As someone with many friends and family who have pinned on a badge and willingly confronted hardened criminals, terrorists, and crazed gunmen on my behalf, I really want to be able to support those in law enforcement.

I don't understand what it's like to approach a suspicious vehicle on the side of the road, to confront a suspected terrorism suspect, or what I would do if a crazed man with a knife attacks, nor will I pretend to know what goes through the mind of the police officers when they do. It should make for an easy job selling these stories as heroic, but those postitive actions have been overshadowed by the sheer number of officer involved shootings in the United States compared to any other Western country, the effort to regain the people's trust is made that much harder.

One thing I do understand is Public Relations, and if there's one thing I know for sure, law enforcement professionals are losing this battle in a big way. You would think that Law Enforcement Agencies and Unions would employ qualified Public Relations personnel that can see the hole they've dug for themselves, but it seems every time you turn around, a Police Union manages to stab their members in the back with a ridiculous comment taken straight from the totalitarian government playbook.

In the past couple days, my social media feeds have been filed with articles, memes, and rants either in support of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott, or painting them as thugs or dangerous individuals who deserved to get shot. Last time I checked, the constitution still guaranteed American citizens the right not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Painting a victim as a potential criminal is poor public relations because it tells the public that denying a citizen the right to due process is ok if they have a prior record. Pinning on a badge doesn't give an officer extra-legal powers. It means that they are sworn officers of the court and charged with bringing perpetrators to justice, not executing perpetrators when they see fit.

Using the classic film '12 Angry Men' as an example, the art of public relations isn't about appealing to the judge or the lawyers defending you, but to the jury of the people who will ultimately decide which argument is more sincere. The opposition has already convinced at least one person that there's reasonable doubt in the case and if the Police Unions come out with an argument to simply shut up and play ball, they've already lost the moral high ground to turn the tide.

When news of pro football player Colin Kaepernick's protest of sitting for the national anthem broke a couple weeks ago, it was immediately met with derision and disbelief. How could a rich and successful individual raised with every advantage in the world possibly care about the plight of African Americans? Was he doing it for attention? Was there an ulterior motive surrounding his protest that had to do with his expressed interest in being traded last year?

Fortunately for Kaepernick, he was able to listen to those offering constructive criticism and come to understand that simply sitting was perceived to be lazy by the general public and disrespected the veterans who risked their lives for the flag. He met with one of his critics, Iraq War veteran and former Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer, with whom he discussed his reasons for protest and came up the compromise of kneeling for the anthem instead. Although the extremists in both camps thought he was selling out, he turned the negative public opinion against him for sitting into a positive by bringing awareness to a very real problem. This from an idealistic football jock new to activism and not a professional organization with years of public relations experience.

Whatever your political beliefs or sense of patriotic duty, sitting down for the national anthem or speaking out against the police are constitutionally protected rights. Kaepernick became the public's juror number 8, asking the public whether or not there was reasonable doubt in Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott's actions. The Police Unions and by extention, the Police departments themselves have come across as Lee J Cobb's opinionated, stubborn, and tempermental juror #3.

It's not a mayor, the president, or a football player that is at fault for #blacklivesmatter or suspicion towards law enforcement, it's the lack of communication and failure to take responsibility for perceived injustices to the community that stokes the fire of discontent and is amplified by the poor attempts at misdirection, placing the blame at everyone but the agencies themselves.

Kaepernick offers a perfect opportunity for Police Departments and Unions to positively respond to the criticisms leveled against them by taking the high road not tied to a political agenda. As one of the few agencies that did follow this route, the Alameda Sheriff's Department invited Kaepernick to visit their training facility to witness the rigorous training recruits receive in preventing the need for the use of force. Understanding the strength of soft power, Sgt Ray Kelly stated, “We’re always talking in this country about the need for more dialogue...and he’s followed by hundreds of thousands of fans, this is really an opportunity to change the mindset of thousands of those people.”

Unfortunately, their voice was drowned out by tone-deaf statements by the San Francisco Police Officers Association who said "Mr. Kaepernick has embarrassed himself, the 49er organization, and the NFL based on a false narrative and misinformation that lacks any factual basis." It's one thing to categorically deny the political climate on the streets the past couple years from Oscar Grant to Michael Brown, but when followed by the questionable deaths of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott at the hands of law enforcement, the silence of the Police unions only serve to legitimize Kaepernick's complaints.

As Charlotte's Police Chief Kerr Putney stated last year “Legally justified doesn’t mean we don’t try to meet higher standards". When the Military conducts missions in other countries, they follow strict Rules of Engagement dictating the use force to prevent creating an international incident or to give the opposition an excuse to escalate the situation.

Just because a Police shooting may be deemed to be justified, it doesn't mean someone didn't lose a son, a brother, a father. Ignoring that fact by celebrating an acquittal or believing nothing's wrong is still a problem. When 707 people have been shot and killed by police in 2016 already, you can understand why those in disadvantaged neighborhoods who bear the brunt of police brutality might be a little on edge, suspicious of the motivations for being pulled over, more likely to run from the Police, and when the steam boils over, may protest at yet another avoidable death, creating a vicious cycle that only ends in more violence.

Perhaps, instead of continually talking at people about how great the officers are in every questionable use of force, perhaps the law enforcement community needs to take a note from the Kaepernick playbook and actually sit down and speak with the people about what it is that they are most concerned about and do something about it.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Eric Garcetti met with Snoop Dogg and The Game following the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and Dallas Police Officers Ahrens, Krol, Smith, Thompson, and Zamarripa. Snoop offered the following advice to the LAPD, “Think about the person you’re pulling over and their family. Because that way, you’ll have more of a consideration of life and de-escalate as opposed to escalate.”

The LAPD could have put on their riot gear and stared down at the supporters instead of sitting down and speaking with them, but that probably would have escalated the situation and raised the temperature when cooler heads were needed to prevail. Chief Beck's response was equally fitting, saying “We are all furious about what has happened to this conversation – that there is no dialogue, that is it becoming a screaming contest from opposite sides of the room, It can’t be that. The way to solve problems is to sit down, to look them in the eye and work it out.”

My idea for a positive PR message from Law Enforcement? Obviously, it's going to be difficult as you've let it go on so far that you're going to have to make drastic measures to regain the public's trust. The first step is to acknowledging that there were some mistakes made and that you're making changes to address those mistakes. With over a million Law Enforcement professionals in America, there's bound to be a bad apple or two so we don't expect you to be perfect. Just admit the mistakes and make meaningful changes instead of trying to sweep it under the rug as has been law enforcement's typical PR strategy.

Second, reach out to and embrace Kaepernick. Ask him to join in a request to the NFL to pause for a brief moment of silence prior to the national anthem for the audience to recognize an open ended recognition of all American lives, African Americans, Dallas Police Officers, and Soldiers inadvertently taken too soon.

We've seen 'LA Confidential', we know what a tough sell this will be to the rank-and-file and the unions, but the public demands justice. When there's the amount of damage to Law Enforcement's image as there is today, you need police officers to testify to offset the damage with bad officers forced to retire, indicted, and convicted to protect the department, heroes like Edmund Exley for us to admire as role models, and a little celebrity endorsement (by way of the NFL) for additional polish.

"In this situation, you're going to need more than one hero"