By Neals Chitan

For the past few weeks the lenses of international media houses have been trained on Ferguson Missouri where Michael Brown an unarmed 18 year old African American teenager whose dream of becoming an Air Conditioning and Heating Engineer was instantly shattered by the fatal impact of six bullets from the gun of Darren Wilson a white officer of the local Ferguson Police on August 09, 2014.

What a tragedy on my birthday, just when my family and I were celebrating my entrance into the world fifty five years ago, another family was mourning the premature exit of their son from this world, to the hands of an armed law enforcer. And if the truth be told, many a mother across North America has had to wake up to the cold chilly calling of the death messenger who carried the news of her unarmed son’s demise after being cut down by the merciless fire power of police guns.

As North Americans of African and Caribbean heritage we have each in our own way experienced the personal demoralizing sting of systemic racism, a time when we are all unfairly painted with the delinquent broad black brush on account of a few criminal elements among us.  And so, we sometimes cannot help but use the same unfair stereotypical measuring tool and reciprocally judge what we see as the racist intentions of white lawmen when murderous incidences of this kind occur, against our people by them.

However, I want to take a different look into the use of weapons by law enforcers. Earlier this month, on Toronto based NEWSTALK RADIO CFRB 1010 A.M, the talk show host posed a question for public opinion. “Should all police officers carry guns?” I wanted so much to call in with my opinion, but because I was operating a motor vehicle and should not engage in distracted driving which carries a $280.00 fine here in Ontario, I decided to be a listener then and use my pen to comment here.

First of all, it must be underscored that carrying a weapon whether legal or illegal is an extremely serious responsibility and the carrier should be mentally alert every minute the weapon is in his or her possession, because to be less alert and responsible at any moment can render consequences and disasters never planned for.

Whereas I have absolutely no intentions of ever owning a gun, I must say that my profession as a Crime Reduction Specialist has brought me within close proximity to individuals who have had them in their possession. There seem to always be a kind of “don’t mess with me” attitude and demeanor that accompany having a weapon, a boastful confidence which trumps negotiation, discussion and thinking, as if to say, “don’t mess with me, I got fire power!”

It is rather unfortunate that a deadly weapon even in the trained hands of a police officer can sometimes invoke the same but professionally masked attitude, which jumps out in a deadly uncivilized manner when the trigger-point threshold of a so-called undesirable confrontation is reached, leaving behind a trail of human disaster and regret for both victims, perpetrators and their families.

You see, it is not the trained hands of the officer that is in question here, but the trained mind of the officer. As humans, we are all affected by past deeds, remarks and experiences which can thoroughly impede our judgement in crucial times. Compulsions, unresolved domestic issues, uncontrolled impulse/anger issues and psychological predispositions can all influence irrational and impulsively charged responses which can leave an officer wringing his hands in regret.

It is therefore crucially important for police officers to not merely undergo training in weapon usage and handling, but in cognitive and emotional processing so as to equip police officers with a strategy to help them deliberately STOP and carefully THINK when faced with situations that can be considered as personal trigger-points for them.

As the founder, copyright holder and frontline presenter of “Project STOP ‘n’ THINK” I was recently asked to deliver the professional development session “Police Officers need to STOP and THINK too!” to the police officers of the Hillsborough police station in Carriacou.

This session was designed to introduce the concept and then deal with the deterrents and situations in the line of duty and personal life of a police officer that can seriously challenge the officer to not to STOP and THINK. At the end of the two hour session, Corporal Andrews who gave the vote of thank you, convincingly stated that the material was very much relevant and appreciated and will equip the officer who attended with the skills to successfully handle confrontations and make better decisions.

Inspector Langdon was another attendee who spoke on camera of the importance and relevance of the STOP and THINK concept to the everyday personal and professional life of his officers. The Inspector reiterated that if this concept is taught in the community and to his officer, it will make a big change in police and community relations.

So, the question again is; “Should all police officers carry guns?” The answer from my stand point is relative. “Yes,” if all officers undergo cognitive and emotional training to handle the responsibilities that go with a firearm. However, “No” to officers who have only been trained in the usage and handling of a gun but have not been trained in the cognitive and emotional mindset of carrying a weapon.

I tender these thoughts with the hope that this advice will be heard and implemented, otherwise, it’s just time before the fire of impulsive and emotional reactions will soon again ignite leaving us with what we don’t want to experience again -another Ferguson Missouri.