I think that most of the people who believe police violence is impersonal have never experienced it.

The intimacy of being wrapped up, a tangle of bodies as people on the street stop to stare.

The smell of blood and sweat, burning your nose.

The spit in your face from a person yelling, inches from you.

The sound of fast breathing from not just him but your partners too.

The volume of a command, repeated despite the knowledge that there will be no compliance.

The crackle of a Taser cartridge, finally stopping the fight.

The release of adrenaline as you stand around and realize how fast things happen.

The smell on your uniform, in your hair, on your partners, that lingers as a reminder as the aftermath stretches on for hours for an incident that didn't even take minutes.