Logic and critical thinking have the tendency of leading people to believe that facts may exist on any one subject. Facts are not required for either train of thought. In fact, many times what we believe to be genuine facts are merely our own perception of what is occurring. Perception is usually never the same between two people.

Take an incident that is now a matter of history. Something I have experienced in my lifetime, as I began the pursuit of a Law Enforcement career, came to me via the media. It was in the early 90’s that a certain African American male by the name of Rodney King entered our living rooms. As I witnessed multiple officers taking a straight baton and striking the subject multiple times, I thought to myself, “that’s a bunch of cops for one man,” and, “what did this man do to have deserved this type of retribution?” Never did I think about the cops possibly being involved in something that was illegal. As time progressed and trials occurred, my training increased, and I noticed that my logic and perception changed about what I felt witnessing all that madness on the television. As I reflected on that particular day, when it was covered in a training class I took, I had an opportunity to reflect and realize how much that one night changed Law Enforcement forever. Most importantly, what I also noticed was my thought patterns regarding this incident. My “perception” had changed as the evolution of my training took place. Of course, you learn in training that when a person is on PCP there is a tendency for that person to have the strength of 10 men. It is strange, but the anomaly does exist. That accounts for the amount of officers present that night to attempt the incarceration of the subject. Of course, then you learn that if a baton strike is not occurring at the first four inches of the baton, the strike is ineffective. That accounts for the way Mr. King continued to fight. So now I had learned that there were many circumstances (including King’s rap sheet) that played a role to what was seen on television. The one fact that really caught my attention, was that the officers did have the opportunity to stop striking. So, while many issues may have been justified on behalf of the officers, that one key issue may have gained some convictions and had to settle some lawsuits, I’m sure. My initial perception changed dramatically as more facts were revealed to me. It changed my whole outlook on

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