EPILOGUE & FINAL THOUGHTS
Recently while flying back out to Evander Holyfield’s house, I sit watching the clouds from the small window of the 747. America, I think. What an incredible blessing to be living in America in this day and age.
A few hundred years ago, before the settlers of Jamestown arrived, some of the most advanced tools were little more than a shovel and a pick-axe. Now, because of the freedom that was created by a divinely inspired Constitution, I soar across the country in a jet, thousands of miles in a matter of hours.
The Founders helped build that freedom. Individual creation and invention. Anything we can think of, really, we do it. We have advanced in ways that even the most forward-thinking science fiction writers of the 19th Century could not have predicted. However, we have lost much. In the last few years, it seems we’ve gone back 50 years somehow.
The machine is what needs to be fixed. It’s not police officers that are the problem. It’s the policies and culture that are the problem. Many politicians desperately want us to be divided on false premises. I don’t believe it’s racism that runs rampant in these police agencies, but the fuel of quotaism sure seems to produce more problems than it solves. Nobody is talking about that. We are more alike and united than we think as Americans, but this machine needs to be repaired.
I stare ahead at the seat in front of me and wonder how my life has come to the place it has. It’s almost like God is just leading me along the whole way, like the whole thing was planned from the beginning. Thinking about law enforcement now feels like a dream from years ago. Like another lifetime. Like it didn’t happen.
Being able to stand on Utah’s Capitol and have my story used to help pass stronger laws for religious freedom felt like a step in the right direction, but ultimately how can the Government help us to love one another? It’s like each law that gets passed just drives bigger wedges between people.
I was also asked by Utah lawmakers to come and tell my story about police quotas on Capitol Hill. While testifying, there sat behind me around fifteen Utah police chiefs and their representatives to try and discourage lawmakers to not pass the bill. Some of them testified that they don’t have police quotas, but were against the bill. Why would anyone be against the bill to ban police quotas if they didn’t have quotas to begin with?
The Salt Lake City Police Department then came out to the media and said I wasn’t telling the truth. The only problem for them, was that I brought an audio recording of my former Sergeant talking about the quotas. I played the audio for the committee. The department went silent after that. Weeks later, one of my friends at the police department sent me a screenshot of a new policy change in the department: “No recording supervisors without their knowledge.” Even though state law permits. Interesting. You would think the new policy would have said, “No forcing officer to arrest people based on a quota system.”
In April of 2018, the Utah State Auditor then performed a limited performance audit on the Salt Lake Police department regarding religious freedom and my case. They saw all the back and forth emails. In short, the audit said “SLCPD management do not fully understand the protections of religious accommodation as required by Title VII.” I was interviewed by Fox News about the audit.
Earlier, in some crazy twist of fate, I had the opportunity to connect Evander Holyfield with Mitt Romney, which led to a charity boxing match between the two. It raised over a million dollars for blindness. What if I went through what I went through just to save someone’s vision? Who knows?
Looking back at my life, I can now see why certain people entered in and out when they did and why. I just wish I could see what this looks like for my children. When I was a cop, I was going to have a pension. I had security. Now I have uncertainty. Where does God want me? I know I was supposed to put my story in book form, but for what? Will it help someone, somehow?
I get off the plane and meet up with the Champ, Evander Holyfield at the Hard Rock Cafe. We talk for hours about life. A lot of spirituality. We aren’t the same denomination, but both of us know God is in control and has our backs. Evander has been a mentor to me for over 13 years now and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. I even went to his 50th birthday party.
The following morning, I have the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m working out on a cardio machine, the legendary Evander Holyfield on one side, and Riddick Bowe on the other. Two Heavyweight Champions that exchanged the belt between them. They are playfully arguing who would whip each other’s tail in a rematch.
We then step into a boxing ring at the back of the gym. We start shadow boxing each other. My head is down. Evander says, “Keep your head up when you’re fighting, Eric. You gotta pick your punches.” Those words again. They resonate deep in my soul. They have become a guiding principle in my life.
Earlier in the year, when I was with Evander, we stopped at a bistro by the beach. A small band was playing some old rock and roll songs. The group Evander and I were with demanded that I sing some Johnny Cash with the band. Folsom Prison Blues. I got up on stage and let it all out. I remembered that bar in Salt Lake City. Another lifetime ago. I sang and it felt good.
Writing this memoir has also felt good. It’s been therapeutic in many ways. It’s helped me realize that I don’t regret what happened. The tough times made me tougher, but they also somehow made me softer. The opposition was the greatest thing for me. What we go through in life, if we let it, makes us better in ways we can’t always see. But God sees. He sees how we need to be shaped, so that we, too, see a little clearer. He’s the one who sometimes gives us the challenges we need to grow into what He wants us to become. We see better how to love. We see better what we need, what our families need, and what our communities need. If we let it, life will help us see what the world needs, and what we need to do to make it all a better place. Hopefully, this memoir helps you see a little clearer, love a little more, and follow the dictates of your conscience all at the same time.
With love,
Eric Moutsos
Please feel free to share any individual chapter (or full book) to your friends on social media or elsewhere. Thank you. You can also Follow my Eric Moutsos Page on Facebook. God bless.
