This one will probably not be too popular!

[frankykeno]

Ray, I used to be a police dispatcher many years ago, though in a medium sized community force, but what I remember so vividly from those years was this.....cops are human beings with all that goes with that. The uniform doesn't change that and the society that these brave men and women have to work in often forgets that fact of humanity and just sees the blue and the badge.

It's terribly easy to judge an officer's actions and yes, sometimes an officer abuses his power and responsibility, but moreoften they do what the rest of us cannot imagine doing or living through, make decisions none of us can fathom having to make and do so in a split second, then live with that decision the rest of their lives....while their superiors and their community sit back in safety and talk for hours and days about how they would have done it "better".

As a dispatcher I watched the officers I worked with deal with the absolute horror of a teen suicide, help a young mother find a missing child, deal with the daily silliness of barking dog complaints, walk into situations of domestic abuse that sent an officer to hospital and every other reality of law enforcement. I dispatched calls that still affect me today so many years later, that I will never forget but I only heard the voices of pain and fear. Those officers walked into it, saw the sights, smelled the smells and DID THEIR JOB. Some handled it wonderfully well, some didn't do the best they could.....they are human beings that mostly try their best because folks, they care.

As their dispatcher, I saw the officers I sent out to calls afterwards. I saw their eyes reflect the pain in their souls, I made them coffee and sometimes I called their wives for a quiet word, but whatever they'd just dealt with I saw the bravery and the committment. I saw them brace themselves and go right back out on the next call and deal with whatever their community needed done. How many of us can be that brave, care that much, be that committed to our "job"?

You might not like the cop that stops you for speeding but remember this is the very same cop that you will depend on if, god forbid, tragedy walks into your life.

One last small point in this rather long post. Do our society a favor and teach your children a little respect for law enforcement. It's awfully sad to see small kids openly disrespectful and rude to police officers or too scared by media to ask a cop for help if they need it. If they grow up with no respect or confidence in those that enforce our laws.....just how much respect will they ever have for the law itself.

So Ray, on a personal note...thank you for deciding to do a job that is often tough and some days just not worth it...thanks to your family for the worry they face until you are home safe each day and being brave enough too that they face this every day you are on the job...thank you for putting up with the idiots of our society who think you and your family are targets for every bad cop joke or armchair quarterback comment...thank you for caring enough about the world you live in that you chose a career that helps make today and tomorrow just that bit safer for the rest of us.


~~Joanna~~