Whether it’s getting pulled over for a traffic violation or needing to call 9-1-1 in an emergency, almost everyone in our society has had some form of contact with those in blue.

Such interactions have come to the forefront again in recent days after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Many claim this points to an endemic problem of racist policies in our police forces.

I don’t see statistics that support that in most of our communities. Are there some bad actors? Absolutely. Are there times when police use of force is out of line? Undoubtedly. Is there a radical racist underpinning in every police force in America? I don’t believe so.

Of course, we can’t erase our history in America. Slavery was real. Segregation was real. Unfair treatment of minorities happened, and in some areas undoubtedly still occurs. But this is not adequate reason to defund and destroy our public safety network, which exists to keep our citizens and our communities safe from very real threats.

Of course, there is always room for improvement. An examination of our police forces and police policies must take place on a regular basis. We must ensure our forces are representative of the populations they serve and that policies and training focus on de-escalation practices and humane restraint methods. We also must remain vigilant to examine every use of lethal force and the weaponry we allow our police forces.

I cannot, however, stay silent while city council after city council in our great state debates defunding their police force, many with no plan for how to address public safety. Some, such as the city of Norman, have already taken this drastic step, and right before thousands of students are scheduled to head back to campus for fall classes. Who will be there to protect these young people should they need assistance?

Defunding police departments puts our citizens and our communities at risk. We risk higher crime rates with no one to stop the destruction that will occur. Want to see what that looks like? Take a look at Seattle right now. I don’t want anything like that to happen in my House district nor in my state.

I, for one (and I know I am not alone), am thankful for the often thankless job that our men and women in blue perform every day. They have to meet people on what is often the other person’s very worst day. No one calls the police to share a cake they just baked. They call when their home has been burglarized, when someone is threatening to kill them, when their child has run away from home or any of the thousands of other terrible scenarios that play out in real life every single day and must be addressed by those we’ve hired to protect us from such evil.

I’ve fought for law enforcement each of my 12 years in the Oklahoma Legislature, and I pray that those who serve in this position in the years ahead will continue to protect these public servants even as we work to right the wrongs that exist.

Mike Sanders represents District 59 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes Dewey and parts of Blaine, Kingfisher and Woodward counties.