O Outro Lado da Lei

Business!

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening
It depends on the time you find this letter that I'm writing
And if you found the letter, it's because I'm no longer here
And I signed this testimony to tell what happened
I left behind my wife and three children
May life not be a rose full of thorns for them
May they manage to survive without a head of the family
And may they not lose the house, the land, and the furniture
My story as a police officer has more than 20 years
I worked with dedication and zeal in my job
Being a police officer has always been my childhood dream
I played cops and robbers all my childhood
I took a training course and experienced moments of joy
But also great tension and a lot of nostalgia
And after the training, the moment of glory
Wearing that uniform was unforgettable
The emotion I felt on my first day
And the proud look of my whole family
The admiration of my friends and neighbors
That feeling accompanied me along the way
And with the uniform comes the daily pressure
In real life, I felt the drama of being a police officer
Even in the early hours already positioned on the street
Burning under the hot sun or getting wet in the rain
I spent more than ten hours walking on the asphalt
Feeling the pavement boiling under my shoes
You have no idea what it's like to work on the streets
Coming home with blistered feet

My journey only God knows
So there's no point in judging or condemning me
My walk is long
But for you who look at me disrespectfully
That's why I carry this cross

And in this drama, the worst is your ingratitude
Thinking that I only wanted to take advantage of you
That I wanted your money, that I had no heart
And shouting in the street that the police are thieves
Thieves? Me, who worked diligently
Caught criminals, arrested bandits in duels
I have on my record solved crimes
Honorary medals, recommendations, and praise
Respect and consideration, I never felt
Never a congratulations for the good work done
Never a thank you for ensuring your peace
Never a 'thank you, officer, you're great'
No one ever stopped to talk to me
And we crossed paths several times in the same place
Never asked if my child was sick
If I had money for the hospital or why I was absent
You never imagined that when I took off the uniform
I wasn't different from the other working man
Who survived with little to help his family
Who struggled to catch transportation and waited in line
I also squeezed into capulanas and my loves
Waited for the last bus that made the final round
Often crowded and my foot stepped on
I even believed that God was testing my faith
And I've come home and not had dinner at the table
Without vitamins, what kept me going were prayers
I knelt down at every meal
Thanked for the plate of rice and beans

My journey only God knows
So there's no point in judging or condemning me
My walk is long
But for you who look at me disrespectfully
That's why I carry this cross

I also ran out of money to enroll
The money for curry, for the kids' school transport
I ran out of energy, had to get charcoal
I didn't even have a penny to buy bread
In this profession, we live between life and death
A badge, a gun is part of the lot
And I had nights of nightmares that I prayed to God
Never to pull the trigger on someone like me
But against all my wishes, that day came
I was on duty for the night patrol
I followed the same route, but this time it was different
It's like I imagined what was coming ahead
Two criminals crossed my path and I felt
The smell of criminality as they passed by me
I used my power and gave the order to stop
The most silent silence filled the road
And in the darkness of the night, the path of a knife
An animal in danger that attacks to defend itself
I tried to dodge, but the maneuver was weak
After that, I felt nothing more