The angel shook her head
slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing Me
problems," said God. "It's the three pairs of
eyes an officer has to have." "That's on the
standard model?" asked the angel. God nodded.
"One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket
before he asks, "May I see what's in there,
sir?" (When he already knows and wishes he had taken
that accounting job.) Another pair here in the side of
his head for his partner's safety. And another pair of
eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a
bleeding victim and say, "You'll be all right
ma'am," when he knows it isn't so."
"God," said the angel, touching his sleeve,
"rest and work on this tomorrow." "I
can't," said God, "I already have a model that
can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol car without
incident and feed a family of five on a civil service
paycheck." The woman circled the model fo the peace
officer very slowly, "Can he think?" she asked.
"Yes," said God. "He can tell you the
elements of a hundred crimes; recite Miranda warnings in
his sleep; detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang
member on the street in less time than it takes five
learned judges to debate the legality of the stop...and
still it keeps his sense of humor. This officer also has
phenomenal personal control. He can deal with a murder
victims family and then read in the daily paper how law
enforcement isn't sensitive to the rights of criminal
suspects." Finally, the angel bent
over and ran her finger across the cheek of the peace
officer. "There's a leak," she pronounced.
"I told you that you were trying to put too much
into this model." "That's not a leak,"
said God, "It's a tear." "What's the tear
for?" asked the angel. "It's for bottled-up
emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to the
piece of cloth called the American flag, for
justice." "You're a Genius," said the
angel. God looked somber. "I didn't put it
there," He said. HOME: |