In the last week in Florida six law enforcement officers have been shot, four of them fatally. These shootings didn’t happen as the officers interfered with the commission of a crime but when they were attempting to serve warrants on criminals with outstanding charges. Yesterday’s incident in St. Petersburg involved a suspect who was wanted for missing a court date and who had numerous violent crimes in his history.
Four officers were also shot, none fatally, in a police station in Detroit.
My blog today is dedicated to the men and women in blue who put their lives on the line every day to protect the people in the cities and counties they serve. Some people vilify the police saying they harass people and are corrupt. While things like this do happen in this country because people are human, I would guess most people who feel this way have had negative contacts with the police brought about by something they (those people) did to initiate that contact. Of the hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers in this country only a small percentage fall into the categories of corrupt, dishonest or untrustworthy.
Statistically, police do what they are hired, trained and expected to do. Unfortunately, the incidents of corruption and/or illegal acts by the few often end up in the news more often than the good police do every day.
Police and firefighters, like our brave military service personnel, are people who set aside their own safety to protect others. They are the ones who go toward the danger rather than run away from it. Imagine running toward gunfire instead of hiding or running the other way. Sure they take cover sometimes to keep from being hit. They have to. They can’t proceed to stop the incident if they get shot. But they still proceed forward, relentlessly, until the situation is resolved, even if it takes hours.
Following yesterday’s murders of the two officers the suspect’s step-mother stated the police “didn’t come here to arrest him, they came here to kill him.” This is the type of ridiculous rhetoric that gives police a bad name in some people’s minds. While I understand she was upset and grieving over the loss of her son, the man was hardly an innocent victim of police brutality, profiling or harassment. He had a history of violence, sexual assault, had been in prison and had resisted arrest with violence in the past. He was wanted yesterday for missing a court date on a sexual assault charge. When the officers arrived at the home they were told by the resident of the home that he was in the attic and possibly had a gun. And when the police approached the attic to get him to come out he began shooting, hitting two officers, one of them fatally. I feel for the step-mother, I truly do. But let’s put the blame where it’s due – on the suspect who decided he wasn’t going to be arrested.
Having worked in prisons for 22 years I know what it’s like to work in a dangerous environment where a threat can come from any direction. The biggest difference in my job and that of a police officer is that I knew where the threat would come from – any and every inmate around me. Police officers don’t have the luxury of knowing who is a threat and who isn’t. They have contact with numerous individuals daily. Many are simply average citizens who need assistance or simply need an understanding ear. Criminals are interlaced with these citizens and the police have to determine which is which. They also have to worry about those who have firearms who can reach out and touch them from a distance. That makes their jobs much more dangerous than mine was. Don’t get me wrong - working in a prison has inherent dangers that the staff face every day. But we suspect every inmate of possible misconduct or dangerous, aggressive behavior, and with good reason. Police have to suspect everyone as well but I think there is a different line between them and the general public than between prison staff and the inmates. I could be wrong.
Either way, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, Federal law enforcement – you all have my respect and admiration. I thank you all for the job you do every day and your efforts to keep our communities safe for all of us. Sometimes people forget you are also working to keep the neighborhoods safe for your own families.
I ask all to say a prayer for the families, co-workers and friends of the brave men and women who gave their all in the performance of their duties, and for those who survived that they may fully recover. Thank you all for your dedication and sacrifice. May God keep you all safe and may He put a stop to the senseless actions of those who seek to harm you. God bless you all.
For Bucky and Dana. Please stay safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment