The recent deaths and injuries to several law enforcement officers in the Oklahoma City metro area is a stark reminder of how dangerous their jobs are.
Though one death was to an officer off-duty, it doesn’t lessen the danger. She reportedly had just gotten off of work.
I’ve always had respect for the men and women who have been willing to become law enforcement officers, knowing that at any minute their lives can be on the line.
Our daughter is married to a police officer and Pat and I have three others who are part of our extended family that are offi cers as well. One of those was a motorcycle officer for a while but is now back inside a vehicle.
We pray everyday for these these men and their families.
I pray for all of those who proudly wear “blue” and I ask the Lord daily to protect them.
More than two years ago there seemed to be a movement in some areas of our state and across the nation to defund law enforcement agencies. I thought then and still do what a ridiculous idea or concept that would be and still is.
Just think of who you call when there is an emergency and you feel like your life is threatened or in danger or you see another person in the same predicament.
It’s law enforcement offi cers you are calling and hoping they can respond quickly enough.
Defunding police departments is not going to make communities safer. Eliminating police officers will only lead to adverse impacts for those citizens who need them.
Defunding a police department is not a progressive move. It’s regressive at best.
Working in this newspaper business for 55 years now, I’ve been around a lot of law enforcement officers, firemen and first responders. None of them have an easy task as they go about their jobs.
During all these years I’ve had the opportunity to do lots of ride alongs and have become wellacquainted with some offi cers. It’s given me the opportunity to see first hand what they face and in many instances come up against as they perform their jobs in a professional and as courteous a way as they can.
Often, that’s not so easy. One of the major problems I see is that law enforcement and others sometimes don’t receive respect, especially from younger generations.
That’s unfortunate. They deserve better because we depend on them all too often when there is some type of crisis.