Do you self-promote?

No, I’m not talking about nabbing an impressive new title or working your way up a pay grade. I’m talking about public image, civil discourse and discussion. A couple things have happened in the last few months that have me pondering this age-old dilemma of “us” and “them”.
In August a man espousing anti-government views shot at officers and firefighters in North Dallas. And just a few days ago dozens of gunshots were directed at police in three Snohomish (Wash.) county towns—at the Granite Falls police station, Lake Stevens Police Department and a patrol car. Finally, this month when I spoke with Chief Jeffrey Smythe (Burlington, N.C.) about his agency’s new Level 4 body armor purchase (pg. 34), he expressed concern with local antigovernment fringe groups and gangs targeting police at their private homes.
These actions reflect the abundance of vile anti-cop talk on social media, blogs and mainstream news article comment sections. These are sentiments that go way beyond constructive criticism and respectful disagreement.
The vast majority of uniformed men and women I’ve met are conscientious people who took an oath to protect and serve… to weather sometimes not-so-ideal salary, working conditions, and hours. What more can be done to defend the “good ones” in public safety? Does an image overhaul fall on the shoulders of public information officers to make sure their voice is heard in the media early and often when cases like Ferguson crop up and consume the Internet? Many of you do excellent PR work at a local level, yet there seems to be a glaring disconnect with the broader, national perception of law enforcement.
Some believe it helps to dust off Twitter and Facebook accounts, seek out, and take part in these conversations. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton did this. When he first kicked off #myNYPD on Twitter things were rocky for a while when other ‘tweeters’ took a cue and posted unflattering pics that claimed to show officer brutality. But Bratton’s still at it. He recently turned up on dozens of posts hanging out with kids, riding the Staten Island Ferry, and marching in parades. In September New York precinct commanders were required to attend a seminar about how to use social media and were encouraged to forge ahead.
There will likely always be imbalances in the media. But police men and women have stories to tell in good times and bad; stories which many times should not be confined to law enforcement circles. After all, police officers know better than most that the actions of one does not equal the actions of the whole. We are each of us so much more than our profession, religion, nationality and politics. What more can be done to buck this deadly trend?