Verbatim
Here's a pretty old post from the blog archives of Geekery Today; it was written about 14 years ago, in 2010, on the World Wide Web.
Officers’ safety comes first, and not infringing on people’s rights comes second.
— Lieutenant Fran Healy, Special Adviser to the Police Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department
(Via Radley Balko.)
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For reference, note that Lt. Healy’s comments are about why Philadelphia cops should when dealing with nonviolent, presumptively innocent people holding out-of-state concealed-carry permits for their handguns. When Healy says that doesn’t, of course, mean being cautious about the risk of using violent force to arrest an innocent person or seize their private property and leave them defenseless. Rather, in police-speak, means flipping the hell out at people who are acting peacefully within their rights, and precipitously shoving people around and seizing their private property, before you have any idea whether or not they are guilty of anything, or pose any particular threat to anyone. Because, as you know, cops are here to ensure your safety, fellow citizen.
We need the cops to protect us because we’re not brave or competent or well-armed enough to protect ourselves, and if anyone happens to take steps to acquire the tools, competence, and mentality needed to protect themselves then by god the cops will beat them down so hard we all get the message that it’s our job to stay nice and helpless.