An interesting essay titled, “When God created police officers” has appeared on the Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD) Facebook page last month. It was National Police Week and they thought it was an appropriate article to remind all of us how God created policemen. The story was previously published several times during the period of 16 years. It references the Book of Genesis and suggests God created cops.
The beginning of the essay reads:
When the Lord was creating peace officers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?"
"A peace officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn’t touch, and not wrinkle his uniform."
"He has to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day.
He has to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands."
Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Police Chief David Newlan on Thursday alerting him to serious state/church concerns over the CCPD’s Facebook page. One of FFRF’s main purposes is to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. According to FFRF’s letter, the Cape Coral Police Department should not endorse any religion and should not show preferences for Christianity or Monotheism. By sharing stories about God’s role in creating police, the CCPD’s Facebook post endorses religion over nonreligion and Christianity over other faiths.
The ending of the story about creating cops is even more interesting:
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 the Lord, "it’s a tear."
"What’s the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It’s for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for justice."
"You're a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somberly at the angel and said. "I am no genius, I didn't put the tear in his eye.”
According to FFRF’s letter, the story on CCPD’s Facebook page is not legally different than if the department posted a bible verse or placed one on display, which would be impermissible. To avoid further Establishment Cause concerns, FFRF requested CCPD to remove religious endorsements and to avoid promoting religion in future social media posts.
Photo Credits: APTI
