Feminists and Police

For some reason, feminism and hatred for the police seem to go together like feminism and being pro choice does. If you don't agree with the latter, you can't possibly be the former. Because apparently, cops don't care about women's issues. They don't arrive quickly enough when you complain about a man masturbating on a subway platform opposite of you. They believe in rape myths. They brutally attack "peaceful female protestors." Is there anything cops get right with women?

Yes. Everything. As a whole, the police are there to help people. To ensure public safety. Every time someone calls the police, it is dealt with to the best of their ability. It is dealt with as swiftly as possible. Every domestic violence call that comes in, they show up. Just recently, a police officer was killed when he arrived at such a call. The man, still in his rage, pushed the cop over the stairwell, and he died.

He isn't alone. The police put their lives on the line every day, and often it is for the safety of women. I've been with a detective working on a sexual assault case. A case of date rape, while the victim was in the hospital. I know how seriously these accusations are taken.

And I have seen first hand how police treat stalking. While I was a college student, I started receiving phone calls from a restricted number at all hours of the night. 2am, 4am, 5am. Always the same, no answer until I hung up. They'd come every night for a couple of weeks, then stop for a couple of weeks. For months this went on. After a few calls, I threatened to call the police, but never followed through.

I felt the same way as most feminists apparently do. What were the police gonna do? They'd probably think I was overreacting and write it all off.

Until one night I heard heavy breathing on the other side. I didn't know who they were, how they got my number, or if they knew who I was, where I lived. I freaked out. And I went to the police.

To my surprise, they were amazingly helpful. The officer assigned to my case assured me that is was a case of harassment, and that it was illegal. He assured me I had done the right thing in coming to him. He kept in contact me with me throughout the investigation, and eventually found out who he was, and even (I still don't quite know how), how he had gotten my number. And he put out a warrant for his arrest.

I couldn't be more grateful for that cop, or for the entire police department.

To denounce an entire department because of a few perceived shortcomings, or a few bad cops, or, even more common, because of a few bad headlines, is as bad any racist, who denounces an entire people for the headlines of a few bad apples.

I am a feminist. And I love, respect, and appreciate, the police.