s side. One, maybe two officers came through before we got the bright idea to try that resisting thing.

Within seconds, a massive hand clamped my wrist and twisted my arm back and up toward my shoulders. Before I had a chance to take a second breath, he’d slapped on the cuffs.

And it hurt.

After the exercise was over, the sheriff asked me what I thought. My response was simple: “I am never going to resist arrest again.”

That’s not all I learned, though. While I hadn’t taken the exercise seriously, every deputy who went through did. They had to; that was the assignment. Even today, my unique experience colors the way I write and think about law enforcement.

My heart breaks for sworn officers and first responders who lay their lives on the line every day, as it does for those who have been falsely accused and brutally treated at the hands of bad actors in law enforcement. And I believe we must consider both realities as we work to create a safe and just society.