'A Unique Aspect' - An Interview with MDPD’s Director Patterson
story & fotos by José Pérez
In the Social Work
Dictionary, Dr. Robert Barker defines resiliency as “the human capacity …
to deal with crises, stressors, and normal experiences in an emotionally and
physically healthy way.” That
definition seems be embodied in the person of Miami-Dade Police Department
Director J. D. Patterson. Exhibiting
resilience and channeling it into excellence has served Patterson well, dating
back to long before he began his 28 year career with one of the United States’
largest police departments.
“I was brought up in a violent family,” Patterson shared
with no hesitation during an interview at MDPD’s headquarters in Doral. “I come from a dysfunctional background –
still do as a matter of fact,” said Patterson, who is the only person in his
immediate family to have graduated from high school. That dysfunction was so much a part of
Patterson’s life growing up in Brownsville that his first research paper was a
report he wrote on alcoholism – as a fifth grader.
Indeed, that “effective coping style” that Barker says is
resilience allowed Patterson develop a keen awareness of human beings and how
they express their needs which explains a lot about his approach to law
enforcement. “I realized that violence
was not very productive,” said Patterson who described himself as someone who
“would have been [labeled as] ‘at-risk’” as child growing up in Miami.
Patterson, however, made no apologies about his
experiences. In fact, he seems to
embrace them. “It makes my empathy a
little stronger,” said Patterson, “especially towards children.”
Because he sees both physical and verbal violence as
“destructive to everything,” Patterson said that “violence is not acceptable at
any time.” Patterson recognizes the
“emotional nature of violence” and the universal human emotion of anger but
there are alternatives to violent expressions of anger. “We all get mad,” commented Patterson, “but
if they don’t want to talk about a problem, they should go to jail” if people
resort to violence.
Patterson is not, however, a proponent of an exclusively
punitive approach to law enforcement.
“I see crime as a symptom, an indication of a problem,” said Patterson,
who added that “violence is our greatest problem.” He is particularly concerned about violent
crimes among Miami-Dade County’s youth.
“We have to break the cycle” of violence, said Patterson.
Patterson spoke about alternatives to violent expressions
of emotion such as organized sports programs and professional therapeutic
interventions. He also mentioned plans
to organize town hall meetings to explore and discuss different resources for
alternatives to violence in the community.
Still, Patterson’s window for getting things started
under his watch is a small one. He had
already submitted his paperwork for retirement when he was named acting
director to replace outgoing director James Loftus last autumn (“I was hoping
he’d stay longer,” said Patterson of his predecessor). “I’m not going to be here forever,” said
Patterson who is scheduled to retire in three years. Patterson added, that “the reality is that
the department needs to start developing young future leaders,” especially with
so many of his colleagues that started with him during a hiring boom in the
early 1980’s will retiring with him.
With a finite period of time before he, too, must ride
off into the sunset, is there someone in the Department’s current ranks that
can successfully
Who could that future director be? Patterson was too focused on the tasks before
him to even begin to speculate on who that might be but he did speak of an
interesting possibility for Miami-Dade County.
Describing himself as “the right
man at the right time,” Patterson added that he thinks that “there will be a
right woman at the right time.”
“Miami-Dade’s time is coming.”
Given the time he has to do his job as director,
Patterson’s sense of urgency to get involved and make progress appears to
dovetail with the community’s hurry to address pressing issues of crime and
violence. “I’ve been an intervener all
of my life,” said Patterson who is also a minister as well as a cop. “It is a
unique aspect to what I do.”
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