THE LATE ANDY GRIFFITH; SHERIFF ANDY TAYLOR & COMMUNITY POLICING

Sheriff Andy Taylor patrolled fictional Mayberry, North Carolina usually unarmed and kept the peace despite a bumbling deputy. Growing up in Savannah, GA in the 70s and 80s it was nice to see a Southern place where police were actually polite.
That was my initial reaction upon reading about Andy Griffith’s death.
Long before the Religious Right emerged, the good Sheriff dispensed justice leavened with biblical insight and championed being a good neighbor- minus sermonizing. No mater your faith or lack thereof, the moral message was clear.
Southerners could relate to his cast of characters: Aunt Bee ( pronounced ” Ant ” Bee ); Opie; Goober and the unforgettable Gomer Pyle. Americans from elsewhere got a peek at what life was like far away from big cities.
These characters and their town offered respite from the eras stressful; even horrific headlines.
His Sheriff Taylor character pioneered community policing decades before the term was coined. That’s an invaluable part of his legacy. He was truly a community member working with other members to resolve problems through cooperation and appeals to conscience.
When he had to sue force it was infrequently and decisively.
That’s what Andy Griffith and his masterpiece Sheriff Andy Taylor meant to me for a lifetime- a model of cooperation and restraint in law enforcement and the judiciary ( Don’t forget, Andy was also the local Justice of The Peace lol )..
I hope his role as a community policing prototype is recognized. What was offered as entertainment instead became a model for real world public engagement.
When Sheriff Taylor had to wear his side arm you knew things were very, very serious.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. ” -Matthew 5:9

NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK
ANTI-CRIME ACTIVIST
CHOCOLATE KLANSMEN ALERT! SPEAKER
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