Take Back Santa Cruz

Advocating for a Safe and Clean Santa Cruz

  • About
  • Get Involved
  • Blog
    • Latest Articles
    • In the Press
  • Resources
    • Storm Resources
    • Bike Theft/Registration
    • Cal Trans
    • City of Santa Cruz
    • County of Santa Cruz
    • Needles in Public Spaces
  • Events
  • SHOP
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Editorial / “This is what it looks like when we come together as a community to build bridges”

“This is what it looks like when we come together as a community to build bridges”

July 10, 2016 by TBSC 3 Comments

By Officer Wes Hansen, Santa Cruz Police Department (re-posted with permission)

These are some photos of me and my friend Sebastian. He is a local business owner and, more importantly, an awesome human being. He reached out to me after the tragedy in Dallas and, like me, understands the role that the media has played in dividing this country. He and I wanted to do something to try and change that narrative, at least on a local level so he asked me to take these photos with him yesterday.

I think they are important to share for two reasons

First, they show… unity between the community I serve and its members. Second, and more importantly, these photos encapsulate exactly why I chose to be a Police Officer. The last couple of days have not been easy that there is an incredible amount of anger on both sides about what has happened. Tensions are high between the community and the Officers who serve those communities. People are openly calling for the murder of Officers and then carrying out those murders. I will be honest, it is not fun to be a Police Officer or the family member of a Police Officer right now. That being said, it’s not fun being a person who openly supports the Police right now either so when Sebastian told me he wanted to take these photos, I was honored. All of my anger faded away and I realized that what I have spent the last 15 years of my life doing was not in vain.

THIS is why I do this job, to keep the community safe and earn the friendship and respect of its members

This is what it looks like when we come together as a community to build bridges rather than tear them down. This is what respect looks like. Thank you to everyone in my life and all of the community members in not just Santa Cruz, but all over the world, who have the courage to support the Police and who are working with Law Enforcement for positive change.

To all my brothers and sisters in Blue, stand tall and keep your heads up. There are more people out there than we know who will stand behind us.

These are some photos of me and my friend Sebastian. He is a local business owner and, more importantly, an awesome human being. He reached out to me after the tragedy in Dallas and, like me, understands the role that the media has played in dividing this country. He and I wanted to do something to try and change that narrative, at least on a local level so he asked me take these photos with him yesterday.

Wes Hansen has been on the Santa Cruz Police Department for 15 years, a graduate of UCSC and a loved member of our community. Photo Credit: Ben Ingram

 

TBSC stands behind Wes and all the brave men & women LEOs that serve this community.

Wes Hansen Light House

Photo Credit: Ben Ingram

Share Button

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on LinkedIn Share
Share on Digg Share

Filed Under: Editorial

Comments

  1. David Giannini says

    July 10, 2016 at 4:31 pm

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Santa Cruz has one of the best police forces on the planet! Keep up the good work.

    Reply
  2. Maggie V says

    July 10, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    Wow- I am more impressed than ever with Santa Cruz Police, we are the luckiest city to have the finest Officers. In a time of sadness across the USA we have reason for hope in our community.

    Thank you Officer Wes Hansen, and thank you Take Back Santa Cruz.

    Reply
  3. Vita Landear says

    July 10, 2016 at 8:02 pm

    Sometimes it takes more courage to do something like this, than to give into the hate and anger. God Bless both of these people for choosing to help turn the tide. May it ripple out far and wide. Heartfelt hugs to these men and SCPD and all who put their lives on the line without a second thought.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<h3>Comments Rules of The Road</h3><h2>Please follow these rules when commenting on our site or Facebook page:</h2> <h3><strong>Be relevant</strong></h3> <p>Discuss the story and stay on topic.</p> <h3><strong>Be respectful</strong></h3> <p>Keep things civil. Avoid abusive or offensive language, threats, hate speech, libels and calls for violence. And please, don’t make jokes about the misfortune of others. Imagine it was your loved one in the story and show some restraint.</p> <h3><strong>Be honest</strong></h3> <p>Use your real name. Don’t post commercial messages. Don’t publish copyrighted material that belongs to someone else.</p> <h3><strong>Be discreet</strong></h3> <p>Don’t publish telephone numbers, addresses or other personal information about yourself or others.</p> <h3><strong>Be responsible</strong></h3> <p> </p> <h2>Commenting terms of use</h2> <p>Commenting is a privilege that will be revoked for violations of our terms of use. Inappropriate comments may be deleted. Users who violate the rules will be banned from commenting, perhaps with their previous comments deleted.</p> <p>Users are solely responsible for what they post and can be held responsible for violations of the law. Take Back Santa Cruz cannot verify the content of comments and does not vouch for their accuracy.</p> <div style="padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;" class="hupso-share-buttons"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http://www.hupso.com/share/ --><a class="hupso_toolbar" href="http://www.hupso.com/share/"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/static.hupso.com/share/buttons/share-medium.png?ssl=1" style="border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;" alt="Share Button" data-recalc-dims="1"/></a><script type="text/javascript">var hupso_services_t=new Array("Twitter","Facebook","Google Plus","Tumblr","StumbleUpon","Digg","Reddit","Email","Print");var hupso_background_t="#EAF4FF";var hupso_border_t="#66CCFF";var hupso_toolbar_size_t="medium";var hupso_image_folder_url = "";var hupso_url_t="";var hupso_title_t=""This is what it looks like when we come together as a community to build bridges"";</script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://static.hupso.com/share/js/share_toolbar.js"></script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-2798" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-2798" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-end"></li></ul></div></div></div> <div id='jp-relatedposts' class='jp-relatedposts' > <h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3> </div><div class='apss-social-share apss-theme-1 clearfix ' > <div class='apss-facebook apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Facebook" target='_blank' href='https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-facebook-f'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Facebook</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-twitter apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22This%20is%20what%20it%20looks%20like%20when%20we%20come%20together%20as%20a%20community%20to%20build%20bridges%22&url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/&" title="Share on Twitter" target='_blank'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-twitter'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Twitter</span><span class='apss-share'>Tweet</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-pinterest apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Pinterest" href='javascript:pinIt();'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-pinterest'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Pinterest</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-linkedin apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on LinkedIn" target='_blank' href='http://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'><i class='fab fa-linkedin'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on LinkedIn</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> <div class='apss-digg apss-single-icon'> <a rel='nofollow' title="Share on Digg" target='_blank' href='http://digg.com/submit?phase=2%20&url=https://takebacksantacruz.org/looks-like-come-together-community-build-bridges-rather-tear/&title=%22This%20is%20what%20it%20looks%20like%20when%20we%20come%20together%20as%20a%20community%20to%20build%20bridges%22'> <div class='apss-icon-block clearfix'> <i class='fab fa-digg'></i> <span class='apss-social-text'>Share on Digg</span> <span class='apss-share'>Share</span> </div> </a> </div> </div>

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Stay Connected

EZ Fat Footer #3

This is Dynamik Widget Area. You can add content to this area by going to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress Dashboard and adding new widgets to this area.

© 2015 Take Back Santa Cruz · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap | Site designed by Foxxr

Go to mobile version
 

Loading Comments...