As our nation struggles through this period of racial division and an unprecedented rise in attacks on police, former NYPD officer Steven McDonald is hoping to be an instrument of peace.
Thirty years ago today, McDonald’s life changed forever. The NYPD detective was left quadriplegic when a 15 year old suspect in a string of thefts shot him three times in Central Park. In a remarkable turn of events, McDonald’s attacker phoned the family from prison to apologize for his crimes against the McDonald family. As a testament to the Catholic faith that saved his life in the months after the tragedy, McDonald forgave the young man, Shavod Jones, offering to become his mentor after his release from prison. Jones untimely death just three days after his release kept the two from ever meeting again and establishing that relationship, but Steven McDonald has forged on. In the aftermath of the tragic events that changed his life forever, McDonald has become a messenger for love and forgiveness, speaking at schools and churches about his ordeal and everything he’s overcome.
In the wake of the Dallas shooting, McDonald’s local newspaper reached out to him for comment. Here’s what the heroic detective had to say:
Asked what can be done to bridge the gap between civilians and police, he turned his attention to media coverage of recent and past events, which, in general, he said, has been unfair to the police. “In the last several days, a black police officer killed a black citizen/subject/victim in Brooklyn, and there were no riots, nobody turned over any cars, nobody’s calling for an independent investigation …,” McDonald said, adding that he doesn’t watch many news channels because he already knows what they are going to say. “Their position is, we are wrong. We’re the ones who started this mess,” he said.
Despite that, he steadfastly focuses on the need to speak more to God. “God’s is the only answer in my mind,” he said. “You can’t spend your way out of this.” Bridging the gap between police and civilians doesn’t lie in hiring more police officers, purchasing more bullets or “more whatever,” he said. “It’s got to be about our faith, our love of God.”
AAN Staff
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