Police officers deserve thanks for sacrifices
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July 20 marked the 100th line-of-duty death in the United States this year. That is one police officer lost every two days. Let me put it into a little better perspective for you — the Green Bay Packers have 85 players on their entire team. So imagine if every player on the Green Bay Packers team had been wiped out, plus the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys. Can you imagine? Now imagine 100 families suffering the loss of their loved ones. Is your heart breaking? I know mine is.
Forty-two of those officers were killed by gunfire; 42 people were murdered in cold blood. That’s like the entire New York Yankees active roster, plus almost 3/4 of the Boston Red Sox active roster being shot in seven months. Would you be okay with that? Would America ignore that? I don’t think we would.
Yet, 42 officers of the law have been murdered in cold blood by repeat offenders. Fifty-eight more have died in the line of duty in various ways, many of them also murdered. They did not sign up for this. They signed up to serve and protect, not to be picked off like characters in some sick video game by criminals that have supposedly repaid their debt to society. Their spouses did not sign up for this. They married a hero who knew there were additional risks associated with this job, but who was called by a higher power to help keep us all safe. They did not sign up to be young widows, accepting a folded flag instead of taking their husband’s arms around them every night.
When an athlete steps on the field, they know there is a chance they will be injured. They know concussions, dislocated limbs and broken bones are all possible every time they play. But they do not expect to stand on the field while people walk through with baseball bats beating them over the head or across the kneecaps just because they stepped on the field. This is what is happening to our officers. They are getting attacked just because they stepped on the field.
So wake up America. Our officers are being killed at an alarming rate, and something must be done. Contrary to what you see on television and in movies, most cops are not bad cops; the ratio of bad cops to good cops is incredibly slim. Most cops are husbands or wives. Most cops are fathers and mothers. All cops are sons and daughters.
What can you do to help? Ask your lawmakers for stricter law regarding the release of repeat offenders. Learn about your prison sytem.
If you live in a state with privately-owned prisons you can guarantee they are profiting from the catch and release system that is currently assisting in our officer’s deaths. Ask your lawmakers for stricter laws for cop killers. Ask them why nothing is being done to slow this epidemic.
Instill respect for the law and its officers in your children. The police are not to be feared, but to be respected and loved. They are there to help you, not just to take you to jail when you are bad. As an officer’s wife, having grown up in a law enforcement family, and having known dozens and dozens of officers all of my life, I know most of them have the biggest hearts you will find. They would, and do, lay down their own lives to help you, every single day.
Obey the law. If you have never been convicted of a crime, don’t start now. If you have been convicted of a crime, it does not mean there is no hope for you. You can turn your life around, and guess what: if you ask, an officer will help you.
They are the ones that hope the most for you to never walk the path of a life of crime again. They say law enforcement is a safe bet of a career because there is always going to be crime, but I know every officer hopes that someday there is no need for them; they hope that someday there will be peace.
Last, but not least, say thank you. These men and women sacrifice for our safety daily. They miss family dinners, birthday parties and soccer games due to odd shifts.
They work every holiday, missing the joy in their own children’s eyes as they open Santa’s gifts so that they can come running if an intruder enters your home and tries to steal your safety.
They step on that field every single day, knowing that they could run into one of those people with a baseball bat, beating them over the head just for stepping on the field.
They run towards the things the rest of us run from, all for you and your safety. So say “thank you” to an officer. Even if they haven’t helped you yet, you should know that they always will.
Amanda Shoemaker
St. Ignatius
