Hug a Cop Today

My brother-in-law after 25 years of service to our local police department might be losing his job this morning. A horrible incident happened in our area and someone needs to take the blame. Yes, I am bias. I have known my BIL for 15+ years and know that he is a cop's cop. We would joke that he would give his own mother a speeding ticket. All that to say he is by the book, he knows the rules, he has given his life to his job of protecting his community and he loved his work. I won't go into the politics of why these thing happen - they just do. My hubby and I have talked this over a thousand times in the last couple of months waiting to see what will happen to him. I can't write a letter to the editor because our last names are the same. Because my hubby is in law enforcement I could be considered nonobjective. But this is the deal, these men and women every day put their lives on the line for me and you and our families. They keep us safe. The risk everyday not going home to their own families because some armed idiot steals money from the local convenience store for his drug habit. There is so much that goes on every day in our community that we are not aware of that law enforcement deals with. Just so we can be safe - so we can go to dinner after dark or the grocery store. Because of what they do for a living should they be given a pass if mistakes are made or bad judgment used - heck no. Yes, they get intense training and yes there are only certain individuals that are cut out for the job and yes many of them go through life without incident. But, as my hubby has said numerous times, "We make split second life and death decisions everyday to protect ourselves and the community." That should count for something. I don't know exactly what happened in my BIL circumstances and I probably never will totally understand but I do know that he has willingly spent 25 years protecting and serving me and my community. If you see a cop today give him a smile . . . .