The lives and lived experiences of law enforcement professionals were the focus of a Nov. 21 campus event, “Behind the Badge,” organized by Rice University senior Kelsea Whiting.
Whiting, a political science major who will attend law school next year and is planning for a career as a criminal prosecutor, grew up in a small town in Northern California and is the daughter of a law enforcement officer. She said law enforcement personnel have always played an important role in her life and community, but over the years she’s witnessed the changing public perceptions of the individuals behind the badge.
This semester, she is taking an independent study course with Craig Considine, senior lecturer in sociology, that is focused on building bridges between law enforcement officers and their communities. This course coupled with her personal experiences inspired her to organize the event.
“The environment for law enforcement, I think, has become really difficult in America,” Whiting said. “I just wanted to have this event to give people a different point of view.”
The event included a panel discussion with Whiting; Merced Corona, a retired law enforcement officer from California and father of a fallen officer; Stephen Tate, a Houston Police Department administrator and clinical psychologist; and Nolan Regan, a photographer, content creator and law enforcement advocate who has gained widespread attention for his viral portraits and videos of police officers.
The conversation ranged from Regan talking about the importance of his work in showing the humans behind the badges, Tate sharing stories of the personal and mental struggles those in the line of duty face and Corona opening up about his own experience as a law enforcement officer and watching his daughter, Natalie, follow in his footsteps. Natalie was killed in the line of duty in 2019, and Corona has kept her memory alive by sharing his family’s experiences with others who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.
“It’s quite an honor to be able to share her story,” Corona said.
Whiting said she hopes the event helped offer a different perspective on law enforcement personnel and the real humans “behind the badge.”
“My goal for this event was for people to come and listen and hear a different perspective, and I hope they walked away with just that,” she said.