🚔FIELD GUIDE 21: Passion police

Miles and I crossed paths almost 15 years ago. They have always been a jolt of happiness. They’ve never been someone you see in public that you shy away from in hopes that they don’t see you.

Miles is using that happiness to bring community together and change the way we see law enforcement.

Name

Miles Taylor (they/them)

Habitat

Savannah, GA

Occupation

Police Officer

Soundtrack

“I absolutely love what I do.”

Being a police officer, means every single day— hell, every hour is completely different than the previous one. There is zero monotony in policing. Even the “frequent flyer” calls we get are different every single time. There’s so many people with so many different perspectives and each person brings something to the table where I—metaphorically— sit. I am able to, because im part of a marginalized community myself, change their perspective, give them a fresh taste of what a police offer looks like.

I decided to be a police officer after a police officer — that I still don’t know— told me my attention to detail was amazing and he thought I should apply. I had always seen police officers as noble, amazing heroes, and completely bad ass. I knew I was badass but I never thought I’d be able to do something like that. Not to mention that when I applied I almost got denied for being around marijuana.. like? I live in Savannah… there’s a square downtown that’s basically known for being the square where people smoke pot and it’s damn near impossible to go downtown without passing that square and getting some kind of contact high. Anyway.. I didn’t let them disqualify me and now I’m about 6 years into my career.

The work I do is so incredibly important, especially right now, because:

I’m not white.

It’s important because I’m not a male or identify as one.

It’s important because I’m not heterosexual.

I grew up with a white mom, I have a brother and a dad, but I’m the gay sibling. I’m the gay daughter.

It’s important because I live in the South where different sometimes means less than.

I have the chance— literally by just existing— to show little kids who aren’t white, little kids who are challenging their gender roles, little kids who know they feel different about kids who have the same “parts” as them that it is OKAY to be exactly who you are.

I even get to be myself around adults— although they are a little harder to convince sometimes- that just because my uniform says “Police” and yes, I do carry a gun (and every single day, I hope and pray I never have to use it) I still blast Cardi B, Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Mariah Carey, and Garth Brooks. I still laugh at fart videos. I still waste all my time on TikTok. I still have feelings and want what’s best for every single person I encounter and share this community with.

What keeps me going is knowing that this whole thing, the whole reason I do this is just to change one heart. I’m not totally convinced I have done that yet, although I’m sure others would say different. The hard days are really hard. Police officers see a lot of things that a lot of people just don’t— or didn’t, before social media became all the rage.

We get mad at people who hurt other people. We get sad when people take their light out of the world. And we feel like we have failed when we “just didn’t get there fast enough.” We are still humans. I am still a human. I am still affected by words, by the images forever in my brain.

The most memorable day that comes to mind was a call for a teenager who had taken medication to take herself out of this world. I got there, and she didn’t want to talk. I got her to blink her eyes to communicate with me and with her blinks was able to get important information to the medical team. She is still alive and thriving now.

For a while after her incident, she and I wrote back and forth with each other and I feel like that not only helped her, but it helped me. It challenged my thoughts on teenage suicide, but also my own personal experiences with suicide and the after affects.

It’s taken me a little while to see the impact I have on the community around me. I have been on countless calls and made countless friends in these six years. I have gotten the chance to practice and continue to perfect my skills that will help me better serve the community. Some days are hard but, there’s a 7 year old girl, who looks for me often. She keeps me going. She knows I do good things and if I gave up now, she’d have to be told about that; I can’t have that.

She (and a lot of the world) depends on good people to change the world she’s growing up in. I may as well give it my best shot.

Learn more

Breaking Barriers United is an instagram account that Sam recommends. They are working on bridging the gap between law enforcement and community.

Sam has never sugarcoated mental health, fitness, their career, or life in general. They stay grounded and you can follow them on Instagram as well.