What's wrong with this sign?

How do you spot a brand-new police chief? Consider the case of Cameron McLay, who was named police chief in Pittsburgh on September 15, less than four months ago. A former police captain in Madison, Wisconsin, and an expert on police leadership issues, McLay's specialty is fostering better ties between cops and the communities where they walk the beat. In Madison, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper, he was known for getting personally involved in tense incidents, and for meeting frequently with local non-profits and other community groups interested in better relations.

In these times of unrest over police-involved deaths from New York to Ferguson, Mo., to L.A., Cameron McLay sounds too good to be true for the citizens of Pittsburgh, another large city where policing issues have sparked controversy.

Maybe he is too good to be true.

On New Year's Eve, during what Pittsburgh calls its First Night parade, the new chief encountered protesters from a group called Fight Back Pittsburgh, the kind of interaction he'd apparently built his career upon. Not only did McLay engage the demonstrators. but he posed for a picture with one of their signs. That picture is above, but let's dwell for a few more seconds on what the sign says.

I resolve to challenge racism at work. #End white silence

I had to read the sign several times and squint to make sure there wasn't some subliminal message in there, something along the lines of "Kill Whitey," or words to that effect. What else could I assume after reading the quick, inevitable -- and sad -- response from Pittsburgh's main police union. The president of Pittsburgh's FOP is Howard McQuillan:

"…Our current Chief of Police (is) insinuating that we are now racist, merely by the color of our skin and the nature of our profession. I say enough is enough!" McQuillan wrote.

The FOP boss also made it clear why it's difficult to implement sensible community policing -- because that's something that McQuilan describes as "pandering." He wrote: "Pandering to the community at the expense of the police community is not going to get us anywhere."

As I suggested at the beginning, if McLay didn't expect that kind of reaction, he must be new around these parts. I have a feeling he's not in Madison anymore. To his credit, the new chief for the most part didn't back down on the broader issues at stake:

"The sign indicated my willingness to challenge racial problems in the workplace. I am so committed. If there are problems in the PBP related to racial injustice, I will take action to fix them," the chief wrote. "I saw no indictment of police or anyone else in this sign, but I do apologize to any of you who felt I was not supporting you; that was not my intent," McLay said in the email.

So...what's wrong with the sign? Absolutely nothing. Racism, prejudice and misunderstanding exist everywhere -- whether it's a police department, a newsroom or anywhere else with a diverse workforce, customer base, or citizenry. It won't get better if we don't acknowledge that in some way, and white people need to be active in that conversation. Based on what I've seen so far, the only question I have about McLay is whether he'd be free when Philadelphia presumably picks a new chief in 2016.

Meanwhile, what on earth is wrong with our police unions in America's big cities? Clearly, a lot. It's understood that union leaders are ferocious defenders of their rank and file, and -- unlike some ideologues -- I support the right of public employees including our police officers to collectively bargain for better pay and better working conditions. But the comments coming from a slew of police union leaders in recent weeks go well beyond their proper role -- and well beyond reason.

Reasonable statements -- like the sign that McLay posed with, or New York Mayor Bill de Blasio telling his black son to use care in interactions with police (which is a) good advice for any teen of any race and b) acknowledging the inconvenient truth that young black males are 21X times more likely to die at the hands of a cop) -- are greeted by FOP types with apocalyptic freak-outs.

Their messages are clear: That "police morale" and 100 percent non-questioning of police work trumps any concerns raised by the communities they were hired "to protect and serve." That in a so-called democracy, police officers must command total respect but it's perfectly fine to turn your back on the mayor that the citizens overwhelmingly elected. From Bucks County to Cleveland, we've even seen suggestions that critics of policing methods won't get police protections.

That's not just wrong -- it's creepy. In fact, such actions and attitudes from police union leaders suggest that America is in danger of becoming an authoritarian police state...or worse.

This is all especially pathetic because the rash of police-union freakouts threaten to overshadow the tributes and the respect that is due to the family and loved ones of Officer Wenjian Liu, one of the two New York City police officers assassinated last month. Yesterday, once again, hundreds if not thousands of officers disrespected de Blasio by turning their backs on the mayor at Liu's funeral.

It's tragically ironic, because both Liu and his slain partner Officer Rafael Ramos were men who rose from the city's outer neighborhoods and who never cut ties with their neighbors; their instincts for community relations were very much in line with the kind of reforms sought by real leaders -- such as Pittsburgh Chief McLay. But for real changes to occur, none of us -- the police or the policed -- can stay silent about the things that matter.