One of the conclusions from Jesus and the Powers is that followers of Jesus will have to confront spiritual and worldly powers in this life. Conflict will happen. When authority goes wrong, it must be held accountable.

Sonya Massey was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer without cause. It is not enough to fire the officer. It is not even enough to prosecute the officer. This officer had 6 police jobs in 4 years. (In addition, he had a serious misconduct charge and was dismissed from the U.S. Army.) What is needed is an investigation into the poor hiring skills of these departments PLUS their poor training skills.

Powers need to be held accountable. If the top protection agency in the U.S. is held to account for not properly protecting one presidential candidate, could we not hold a law enforcement agency accountable for poor hiring practices and poor training programs? Could we hold them accountable for over-equipping an officer and not giving enough protection to the black woman who had called for help and was in distress?

We have a culture that gives all the excuses to the people with the protective gear and guns and allows no excuses for the people these officers are supposed to protect and serve. Sonya Massey was murdered and it is not the sole responsibility of one officer.