Needed Reminder: Good Cops Still Exist
I had all but decided against writing on this topic for Clash when I opened my FB page to see yet another story with video of some cops shooting a fleeing suspect in the back. The article continued along the lines of unarmed and unjustified murder by another set of American police officers. A few days earlier we had a story about a drunk driving nineteen-year-old girl shot four times in the head by a cop. We also had the cop who strangled a non-resistant college student till he passed out. That was all this week, and last month, there was the unarmed homeless guy shot and killed by cops. With all of that, you might think, what the hell is going on with our cops?
I’m not going to address those stories and I’m not making excuses for those cops who appear to have committed senseless acts of violence on the citizens they’ve sworn to protect. There is no place for cops like that.
I do know our world has increased in overall violence. Our cops see much more violence than their predecessors did. I will agree that the bad ones have to go and now. One or a few bad apples can slip by in most careers, but not this. Being an officer is too serious to allow people not up to the high standard to remain with a badge. It is not a glamorous job. It can be thankless. It can be very dangerous. It doesn’t tend to overly pay its people.
So, why be a cop? Because they love it, that’s why. Most officers do have a desire to serve their fellow man. They do enjoy something new and possibly exciting everyday. They enjoy being trusted with the authority to enforce laws and carry weapons. They tend to have very high moral character and strong sense of right and wrong. Most of them detest evil and the junk it inflicts on innocent people. Sure, no one can ignore the joy of adrenaline as they flip on the lights and hit the gas, but by and large, our cops are duty bound honorable men and women.
I witnessed a Norman Rockwell moment this week that is really why I’m writing this. Good cops are still out there. This week in North Liberty, Iowa I was taking my kids to school and noticed a parked police car along the side of the road. I then saw a uniformed officer on the sidewalk. He was surrounded by a half dozen middle school aged boys. The officer was bent over a bicycle that was turned upside down on its seat and handle bars. The officer had a wrench in his hands and was fixing the apparently problematic bike as a patient boy stood beside. I had to smile. Good one on you, officer!
That cop is a great man. I submit that cops like him are all over our nation. They are the majority of our cops. They don’t make headlines, because that’s not what sells. This post will probably get a fraction of the likes, comments, and shares that an article with a salacious title like “Cops Kill Again” would get, but I don’t care. I didn’t write this article to get likes. I wrote it because it’s true. Our cops are amazing. America is blessed with an amazing force of men and women that genuinely do their best for society. Try going to Mexico or anywhere else really and compare. Thank a cop today. Buy one a doughnut and a cup of coffee. They are salt of the earth.
Author, S.C. Sherman’s latest novel titled Mercy Shot is available for purchase at www.scsherman.com and Kindle version is available on Amazon.com. Contact Steve via email steve@scsherman.com. Also, go LIKE www.facebook.com/mercyshot to stay up to date on all things Mercy Shot.
Doug ‘The Big Dawg’ Giles reviews Mercy Shot: “Mercy Shot is a riveting, modern tale of the twisted and insidious war that’s being waged against our Second Amendment rights. S.C. Sherman does a great job of forecasting in this timely tome of how things could possibly go down. My advice is to a.) Read this book and b.) Buy a stack of guns and ammo, pretty damn quick. Molon Labe.” –Doug Giles, CEO of ClashDaily.com
Image: Courtesy of: http://antiguopasalavida.com/2009/12/03/norman-rockwell-fotorealismo/