BOULDER, Colo. — Vinnie Montez wears a badge and uniform to work, but he said those symbols don't define or speak for him.
The commander with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office also happens to be a stand-up comedian. His latest material is more commentary than comedy.
Montez posted a video to Facebook of himself reading an essay he wrote titled, "To those who don't know me." The video posted Saturday night had more than one million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
In the video, Montez speaks directly to the camera from the front seat of his patrol car.
"I'm Vinnie Montez, a third-generation Mexican American, born in Boulder, Colorado," Montez begins.
In the video, Montez, a 22-year-veteran of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, talks about his love for his community, his journey to becoming a deputy and ultimately, what he sees as the current attitude toward police in the U.S.
"I am still terribly disturbed by the hatred and criticism leveled indiscriminately upon the law enforcement profession in recent weeks," Montez says.
Montez asks the viewer not to "judge us for the misconduct of a few rogue officers."
“There are officers out there that are doing wrong, and they know who they are," Montez told 9NEWS. “We don’t want those officers in this profession either.”
Montez said he hopes his essay encourages people to get to know their local law enforcement officers.
“The reason I titled it ‘To those who don’t know me,’ is because [people] don’t know Vinnie Montez," he said. "They don’t know that I like to be humorous. They don’t know that I like to eat tacos. They don’t know the personal side of me.”
Montez gets personal in his essay. He alludes to several difficult experiences from his law enforcement career.
"Do you know what it's like to give CPR to a 17-year-old kid, to be covered in blood, to do everything you can to save his life, but then have him die anyway?" Montez asks in the essay.
"Do you know what it's like to try to forget about what you've seen, smelled, tasted, felt, heard and touched? Well, I do," he says.
Montez closes his commentary by asking the viewer to meet local law enforcement before "condemning us based on the actions of a few."
“I want people to not lose faith in the men and women who are still getting up every single morning around the United States, putting on the uniform, going to work and doing the job because it has to be done," Montez said.
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