Thursday, December 31st, 2015

Those Who Protect & Serve

I happened to read a blog post that was in response to the question: "How many police officers are killed in the United States?" The blog poster responded to this question with: "Not enough." 

Not only is this posting uncivilized, it is just plain moronic. How any American could ignore the fact that policemen and women risk their lives every day to protect and serve Americans is beyond me. 2015 seemed to be the year to denigrate those who wear or carry a badge. Mass media and other organizations focused on a few instances of bad behavior by police officers, carried stories of "racist actions" that later proved to be untrue, and ignored stories that demonstrated the courage and selfless behavior of law enforcement personnel.

What would the cop haters like to see? Do they want our cities devoid of all police? Do they want the police disarmed? Do they want rules put in place that cause the police to second-guess every decision they make before they make it? Any one of these "solutions" will only jeopardize the police and the American citizen.

Is language that calls for the assassination of police officers helpful in any sense? Of course not. Yet, morons employ just that sort of language. And it gets police officers murdered.  That's what happened on December 20, 2014 when New York police officers Wenjian Liu (left), 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, were shot and killed while on duty in Brooklyn, New York.

Just as with the general population, there are police officers who make bad decisions, who are wrongly motivated, who shouldn't be in their jobs. But they are the minority. The vast majority of police officers are amazing individuals who go to work every day to protect & serve. It's you and me they do that for. They put on bullet proof vests and strap on pistols, because their working conditions are often extremely dangerous. How would you like to do what they do? Would you have the nerve and the commitment?

Every man and woman who assumes the responsibility of protecting me and my family members is a valuable resource who I respect and honor. Ask yourself what life would be like without them. For every wrong-headed act by a cop, there are thousands of acts  every day by police officers that show the character, training, and self-sacrifice of these men and women.

Do yourself a favor. Thank a policeman today for doing something that I, for one, do not want to do: risk my life every day for some stranger.

Joseph Badal is the award-winning, best-selling author of nine suspense novels. His most recent thriller, Death Ship, was released on November 17, 2015, in print and eBook formats. CLICK HERE for more information.

Contact Joseph Badal at:

josephbadalbooks@aol.com