Happy Are The Meek Series

Happy Are the Meek

CCCAG September 17th, 2017

Scripture- Matt 5:5

Growing up in the city, you learn a few things very quickly. One of the things you learn is that you do not mess with the police. When I was living with my dad, Kenosha would use foot patrols in the high crime areas, and we lived in one of the worse neighborhoods in Kenosha at that time. The police officers they assigned to be the foot patrols were not small men…they were all well over 6 feet tall and pretty mean looking. If they came up to you on the basketball court and told you to go home, it was “Yes sir” and you ran home. There was no doubt they were the law. That was my view of law enforcement- big tough guys you don’t mess with.

As many of you know, I would spend the summers in Hayward with my grandparents, and my grandfather was a reserve sheriff’s deputy at that time. Reserve deputies were used during special events, sick calls and vacations to supplement the full-time department. One of the big events every year in Hayward is called Musky Festival. It’s a weeklong event where people go out on the Chippewa Flowage and try to catch the biggest Musky’s they can find, and back in Hayward there is a large fair type event going on for the whole family which includes fishing displays, carnivals, games, and food.

I was there with my grandfather, and he introduced me to one of his fellow reserve deputies, a man who was a full-time native police officer on the La Courte Oreilles reservation named Joe Crow. Joe was one of the largest men I have ever met. He was over 6’5” and weighed well over 350 pounds. He was very intimidating to look at, but when he started talking to me, I was surprised to hear how gentle his voice was and how nice he was to everyone he interacted with. I’m used to cops being very bold, in your face, a “You WILL respect my authority” kind of attitude. But Joe was very laid back, very nice to people, and to me it seems like he didn’t have the right personality to be a cop.

In my 12-year-old way of looking at things, I looked at him and thought, “For such a big guy, he seems like kind of a wimp. This guy wouldn’t last 5 minutes back on the block in Kenosha.

I also found out through talking to him that that Jesus was very important to him and he was one of the few Christians on the reservation.

My grandfather had to go and take care of some underaged drinkers in the beer tent, so he left me with Joe who was posting at the main gate. Joe was there to show a law enforcement presence and to enforce the rules. Basically, this is a family event, so dress and behave yourself appropriately.

As I was sitting there talking to Joe about native culture, about 20 people rode into the parking lot on motor cycles. They looked and act pretty rough from the time they climbed off of their bikes, and looked like a bunch of thugs. Men with no shirts who looked like they hadn’t bathed in week, woman who barely had any clothes on at all, tattoos everywhere- basic motorcycle gang type stuff. They get in line to buy tickets, and they are being loud, profane, and semi threatening and intimidating to the other people around them.

Joe told me to stay behind the fence and went to confront them. I heard his soft voice asking the people to calm it down, put some clothes on, and they were more than welcome to come in and enjoy the festival. One of the larger bikers got in his face and shoved Joe back and said rather profanely, “What are you gonna do chief?” (woo woo woo indian slur).

Joe stepped back up and advised them that he would have to arrest them if they touched him again and very politely repeated his request that they either obey the rules or leave the area. One of them grabbed his uniform, and things got real very quickly.

The first thing that happened was the hand that grabbed Joe was quickly bent in a very unnatural way and the owner of the hand was on his knees screaming. Then the other men in the group charged Joe. The first man went flying backward from a front kick. Then Joe released the man on his knees and jumped about 5 feet into the air with a spinning heel kick and knocked out the next person charging him.

The other men who started to move toward Joe were quickly moving backward now. Joe calmly said, “Who is next?”. The rest ran back to their motorcycles and drove away.