We're the
people that you may see every day and night. We're the
people that you depend on one way or another. We're
working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
year. |
When you and your
children pass us in the store and you can't control them,
you make them afraid of us. You tell them if they don't
behave, you'll tell us to "get them". My friend
we are not monsters. We don't want them to be afraid of
us. We want them to know that we're their friends, and
they can trust us. Do you know who we are? |
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Sometimes, we have to
play the role of lawyers, judges, psychiatrists,
reporters, medics, marriage counselors, investigators,
firefighters, and many times, just be a good listener.
Those are just a few of the skills that we must be able
to utilize at any moment in the performance of our job. |
We're constantly
scrutinized by the media and you, the public. We're
bashed by you. If one of us makes a mistake it sometimes
makes the local news, and possibly even the national and
world news. |
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Many of you are more
interested in what a few of us do wrong, than what most
of us do right. You forget that we are not perfect. We're
human and we
do make mistakes. Have
you ever made a mistake? |
We have the same
emotions that you do. If something is funny, we laugh. If
something is sad, we cry. When repeat offenders are
released from prison and placed back into society to
rape, rob and murder again, we get angry just like you.
We wonder why they are put back out also. |
We suffer from the same
problems that some of you do. Some of us at this very
moment are thinking about committing suicide. Some of us
already have. Some of us, if not most, have marital
problems. Some are alcoholics, and yes, some of us even
have problems with drugs. Again, we are just like you. |
We're of every race,
sex, religion, nationality and even sexual preference
known to mankind, yet, if we strike back to defend
ourselves, we're called racist and prejudiced. Do you
know who we are? |
Most of you have no idea
what we go through every day and night. You have no idea
what kind of decisions we must make in a split second.
Decisions that may forever change someone's life, family
or future. Decisions that a jury will have hours or days
to decide whether we were correct or not. |
Many people would love
to cause us pain, injury or even death. Some wish we
didn't exist at all. We're cursed, ridiculed, shot at,
cut, beaten, ambushed and murdered in cold blood by some.
Would you ever imagine that we're here for those people
also? Would you believe that we are the only thing that
stands between you and them? |
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We see things that would
horrify most of you. Things that you may think only exist
in large cities. That's a common misconception. We see
death, broken bones, dismembered bodies, and cut throats.
The list is too long to really go on. These things are
everywhere. A lot of the things that you see only on TV
or at the movies are all too real to us. |
We see innocent little
children that have no choice but to live in dirty,
smelly, roach infested homes because their parents would
rather sit on their butts and live on welfare in a
government funded housing complex, or a house that is not
fit for human habitat, than to get out and get a job.
Parents that would rather spend more, if not all of their
money getting high on drugs, than taking care of their
children, and raising them in a clean environment. Some
of the parents are only children themselves. |
|
As I said before, we're
human and have feelings. It hurts knowing that these
children may never get to see and do things that other
children with loving, caring, hardworking parents are
doing. I wonder if any of them will ever get to see that
magical wonderland called Disney World. |
Yet our job is one that
looks appealing to some of you. Especially when you see
us stopped for lunch. We've heard some of you say things
like "I wish I had a job that would pay me to sit
around and eat." Of course you don't think that the
very next minute we may be fighting for our lives, or
yours. |
When you see us riding
down the road, and you, not knowing where we're going, or
what we're about to face say "I wish I could get
paid to ride around all day and write tickets". My
friend, I wish that was all we had to do. Do you know who
we are? I think you do. |
You don't see us ride
through your neighborhoods late at night trying to
protect you, your family and property from the thieves
who could care less about how long and hard you worked
for everything you own. You may not know this, but they
are roaming your neighborhood at night too while you are
fast asleep. They're looking for anything of value that
is easy to get. Things that you carelessly leave
unsecured or laying in your yard. No neighborhood is
completely safe. |
|
When something is taken
from you, you call us. Some of you will complain and
wonder where we were when your property was taken. The
sad, but true story is that we are extremely out numbered
by the bad guys. We can't be everywhere at once and they
know that. I wish there were more of us. You should know
who we are by now. If you don't you will soon. |
Now the types of crime
and people that I have mentioned aren't the only ones
that we come in contact with. We also come into contact
with you, the citizen that never does anything wrong.
We're all to familiar with you and the remarks that you
make when our paths meet for whatever reason. Whether it
is running a stop sign, a red light, speeding, or DUI. If
we had a dime for everytime we heard you say "I pay
taxes! Why don't you leave me alone and go get the drug
dealer standing on the corner"? "There are
people out there doing worse than me!" Or the famous
"I pay your salary!" We would be rich! |
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We know that those of
you that make an honest living do pay taxes. So do we! |
If we concentrated only
on the drug dealers, how many innocent people would be
injured or killed if we were to ignore the people that
travel extremely too fast, or the people who get behind
the wheel while intoxicated? That number now is too high
and is still climbing. I can't help but wonder how many
lives we have saved by stopping the speeders and the
drunks. Could one life have been yours or one of your
family members? |
We know that there are
people doing much worse than you, but the bottom line is,
there are many laws that must be enforced, from minor
traffic violations all the way to hard-core crimes such
as rape and murder. |
To the remark "I
pay your salary". All I can say is, "Well, were
doing our job, boss". |
If for some reason you
still don't know who we are, we are the Police Officers,
Sheriff's Deputies, State Troopers, State Police, FBI and
everything in between. We are many but we are still too
few! |
As I said in the
beginning, we are ALWAYS here for you. If you need us,
call. Even if you don't, you don't have to be afraid of
us. Remember that we are on your side. You can talk to us
anytime you see us sitting on the side of the road, or in
a parking lot, or walking in a store. If some of you
would just get to know us, I think you would find out
what I've tried to explain. That we are just like you. We
just have a different job. |
|
By: Sgt. Richard Brown of the
Lanett Police Department (Lanette, Alabama) |