The headline that I saw this morning when I unlocked my phone.Deputy Darren Goforth was gunned down walking back to his patrol car last night at 8:30 pm.
Serve and Protect but only arrest the 'real' criminals.
Serve and Protect but never apply force.
Serve and Protect but never discharge your weapon even in self defense.
I had the honor of visiting the Police Memorial in D.C. two years ago and was reminded of this quote that is on the memorial.
The slew of police murders recently are both horrifying and vexing. Horrifying because these are men who are just doing their jobs. They face death every time they put the badge on and go out to protect the cities they serve. Yet they know that at any point in time they might not make it back home. They are vexing because we live in a nation where the lives of the criminals that ravage the Unites States are more heavily protected than the people who are protecting us. Kill a cop and you are lauded as a hero. Apply too much force or shoot your weapon even if that is the one thing that is going to help you get home and you're nothing but a murderer. Are there bad officers? Sure. But, there are also bad teachers, bad doctors and bad pastors. There are people in professions they shouldn't be in wherever you look. Coloring an entire section of first responders as bad because there are those who misrepresent the badges they wear is absurd. Need I remind you that these people put their lives on the line to protect you? Because I can certainly do that.
Someone has flipped a switch and now it is open season on the men and women in blue. I'm not so sure that we shouldn't be protecting them. If they can't fill up their cars without getting shot by cowards someone has to step up and ensure they can do their jobs safely. Every move they make is questioned to the point that that cannot successfully do their jobs anymore. One wrong move in the eyes of the public and an officer might as well be skewered and put over an open flame because he or she is done. I understand that public perception is important because a public that cannot trust its protectors isn't going to willingly seek them when they need help. However, a public that has no protectors left because they've all lost their jobs trying to actually protect people is no safer or better off.
We've got very few options left. We can either let the public decide everything and watch society as a whole disintegrate into lawlessness and chaos or we can actually let the Police be Police and protect us. If that angers a few mothers than so be it. Raise your children not to break the law and you won't have to visit them in jail. I'd much rather live in a society where I can be safe and know that those protecting me are less likely to get gunned down doing their jobs at the expense of a few criminals and angry mothers, than live in a society that has no protection because the masses were a huddle of opinionated arm-chair cretins who don't like having to obey the law.
These men who roam the streets with guns ready to shoot down police officers are cowards. They are not heroes. They are not doing the world a favor. They are not helping anyone or themselves. They are murderers. They are ripping families apart. They are the reason good men and women do not come home at the end of shift.
To Kyle, Jon, Jim, and the countless others men and women across this nation who wear the badge and protect this nation every day I want to say thank you. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of those who have paid the ultimate price isn't in vain and doesn't go unnoticed by everyone.
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