InstaContext, InstaPerspective: The real reason one police officer has been vilified by the online community.

The Toronto Star printed a story last week written by Wendy Gillis pointing out a Toronto Police Officer’s Instagram account. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/04/09/toronto-officers-instagram-photos-stir-concern.html

Wendy Gillis, you asked for thoughts and here are mine. This article is a discredit to journalistic integrity. One side of a story framed for a particular result and agenda is below tabloid journalism, but please read on.

We seek out the understanding and the acceptance of our audience. We strive to attain the approval of the public we serve above all others. Sir Robert Peel included the notion of public support within his foundational framework for modern policing in 1829.

“The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behavior and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.”

Police departments need to be completely honest with themselves about what their goals truly are. You can’t define yourself as an agency that is in touch with the community; yet treat yourself differently than those whom you serve.

You can’t say, “We are just like the community we serve.” But put more value on upholding the laws and value systems not of society, but of the agency itself, an organization, an entity parallel with society but rarely comfortable having a true convergence.

PC Garvin Khan did nothing criminal. He did contravene a couple of Service rules. Those rules would be very difficult to enforce nowadays though as many members of the Service (who are authorized voices) also regularly contravene them.

At best we could call them enforced when convenient. To the vast majority of people, he did nothing wrong, period. He showed the pride he has in his uniform. He showed the value he puts on his training. He shared his life, his humanistic characteristics that we demand our officer’s show; yet at times, scorn them for doing so.

Officer Khan broke no legislated laws. He is a sworn police officer. He has been given tools of the trade to work with no different from a surgeon with a scalpel, a carpenter with a saw or a photographer with a camera.

We applaud all professions that use the instruments of their trade with precision and skill but we don’t want to see a picture of the surgeon covered in blood after a brutal life saving trauma surgery. The wasted pieces of wood and saw dust are not as appealing to our eyes as a beautifully sculpted table and a camera can show the beauty of nature or the disgust of man killing man.

So why was Officer Khan vilified by some and praised by others? Why were the Toronto Police so quick to announce an investigation of the officer and to distance themselves corporately from the officer?

Simple. Perspective and context.

The industry of policing has taken a beating for months now. Every tactic, decision, choice, procedure have been questioned and judged, often without facts, understanding or context.

The Internet and Hollywood have created an environment where everyone is an expert on law enforcement but only a select chosen few in society can have any understanding of what the profession truly requires. There are even those within the profession that have lost sight of, or worse, never have had sight of the needs and requirements of what it takes to be a police officer.

Using your search engine of choice look for information related to police agency promotion pamphlets, websites, brochures, annual reports and recruiting paraphernalia and it won’t take long to find images of tactical teams, SWAT teams, use of force options of every kind, cells and handcuffs…all the ‘sexy’ parts of policing aimed to excite the alpha dogs and woo the ‘sheep’.

So the question screams for an answer, “Why is it OK for a police department to show off the big guns but it’s not for their officers to do the same?”

Let’s take one step further.

Police agencies are continually warning officers not to post images of themselves with their issued weapons or in uniform.

Unions and associations warn against the practice of personal time narcissism yet when a graduation ceremony comes along, they are the first to applaud their newest members with invitations for all the media at public ceremonies.

Police departments will highlight officers in their own publications and websites for the benefit of their own propaganda mechanisms. But, have they ever warned their members to keep their faces out of the news if they would like to pursue certain opportunities in their career.

Has a Chief ever said to the newest poster child, “We need you to talk to the media, highlight yourself and by the way…you will never have an undercover or covert opportunity in your career because facial recognition applications used by criminals will preclude you from those assignments.

Back to Officer Khan and what’s really at the heart of the matter.

We want to know our officers are highly trained. Capable of using the tools of their trade with precision and professional ability. We want to know that they keep a blanket of protection over us while we sleep, but, we don’t necessarily want to know how it is done.

We want our police officers and agencies to be transparent. To build relationships with their communities and to be relatable showing their human side, but we want it on our terms. Officers use humor and people who have no sense of humor scorn at it. We want our officers to be at all times professional but demand them to lighten up, smile and use discretion. We demand our officers show their human sides but scream foul and demand their flesh for making mistakes.

Had Officer Khan posed with a bouquet of flowers instead of a rifle his department would have rejoiced. Had he showed a picture of his latest coffee and donut, his community would have made him the latest potential viral picture candidate. Had he put on a pink shirt and shaved his head he would have been applauded, but none of these are the required skills of a well-trained, professional, competent police officer.

Perspective and context. The image police departments are trying to shed is exactly what Officer Khan was showing. Wrong? Not at all. Right? Not at all.

Departments want the warm and fuzzy image of officer friendly and truly, that is the vast majority of all police interactions and outcomes, but that just doesn’t sell ad space for the media and it doesn’t have the virility of the nasty side of policing.

My predication is one of two outcomes.

• Officer Khan will accept an internal unit level discipline action which will result in the loss of a couple of days pay because he knows that’s better than being shut out of advancement opportunities, great assignments or being labeled as a trouble maker.
• The investigation will reveal that training and awareness is an issue for off duty vs on-duty, authorized vs unauthorized accounts and that many examples can be found that are far worse for which nothing has ever been done.

The result however the outcome goes, will be a clear message to all police officers to tow the party line or else. Officers will be directly or indirectly told that brand endorsements of products, goods, services, coffee, donuts and meals along with skyline pictures are far more palatable to the vocal minority than the tools of the trade that are accepted as reality by the silent majority.

I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the other pictures in Officer Khan’s Instagram account that were conveniently left out of the article that started all this. The omission, which appears to have been done only to demonize the officer or the law enforcement use of social media in general, borders on offensive. Those pictures that were used for the story appear to not have been taken by PC Khan. They could have been taken by the public for all we know and shared with him or posted by the public on their own accounts for which there would be no resulting internal investigation.

The images not used were those of architecture, art, a homeless man, a child, many smiles, children posing in the front seat of his police car an elderly woman, real-life princess’ and the officer.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I look at Officer Khan’s account and I see a balanced police officer that shows a 360-degree look of his personal life and his professional life in a transparent and open way…if only the media, some police administrators and departments were the same.

Finally, here is my advice to all police officers considering, or using social media in your personal lives. Don’t mix professional and personal. No matter how much pride you have in your profession…always consider this thought, “What is the worst thing that could possibly happen?”

In this case, an investigation based on a few cherry picked images, ignoring many others that actually do no harm, don’t jeopardize the reputation of an agency and provide an inside look at a misunderstood profession.