An interview with Retired Chief Mike Butler, Longmont, Colorado
In the three videos below, Mike Butler, the recently retired Chief of Police of Longmont, Colorado, is interviewed by John McKnight of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute and Dr. Albert Dzur, professor of Political Science at Bowling Green University. In introducing himself, Chief Butler reports:
“I became a police officer at the age of 25. Prior to that, I worked for the FBI in a non-special agent status position. My goal was to become a special agent but I found myself souring on the mission and purpose of what the FBI was about. I chose to become a police officer and started in Boulder, Colorado. I graduated from the University of Maryland with a relatively nondescript degree in Behavioral Sciences.
For almost my entire life, I have been on spiritual quest. I wholeheartedly believe our planet, our country, and our communities will benefit from a startling new understanding and awareness of the life and teachings of Jesus - different than anything that has been presented to us by institutional religion. My philosophy and its residuals in my work have been almost exclusively based on a spectacularly new rendition of the life and teachings of Jesus. Democracy, communities and institutions will benefit mostly from understanding and valuing that we are our brother’s keeper. So, to make a longer story a tad shorter, deep down, I am a religionist who also happened to be a public servant in the world of policing and local government.
I make no attempt nor have I ever tried to proselytize my own faith and beliefs absent inquiries about my motivations."
The interview is divided into three sections for ease of listening. However, the revolutionary nature of Chief Butler’s activities depends on watching all three.