“Thanks for stopping by the office Doug Baldwin Jr. and for your work bringing communities together,” Governor Jay Inslee said. Two months ago, the Seattle Seahawks showed a demonstration of unity at their season opener. The Hawks linked arms during the national anthem. After the game Doug Baldwin and many more of his team mates talked about the importance of “following through”.

On Monday, November 21, Baldwin went to the Washington state capital to talk about a rising issue, the use of deadly force by police officers. During his speech Baldwin addressed himself as a “concerned citizen” and not as a member of the Seahawks. Baldwin also sees both sides of the issue, being a son of a police officer that served for 35 years, he recognizes both sides of the issue. Before he retired, my father spent 35 years as a law enforcement officer in our hometown of Pensacola, Florida. For 35 years, he held himself to an honorable standard, not just by his wife and not just by his kids, but he held himself to an incredibly high standard because of what it meant when he put on his police uniform and went out in our community. During the meeting Baldwin and many other concerned citizens discussed how law enforcement officers won’t be charged with a crime in uses of deadly force unless it can be proven that they acted with “malice” and without “good faith.” Monday, November 21, everyone that went and did their “follow through”, even the task force agreed on the same terms. The force voted 14-10 to recommend removing reference to “malice” and “good faith” from the law.