The moment you accept the oath, are sworn in and given a badge, your life changes. Unlike any other job or career, being a Peace Officer is a lifestyle that is 24/7. Whether an officer accepts it or not, it is a reality that they signed up for.
We carry weapons on our person and wear a bullet resistant vest because our job and sworn duty is to enforce the law and to protect and serve. These are merely tools that are necessary to effect an arrest and to keep the peace.
When most people leave their workplace, they leave their work behind. This isn’t necessarily true for officers. Some officers do choose to be truly off duty and want nothing to do with their jobs when they’re 10-7. You can’t blame them for choosing to do this, however I am not that type of officer.
When off duty, there is absolutely no legal obligation for us to act or respond to anything. I can’t speak for anyone else other than myself. I’ve already made my decision when it comes to how I will react to different situations when off-duty. My family’s safety comes first, then it is my own safety because my family needs me more than anyone else. All of my decisions come down to whether my involvement would help or make the situation worse. Most of the time, I’m a good witness while I’m on the phone with a dispatcher.
The current unfortunate trend of violence and murders of Peace Officers around the nation is simply heartbreaking. We’ve always had targets on our backs from the moment we first donned on our uniforms. These attacks are not new to our community; they are however, more frequent and increasing. An officer was murdered in his own home the other day. If this isn’t an all out war on law enforcement, I don’t know what is.
There is no job our there where there are people who hate you enough to kill you based solely on the fact that you wear a uniform and what you stand for.
There is an obvious division between law enforcement and the community. It is getting worse everyday. Our leaders need to step up and speak out against the murders of my fellow brothers and sisters.
It’s time for our leadership to do what is right, not what is easy. That being said, it isn’t hard to take a stand for what is right.
I’m not holding my breath. As always, we really only have ourselves to keep each other safe.