A general oath that most American law enforcement officers take is this:

” I, ___________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of _________ against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of ________; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.

Generally, upon completion of this oath, a law enforcement officer is handed her or his badge which is pinned on by a husband, wife or other important family member or friend.

That is the oath you took in America, fellow law enforcement officers.

I say “fellow law enforcement officers” because I served as a LEO for 41 years before I retired recently. I worked in the federal system and for two California agencies. I am a Sheepdog, a Silverback and an Oathkeeper. Just because I retired, my Sheepdog mindset, status and obligation has not entirely. I know who I am, what I’ve done and what I may have to do in the future.

I took the oath as delineated above and I never forgot it.

I support law enforcement. I love cops. I respect the terrifically-difficult job they must do on an hourly and daily basis. Because I was there. For, generally, twice the amount of time that most police officers put in. I did so because I believed in my role in society.

But, to me, it would appear that some LEOs have forgotten or, worse, purposely dismissed their law enforcement oaths. I love cops when I can and excoriate them when I must.

I see a disturbing trend. I see cops taking orders at face value from their supervisors or managers and then carrying them out. Or equally reprehensible, when confronted with egregious conditions, don’t act. I have taken SFPD, San Jose PD, Berkeley PD and UC Berkeley PD officers to task. OWS vs the TEA Party.

I am sorely and seriously concerned for the future of law enforcement.

In that vein, Judge Jeanine Pirro wanted to know under what conditions current peace officers operated? What laws did they uphold? Are they truly conducting themselves according to their sworn oaths?

I submit: possibly not. And that is perhaps the most disturbing trend of all.

“I hate to say this; every one of you in law enforcement who bought into this liberal nonsense also has blood on your hands,” Pirro said.

I completely concur.

“If this is a tough one for you and you are going to start listening to the ACLU or some liberal mayor who doesn’t give a damn about you, your contract or your oath, directing that you release the wanted criminal alien out the side door, then maybe you should rethink this and go into social work,” she said.

“You are too damn dumb to be in law enforcement.”

There will come a time — quite shortly, I submit — where each and every one of you in US law enforcement will have to pick a side. I say this to our military members as well.

Halfway won’t do. Non-committal won’t do. Prevaricating won’t do. You will have to, soon, decide which orders you will obey and which orders you will not.

This may create confusion in your mind and potentially place your career in jeopardy.

You will have to ask: will I obey my superiors, or will I obey the law? Will I make a stand or will I stand back because it is convenient?

People excoriate the Oathkeepers, of which I am a member. Let us not forget that their oaths are no more complicated than these:

10 Orders Oath Keepers Swear to Disobey

1. We will not obey any order to disarm the American people.
2. We will not obey any order to conduct warrantless searches of the American people, their homes, vehicles, papers, or effects—such as warrantless house-to-house searches for weapons or persons.
3. We will not obey any order to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to trial by military tribunals.
4. We will not obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state, or to enter with force into a state, without the express consent and invitation of that state’s legislature and governor.
5. We will not obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union.
6. We will not obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
7. We will not obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
8. We will not obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control” during any emergency, or under any other pretext. We will consider such use of foreign troops against our people to be an invasion and an act of war.
9. We will not obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies, under any emergency pretext.
10. We will not obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Translated: you will hold dear the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights. As you agreed.

You will soon have to ask yourself: who am I? In what do I believe? What does my oath mean? What does my job mean?

And more importantly, do I have the testosterone or the estrogen to carry out the oath I took?

Words having meaning.

Honor your oath.

BZ