Remembering the Heart behind the Badge

To the cop haters of the world, those who bash on police officers every chance they get, those who wish them ill every time they see those flashing red and blue lights, I have something to say to you.

Sometimes officers pull people over for seemingly silly things: mudflap violations, rolling a stop sign, license plate light being out, etc. I'm sure everyone has had an experience when they were pulled over that they felt was unfair. Even I have stories of times when I was pulled over or ticketed when I didn't think I should have been. It's one of those common, linking, human experiences. Kind of like the common sense of dread we feel when those lights flash behind us while we are driving. Everybody hates it because no one likes to be told they're doing something wrong.

I get that. But what I don't get is the senseless cop bashing that so many sheeple are involved in. I believe in knowing your rights as a citizen. I get it. I understand questioning the system and society and trying to create your own path in life. Never question that. That IS my life. But I can't think of many ways to look less educated than to openly hate cops with every fiber of your being. Calling them pigs every time you deal with them is disrespectful. Being rude and snappy with them is not polite. And screaming at them about how your temple recommend is a perfectly fine and valid ID card is just dumb.

Because here's the thing.

Cops aren't just cops. They are people too. They go home and have lives outside of issuing citations. They do other things. Josh, for example, is in the Army in addition to being a police officer. He has served in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Japan, Kuwait, Iraq, and too many other places to keep track. He's also an avid motorcyclist. We love few things more than packing up our overnight bags and hitting the road on our BMW 1150 GS. He's also a husband. He has to come home after every shift and figure out regular husband stuff like how to pay bills on no money and other basic human tasks. He has to work hard to make me happy some days. And he stresses about work, just like anybody else.

And here's what really stinks. People hate him for doing his job. In reality, if people understood why he does some of the things he does, maybe they wouldn't be so quick to hate. So let's talk about it for a minute.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go on a ride along and hang out with my husband for his shift. There was a missing girl who we looked for for most of the shift, so we IDed occupants of suspicious vehicles and looked for her known friends. When we stopped vehicles to ID the occupants, it wasn't because we were trying to be jerks--it was because there was a missing teenager who needed to be found and taken home so nothing awful would happen to her. Because that crap happens. You see and know that when you're involved in the police work behind the scenes. But you can't just pull over a car and ask for ID most of the time. So we had to find little violations (also known as probable cause) to pull these people over. Were we giving out tickets? No, because our intention was to find the girl. We didn't care about their burnt out lights. We cared about locating the teen. Sometimes are dumb tickets given out? Absolutely. Especially if your cop hating attitude is showing. If you're rude and hateful towards cops (just like anyone) they will often give you the same amount of respect.

Basically, I just want to bring humanity back into how we treat our law enforcement officers. I think sometimes we just see the uniform and forget about the person underneath. I'm at the point where I'm convinced that our society will crumble because we forget how to be decent human beings to one another. Be a decent person and remember that those men and women driving around town are the same people who will respond when your baby isn't breathing in the middle of the night. They're the same people who will pull you out of a wrecked vehicle and let you sit, soaking wet, in their vehicles so you don't freeze. They're the ones who respond to those hoodlums vandalizing your neighborhood and make sure your stolen property is returned. They make sure that meth house on your block gets shut down so your house doesn't blow up one day. They help your lost children return to you again. These are the people who will do everything in their power to resuscitate your loved ones and then turn around and comfort you when there's nothing else to be done. They deal with the ugliest parts of society so that you don't have to. They are the thin blue line protecting the good, innocent people in this world from the wolves, the demons, the lowest ranking members of society. They will not hesitate to protect you from all of the evils in this world. They will give their lives for you, without hesitation.


 Yes, police officers are paid to do these duties, but not enough. What you may not realize is that many of them earn less in an entire year's worth of work than many teachers earn in the nine months that they teach. And we all know that teachers are generally on the low end of the totem pole of income in this society. Yet law enforcement officers gladly perform these duties because they love their jobs, and they somehow make it work so they can afford to be paid so measly for a job that is so important.

So maybe next time you see a cop, you could wave and say hi. Or you could be friendly and have a good attitude, remembering that they are sons and daughters, husbands and wives, grandparents, people with hearts and feelings. Do I love all cops? I don't know all of them, so probably not. It would be ignorant to say that they're all flawless, just like it's ignorant to say that they're all pigs. But I sure do love my cop. And I pray every day that the rest of the world will too. So next time those flashing lights light up the back of your car, take a deep breath before you open your mouth and try to remember the heart behind the badge.