Law Enforcement Oath of Honor

[alexac9]

The other day on my Facebook feed this poem came out it was written by Hakim Bellamy that he wrote for the “Protect and Serve ABQ” which is trying to bring the community at peace in Albuquerque, NM due to the recent police shootings. You can listen to it on the following link

http://protectandserveabq.com/2014/04/15/hakim-bellamy-law-enforcement-oath-of-honor/

Law Enforcement Oath of Honor by hakim bellamy

Raise your right hand,

and repeat after me…

I do solemnly declare

upon my honour and conscience,

that I will act, at all times,

to the best of my ability and knowledge

in a manner befitting a police officer.

I do,

take this community to be my lawfully

wedded life.

To have and hold,

in sickness and in health

‘til death do us in.

I do solemnly swear,

with my hand on this bible

instead of this rifle,

in this court of public opinion,

that I am not judge

nor jury

nor Jesus.

I am just

a servant,

sworn to protect

this community.

I do thee serve.

I will preserve

the dignity

and will respect the rights

of all individuals.

I will reserve

the right to respect

the dignity

of all individuals.

I will serve,

to the best of my dignity,

the respect of all.

I will discharge my duties

with integrity

and will promote understanding

and conciliation.

I will discharge

only when it is my duty,

only when we’re beyond understanding,

only when we are beyond conciliation.

I will only discharge integrity.

I will not

Not even when my life is threatened.

Only when your life is in danger,

because I signed up to be a hero

not a coward.

Because the only thing I am allowed to be afraid of

is losing my community’s trust

Because anyone can get a gun

and call themselves a cowboy,

but not every gun can get a conscience

and call himself a cop.

I will exercise my authority

as a police officer

in the manner intended by the law.

I will exercise my compassion

as a police officer

because I am not above the law,

because it is not beneath me,

because I am not “the law.”

Just another one of the people

the law protects.

I will faithfully obey

the orders of my superiors,

and will be ready

to confront danger

in the line of duty.

It is my duty

To faithfully obey

my moral compass,

and will be ready

to confront my superiors

when they are out of line.

And that’s an order!

I will act with honesty,

courtesy and regard

for the welfare of others,

and will endeavor to develop

the esprit de corps.

I will not act.

I will be honest, personified.

I will be courtesy of personhood

Even to those without homes

Or on welfare.

I will endeavor to say

“Hello” from time to time.

Develop morale in the community

because it’s bigger than some code,

because it’s bluer than some code,

and desperately in need of sunlight.

Because the root word of morale

is moral.

And because it’s just as easy

to always be looking for

what someone has done right,

as it is to always be looking for

what someone is doing wrong.

I solemnly swear

to be as obsessed with building community

as I am with broken laws.
I will act justly

and impartially

and with propriety

towards my fellow officers.

So long as they are just,

impartial

and proper

towards my fellow citizens.

I do solemnly declare

upon my honour and conscience,

that I will act,

like and officer of the peace

at all times,

to the best of my ability and knowledge.
I will constantly strive to honour

this oath in my service

as a police officer,

so help me God.

© Hakim Bellamy April 13, 2014

[RGDS]

Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.

It's kinda taught at the Academy and (at least in California) is the near front of every book of General Orders in every Agency in the State.

[sapper324]

I don't know the whole story with all the OIS in ABQ but the oath seems a little one sided.

Is there another Oath that citizens in ABQ are supposed to pledge to how they will serve their communities (which IMO is every citizen's responsibility) and interact with officers? OIS is generally a two-way street.

People seem to forget you don't have to wear a uniform to have honor. Or courage. Or integrity. Or be respectful of others. Or serve your community. "Your a cop, your supposed to be (fill in blank)." Your a cop, you can't (fill in blank)." Yet if you replace "cop" with "citizen" it fits just the same.

Insert "We are the World" clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoDY8ce_3zk&feature=kp

[Aerohead]

It's a**clowns like the OP who think "Protect and Serve" means to only enforce laws that they like as long as it doesn't contradict with their happy times; and to NEVER use force because it's bad; and to make sure you take a bullet or a knife in the chest before ever considering using deadly force, and only then, if it will look good on YouTube.

[careerchange#2]

The line in there about not defending myself against a presenting threat is pretty telling where these ***holes stand. Calling a cop a coward for using DPF to stop and attack on themselves. Clownshoes.

[Chomp]

I will not

Not even when my life is threatened.

Only when your life is in danger,

because I signed up to be a hero

not a coward.

Pff, this ***** can eat a bag of dicks.

[02paul09]

I tried to read it but the bullsh*t I was seeing kept getting in my eyes so I had to stop

[SmallCityCop]

I will shoot WAY before being shot. F*ck that noise...

[Pogue Mahone]

I will shoot WAY before being shot. F*ck that noise...

And an officer playing bullet-catcher not only protects no one, but endangers the public. An officer who vows to get shot first isn't vowing to protect the public.

[PtownVAMike]

It's more like an oath of dishonor.............

[Aerohead]

It's amazing to me how many people are so God da*n stupid.

[Tom S]

Would adherence to this oath be akin to establishing immigration policy based on a sonnet written in 1883?

[Max K]

I doubt that the author of that oath is a LEO. That's the first problem. Then, the writing (and thinking) style is not serious, but rather unserious, using puns and turns of phrase designed to entertain (or maybe just to call attention to the author: "look at my clever writing here"). So that's an insult right there (belittling the LE profession). Lastly, this "oath" promotes the belief in fantasy: that there are no difficult trade-offs in police work, that every problem can be solved peacefully, that unarmed persons cannot be a deadly threat.

[AI_guy]

I doubt that the author of that oath is a LEO. That's the first problem. Then, the writing (and thinking) style is not serious, but rather unserious, using puns and turns of phrase designed to entertain (or maybe just to call attention to the author: "look at my clever writing here"). So that's an insult right there (belittling the LE profession). Lastly, this "oath" promotes the belief in fantasy: that there are no difficult trade-offs in police work, that every problem can be solved peacefully, that unarmed persons cannot be a deadly threat.

The author, Hakim Bellamy, is a poet laureate, in New Mexico. He has no law enforcement experience, so you're right. This "oath" is pure fantasy, written by someone without a clue.

[Aerohead]

What's really scary is the clueless idiots who believe this bulls**t.