Another cop has died. A traffic stop. This is the eighth officer in less than two weeks. There is a sector of the population that is celebrating. There is a sector of the population that shrugs its shoulders and continues with its day. Another sector is angry. There is another sector of the population that takes a deep breath and prays to Saint Michael. And then there is the thin blue line.
I don't know very much about what it takes to be a police officer. I know that I couldn't do it. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I don't have what it takes. Shit, being a wife of is hard enough. Maybe sometimes being the wife is worse. No, it isn't because though I may worry, I am never doing what an officer does. I can list all that they do, all that they give up, all that they risk. We all know those things and many will say that they chose that job. And it is true. They chose it.
They chose to put on the uniform and fight crime. I suppose they even chose to be hated by an ever growing sector(s) of the population but this? They did not choose this.
There will always be bad cops, dirty cops, inept cops. Let this hunt continue and that will be all there will be. The decent, the honorable, the admirable will find other jobs, will follow other dreams, will not be interested in being spit on, and hated and targeted for the uniform that they wear.
There is currently a cry out for the president to speak on these killings. He hasn't. I know he is busy. But he had the time to talk about the shootings of criminals. He has had time to talk about how these boys could have been his sons. Sir, these officers could have been your brothers or sister. They could have been your college roommates, golf buddies, friends. In an official capacity, they could have picked up extra shifts to stop traffic for your motorcade. They could have been called in on their day off to limit access to the stairwell of the hotel that you are speaking in. They may have been the heavily armed thin blue line that kept anyone else from getting too close. It is because of law enforcement, sir, that you arrive home each night able to kiss your girls and wife. It is because of law enforcement and all that they do that you owe it to them to speak about these killings.
It is no secret how I feel about law enforcement. I am married to a police officer. My brother is a deputy. My children's grandfather is a retired officer. As I research my husband's family tree, I find other officers in his past. A long line of the thin blue line. That line encompasses most of my friends as well. When I listen to the media dissect the actions and decisions of officers, I take it personally. When I read the comments made on Facebook and news chatrooms I get very frustrated. I have to remember that it is very easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. It is very easy to explain that, as a young liberal with all the answers, you would have shot the poor misunderstood in the leg or hand. If you would have shot them at all. No, you would have reached out to the oppressed and tried to create a meaningful dialogue to find the answer. Ride along, oh enlightened one, and really understand what it is like to find answers when no one speaks. Understand what it is like to approach a darkened windowed car and know that this could go one thousand ways and you have to be prepared for a thousand and one ways. Spend a shift knowing that everything wrong is your fault and anything right is in spite of you.
The thin blue line is what you need. You need it to get home from the fireworks in a timely manner. You need it to report the shoplifter. You need it when you are driving down the interstate and some asshole is weaving in and out of traffic. You need them when there's a car parked across the street and things don't feel quite right. You need them when you've been t-boned by a truck and the Goddamned heroes haven't arrived yet. You need them when the dog is barking and the garage door is open and no one else is home. You need them when no one else will come to your rescue.
I am not the president, a member of the media or anyone else that can make my voice heard. I cannot change the minds of the population that think police brutality runs rampant. I cannot describe the officers that stop traffic for paper airplanes or baby ducks and make you believe that is the normal mindset of the normal officer. I cannot make you understand that days, months and years of training won't make it any easier to make the decision to stop a threat, to take a life. I am only the wife of an officer that day in and day out, does what he can, through training and heart, to keep you safe.
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