David One A Police Story

It was the 60’s, when cops didn’t receive a lot of respect. Bradley Stokes always wanted to be a policeman but as a juvenile he messed up. He didn’t kill anyone but he wasn’t proud of his life. Pulling knives on kids his age, he was kind of a bully. And why not? His dad was a bully who used to punch him, call him crazy, and remove any resemblance to a father who cared about his sons. Through a faithful friend, Carlos, he redirected his life toward being a useful member of the community, helping others who came from similarly dysfunctional families as he did. Parents who didn’t subscribe to Dr. Spock’s thinking in raising your child without spankings, but not taking it to the other extreme. Wrapped up in their own self-pride, perverting parenthood and perverting Christianity. Yet, Bradley still felt that tug in his heart, that longing to fill that empty void that God created to draw all to himself, those that would listen for his voice. Desiring more to life than being a victim, Bradley answered the call to go forward one Sunday night, to dedicate his life to serving the Messiah as his personal Lord and Savior. He didn’t want to be an evangelist but he did want to make a difference in the world, help others to leave their lives of crime and self-sabotage and do something important, maybe raise up others to a potential that would lead them to do something great and fulfilling. That was how he felt now anyway. With little direction he found a local church that preached the Word of God in a way he understood for the first time. Finding Carlos, a friend and mentor, he began to understand the meaning of having a ‘relationship’ with God. His parents didn’t care what he did, so he set out to make the necessary changes in his life that would give him the skills to get a good job, serve the community and make enough money to encourage and help others. He would enter college after high school to get a degree that would make himself more marketable, but he felt the pull toward law enforcement so that was where he was headed. Since he had ties to his community he wanted to work in his home town and be close to his church to help keep him accountable in his new walk with God. College was not difficult for him. He enjoyed his law enforcement classes immensely, and found them more fun than challenging. He got to know the teachers, who were mostly retired or active in some kind of law enforcement agency. That also helped his choices when he applied at the local police department. He saw himself as a detective, but that wouldn’t happen overnight. For now he would work at doing the best job he could. The police academy again was kind of like a boot camp but more fun. Now, working in his local police department he could put into practice everything he learned in the last four years of schooling. The environment at the department was not exactly what he expected. There was a negative environment, one that was not unfamiliar to him. From what he heard it was pretty normal in most departments. Most of the men stepped on whomever they could to get ahead. But there were a few he felt a kindred spirit to and wondered if they were also ‘saved’. He could talk to them on occasion and get some direction. His on the job training was standard with the usual ragging and hazing, but he took it all with a grain of salt, knowing this was something everyone had to go through until they earned their title of Police Officer. Still, he would be called a ‘rookie’ for some time, not the worst of it, and so he could brush that off as well. Working shifts was difficult at times, fighting sleepiness and boredom on the graveyard shift, but there were tricks to help through that time too. All in all Bradley felt like he was fulfilling his calling in life. However, his circumstances would change after he met the love of his life and he would begin to question his own discernment. Walk with Brad through “David One” and experience some time with this young rookie.