Roll Call

ROLL CALL
Spiritual Insights beneath the Blue Lights
Reporting for Duty

The police roll call, or as it’s sometimes referred to, the lineup, is a brief meeting at the beginning of every police officer’s shift or watch. The purpose is threefold: one, to simply check the number present; two, to inspect whether officers are appropriately and professionally dressed; and three, to prepare officers with information and guidance they will need to carry out their duties safely and successfully.

This book is your spiritual roll call. You have reported for duty, and you must be alert. For this spiritual lineup, you must be professionally equipped, having “put on the full armor of God,” (Ephesians 6:11 NIV) and now you must be briefed so you can be prepared to carry out your duty with the success and safety that only heaven can provide.

In most police departments, a supervisor, generally a Sergeant, is in charge of the briefing. In this roll call, God will conduct the briefing through His Word. Imagine—the highest-ranking supervisor in the universe will provide you with vital information. The maker and sustainer of all things will give you what you need to not just survive, but also thrive during your tour of duty.

It doesn’t matter if you are on the day shift, evenings, or the night watch. God will be there with you, and His words will instruct you.
“He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3b–4 NASB).

Chapter 1
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
The Power of Our Words

As a minister, I have learned the incredible power of well-timed words. Working as a police officer before cell phones, computers in police cars, and long before Tasers, I learned the importance of the manner one employs to speak those words. With your words, you can bring calm to a situation or create chaos. With your words, you can cause a person to surrender without a fight or pick a fight. With your words, you can defuse situations that are potentially harmful or incite a riot.

When the police interrogate suspects, they must advise them of their rights prior to any questioning. It’s called “The Miranda.” The following is a minimal Miranda warning, as outlined in the Supreme Court’s 1966 ruling, Miranda v. Arizona.

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.

Listen to the power of this phrase: “Anything you say can and will be used against you …” Many people have never realized the tremendous power and influence of their words.
As a minister, I found my livelihood dependent upon my words. I have learned that there is great power in the words I speak and the words I write. I am accountable for my words. I must be careful as I choose those words. How I say something is just as important as what I say.

Police officers carry lethal and non-lethal weapons. They know that long before they draw their guns, they do their level best to talk reasonably with people. As my dad used to say, “You try to talk some sense into them.” A police officer must know the weapons at his or her disposal, because each situation demands a different degree of force.

I arrested the same man twice in the same year—both times for burglary. The first time, he had broken into a construction business, tripping the silent alarm. The last time I arrested him, he was breaking into cars in the parking garage of a downtown hotel. He was easy to remember, because he was big! He was so big that I could barely get the handcuffs around his wrists. The first time I arrested him, I had the help of half a dozen policemen, but the second time, I was alone with him in that parking garage.

I remember praying, “Lord, I may have to shoot this guy if he resists, so please, Lord, help me say the right things.” Thank God the suspect gave up without a fight.

The Bible says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” and “A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word!” (Proverbs 15:1, 23 NASB).
Domestic disputes present some of the worst situations to law enforcement officials. Each situation is different, but every one of them is dangerous. You may try to resolve a conflict between a wife and husband, a boyfriend and girlfriend, or a dad and daughter. The closeness of the relationship makes the situation even more volatile. Small children are often present, listening, and affected by the outcome. Long before the police arrive at those homes, words are spoken. These individuals could have stopped the verbal abuse. Long before the police arrived, they could have spoken words of kindness and apology instead of threats and words of hate and anger. But they chose not to.

Earlier I referred to our words as “non-lethal” weapons, but that really isn’t true. The old adage, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” just isn’t accurate. The Bible says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21 NASB). James wrote that the “tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6 NIV). That does not sound like the use of “non-lethal” words, does it?