Tag Archives: Law Enforcement Officer Respect

In Honor Of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

Today is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.  It has been quite a year for law enforcement officers and unfortunately the negativity is continuing. We are currently on pace to lose an average of 1 officer per day in 2015.  It’s sickening and we need to make big changes.  In honor of the 118 officers lost in the line of duty in 2014 I am committing with my family to complete 118 miles of activities in their honor.  This includes running, biking, swimming, walking, rowing etc.  We are all doing it together.  I challenge you to do the same.  We are late into January so this month may not be enough time, but keep going and complete the miles in honor of the fallen.  Sidekick 1 wanted to participate so she helped kick it off with a mile of her own.  She named the officers that she knows and loves throughout the run.  We #runforthecops #runfortheblue #118for2014 #policelivesmatter #alllivesmatter #weseeyou.  I would love to hear your participation in this as well by using the hashtags on social media.

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I would like to take credit for this idea, however, it actually started with a 13-year-old girl.  Here is her go fund me page where she is hoping to donate $100 per officer for ballistic vests for current officers.  It’s a wonderful cause and you should check it out. http://www.gofundme.com/jkoro0

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I am so thankful to the men and women in law enforcement who put their life on the line everyday to keep my family safe.  I am thankful for their sacrifice, their tough skin, and their commitment.

I am also worried, everyday.  The risk is so high right now.  So although I think the above cause is a great one, I wish that those vests weren’t needed.  If you want to make a real difference I encourage you to donate to the following causes.  It would be better if we could remove the situations all together that put our officers in danger.  I would love to see a focus on changing mental health support, and drug treatment options take as much as a focus by the nay-sayers as the training of officers.  Here are some organizations to look into.

This is appreciation and support.  This is a way to make a change and better the lives of not only the officers but our community as a whole.

I have personally seen the success of Wilderness Therapy Programs for addiction treatment.  I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with the practice here: http://www.obhcouncil.com/ and donate to an organization committed to helping make these treatment options more affordable: http://loafund.org/.  If this doesn’t interest you-find one of your own.

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Then step on over and spend time researching and donating to mental health, where you can select and help in your own state at: http://www.nami.org/

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Jump over now and check out youth support organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America at http://www.bgca.org/

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Let me know what you do in the comments below.  I would love to see some changes being made and if you have more ideas or ways to support, share those too.  If nothing else, wear blue today and tell an officer that you appreciate their service.  It will make a difference in their day and show them that the silent majority still supports them.

For the others:

“You go ahead and sit back in your comfortable chair and you be the critic, you be the observer, while the brave one gets in the ring and engages and gets bloody and gets dirty and fails over and over and over again, but yet isn’t afraid and isn’t timid and lives life in a bold way.”
Diana Nyad paraphrasing Theodore Roosevelt

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Heroes

I have been watching the news of Michael Brown and the Ferguson Police Department for the past two days.  I have seen so much hatred.  I then pull up social media and find so much of the same on the feed.  I thought of remaining quiet, but I can’t.

Where does this hatred for all of our police officers come from?  Are we so naive to think that the only actions our officers take are those that make the front page of the media?  Do we forget what they do everyday?

Not long ago I wrote this.  It is so disheartening to see the lack of support for those who give so much to our community.  It appears that as a community we only want the police when we need the police.  Does that mean that because you are not in a time of need that someone else is not?  We all know that the rate of violent crimes are increasing nationwide. We also know that the number of police officers being shot or ambushed is also on the rise.  Does that not mean that officers also need to increase their level of self-preservation?  I wonder if we asked Officer’s Johnson’s family their thoughts what they might say?

Instead we respond with, hate, rioting, stealing from the innocent, public negative posts about the whole-whose members hope to protect us.

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When you are running away from a situation, they are running in.  How many guns or weapons do you encounter on your job in a given day? How many people threaten to kill you, or hit you?  How many people per day say, “I hate you scum pig?”  If this happened everyday would you go back to work?  When you saw that same name calling, hating citizen in the street bleeding, would you then run to give aid?  The police officer does.  Everyday the police officer does.

Please don’t think that these situations don’t add up.  Don’t think that the officers involved in job related shootings aren’t going home wishing that instead they would have had a day off.  They were called there, to the scene by you or me.  They didn’t pick to go, someone said “help me.” It is so incredibly sad that a young man lost his life. There were decisions on both sides that led to that.  In every shooting situation there is a sad outcome with many stories.  You may say that some officers are bad.  That may be the case, but certainly not all.  Some teachers are bad. Some electricians are bad.  Some contractors are bad. Does that make them all bad?

If you hate the police I can make a simple educated assumption that the reason is that you have had a negative interaction i.e. you were breaking the law and/or guilty of breaking the law and/or wanting to break the law and/or hiding something.  Right?  These officers are there to keep the peace, to protect us, to walk in when we run out.  These officers are good and they do good and deserve respect as a whole.  Anger at one officer should not be portrayed to all.

I hope that the day does not come when you “need” an officer. I hope that the time does not force you to respect and support. I know I will never change someones opinion or thoughts but I hope as you think of these things that maybe you start to change yourself.  Put your energy of hate and asking for change instead to the abused child, instead to the schools who need support to keep weapons out of their doors, instead to stopping the drugs that are finding themselves in elementary school kid’s hands.

Thank you to the good officers out there.  To the ones who continue to go to work everyday to protect me and my family. Go home safe to your family!

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