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A Taste of Racism
How a fresh-faced cop changed a mind
The strange thing about prejudice is we do not limit it to colour. I hear constant lambasts of the police and their racism. Yet, we can tar police officers with the same blue brush.
This is a story you rarely hear. It is typical of my experiences as a police officer in Scotland. I cannot deny that there are police officers who are racist, bullies, and bastards. But there are also more police officers like Herbert.
I was clean out the training wrapper. It was time to patrol the streets, get shown the ropes, find out how things worked. Herbert took me under his wing and showed me the operational ropes.
Herbert always had a cheeky grin on his face, he looked a lot younger than his years. In my first briefing, Herbert strolled in, flashed me a welcoming smile, and sat to my right.
Herbert was instantly likeable. Happy, positive people attract like-minded fellows. That wasn’t his only quality. Herbert had a heart. He was genuinely interested in others and their physical and mental well-being.
A few months later, Herbert and I attended a complaint. An old codger in his eighties accused the family next door of disturbing his peace.
