As a Police Officer, retired, I am proud of my service to my community.  As a father to a son in law enforcement I am proud of him and his desire to make his community safer by providing professional police work.

As a brother-in-law of two other retired Police Officers I value their services and the work they did, I am also proud of them.

I worked with hundreds of Law Enforcement Officers in my years, some within my departments many from other departments.  While no one is perfect and there were a small percentage of those that tarnished the badge, most served with distinction and honor. 

These men and women took seriously the motto to protect and to serve.

It doesn’t matter whether the officer is city, county, state or federal, most want to do their very best to make the world around them safe.

Every day, these men and women serve, their lives are at risk – not only while they are on duty, but oft times while they are off-duty and going about their private lives.  They are targets.

They are targets for the criminals that hate them and would do them harm.

They are targets for those that say society is letting down the down trodden and must give them more space and leeway, that the police are too harsh.

They are targets when they take action to defend themselves or others having to make a decision that often is made in poor light and in split seconds that others have days, months and years to dissect.

They are political targets of those that have an agenda and make rash statements without knowing what really happened in a given situation.

While citizens proclaim they believe people are innocent until proven guilty, Police Officers are often judged before the facts are determined, not only by citizens but by the press – and sometimes by other governmental entities that have no idea what the truth is, but proclaim their desire to prosecute the officer before they know what actually happened.

If I was asked what the percentage was of dedicated Police officers to those few that are either corrupt or incompetent, I would have to say 98% or above.

These men and women go through an extensive process before they earn their badges.  They must pass tests, written and oral, they must go through a rigorous background check – which includes criminal and one on one interviews of friends, relatives, neighbors, employers, fellow employees and whoever else may have information during the course of the investigation.  Most departments also have a psychological evaluation to insure, as much as possible, the applicant is stable and suited for police work.

The process may take several weeks to make sure the applicant is an appropriate candidate. 

Once sworn in, the officer has to go through a training and probationary period, they go through an academy that is several weeks – even months long, during the probation they are evaluated and their ability to deal with crisis issues and people are paramount in importance. 

Once they make it through their probation they are still subject to continuous training and evaluations.  When mistakes are made, they are counseled and/or disciplined up to and including termination or criminal charges if they are warranted.

They are under a microscope by their department and the public.  

These men and women work for departments that are serving the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  They work Holidays and birthdays, while their loved ones celebrate without them; they work when others sleep.

They work nights, only to have to attend court all day, and then go back to work nights.  The stress of the job is incredible, not only from that put on themselves to do the best job possible, but the public, their agency, their confrontations with criminals that may be armed and would like nothing more than to kill a cop.  

The Police Officer is expected to refrain from emotions, be calm, be understanding, yet be ready to react in a heartbeat if someone’s life is endanger.   

The Police Officers are on the front lines, they are the first person most people want to be there when they are in trouble.  They walk into situations that other professionals want nothing to do with – I remember we once had a suicidal person barricaded in a house with family members inside.  We requested a mental health worker to come and help us help him.  They declined, it was too dangerous and they couldn’t do anything for them until we had them in custody.  – Just one example of many situations.

Every contact could be a fatal situation.  One of my officers stopped a vehicle at about 0200 hours.  The car had a tail light out and he wanted to advise them.

We found out a couple of hours later that the people in the car, prior to the stop, had just robbed a pharmacy at a local hospital.  They had tied the people up and it took them a while to get free. 

The driver of the vehicle, during the stop, had to quiet the passenger down because the passenger had his gun out and wanted to kill the officer.  After checking for wants and warrants on the car and driver and determining the driver was licensed – and of course not yet knowing of the criminal offense - he allowed him to leave.  His information, though, allowed us to have the suspects in custody within minutes of learning of the robbery.

It could have gone bad in a hurry – again just one example of many where an officer’s life was at stake from just a ‘minor and routine’ contact.

Their desire is to make their communities as safe as possible.  If there are crimes committed they want to find the suspect and place them behind bars.

They want to see the people of their community walking down their streets, safely, no matter the time of day or night.

They want to make a difference in their community, they want to help others to live a life without fear; they want to insure that justice is served through the judicial system.

They are concerned about the crimes against innocent victims, and want to help them all they can. 

When I see rioting in the streets, damage to the businesses of innocent law-abiding citizens that are not only productive but provide services and goods AND employment to the community it makes my blood boil.  And my blood pressure goes even higher when I listen to the news media try and justify the behavior of the criminals that are destroying peoples’ livelihoods and lives.

When I see political leaders jump on the bandwagon of ‘let’s prosecute that police officer’ before they have the evidence to even give them a clue as to what happened, I get disgusted.  And then when the officer is vindicated, after the politicians have stirred up hatred and helped incense the crowd, they sneak away as the snakes they are – without apology - to await the next incident they can take advantage of for their personal/political agenda - I wish there was a way of indicting them for their conduct – inciting a riot would be the least of the appropriate crimes.

There are many things wrong with society.  Many people are trying, genuinely trying, to help others, to make them productive citizens.  But until we start holding people accountable, EVERYONE accountable, not just the cops who are already held to a higher standard, then we are going to just continue on our road to perdition!

May God help this Country, it is apparent that we need Him!    Art :-)

Deuteronomy 10:12-14 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

¹³ To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

¹⁴ Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

God is God.  If we would describe His government it would be a dictatorship – benevolent because of His Love and Mercy and Grace, but a dictatorship all the same.

In America we pride ourselves as a democracy.  We are a nation of laws, but the laws are written by man.  We have influence over the laws of the land and if we disagree with either the law or the punishment we can effect change by lobbying for the change.

We can elect new legislatures, judges (other than federal,) we can pass petitions to sign and either get our version of the best law on the ballot, or show those who write the laws the dissatisfaction of a given law.

We have a say in how government is operated.

But God did not give us a vote on the Ten Commandments or His other laws and judgments.  He does not allow us to plead that His laws are wrong, too harsh, unfair or any other disagreement or excuse.

He does not allow for us to plead for a lower judgment, a lesser punishment.  Money, position or power of man has no influence on His decisions.

He did not ask for our input, He does not want it.  What He does want is for us to obey Him.

As we read the history in the Old Testament on the Israelites, of how they turned from Him, as we see His judgment pronounced on them - we see the terrible consequences of disobedience.

But the world is disregarding the truths that were written.  They deny God’s power and influence over the actions of man.  They re-write the Word, they misinterpret the Word and they deliberately attribute things to God that He is diametrically opposed to – thinking that the world’s laws and opinions are better than His.

There are those that believe that since Christ has come that there is no more judgment.  God has cast off His anger towards man and will allow man to do what they wish and still allow them into heaven.  Love from God (in truth, usually of oneself and ideas verses God) trumps His judgment.

There is no condemnation from God since Jesus came into the world.

That is far from the truth.  There is no condemnation all right, but not if we are disobedient to God:  Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

God does have mercy, He does Love us, He does want us to live with Him in His Heaven for eternity.  But He hasn’t changed His views on how we can get there.

Sin is still sin.  It hasn’t changed just because the world wants to redefine it; God defined it and He doesn’t accept input.

God will cast His Judgment on us:

Romans 2:4-6 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

⁵ But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

⁶ Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

2 Corinthians 5:8-11   For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

¹¹ Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

God will pass judgment.  HIS interpretation of what He has told us to do, not the belief of the world who would try to water down His judgments and make them null and void.

Those of us who have accepted Christ, who strive to live as He lived, do as He did, that love God and adhere to His demands are indeed protected from His wrath.  We have the blood of Christ that has washed away our sins and made us acceptable to Him.

But, as Paul writes, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men – we want to tell others about Christ, so they too can avoid the painful judgments of our God.

Yes, God does love us, so much that He gave His only begotten Son that we should not perish – however, HE defines the rules, not man - and when we water down His message we are doing a disservice to Him and to those that need to accept Christ.

To those that have accepted Christ and follow Him, God has compassion; but woe be onto those that deny Him, He is a mighty God who cannot abide sin and His wrath is a fearful thing which they will see for themselves.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again