Have you ever just walked up to a cop and said 'Thank you' for the job they do? Most of us haven't.
A Mobile police officer was shot and killed over the weekend doing his job – protecting the people of that community.
Last we read there have been about seven or eight law enforcement officers in this country killed in the line of duty in the past few months.
The sad part is that when a cop gets killed, it makes the news the day he or she is killed and it may get a follow-up story on the news in the community where it happened the day they have the funeral.
But let a cop kill someone and it becomes national news for days, weeks and months. We have people protesting and marching for justice when they don't know the facts about how and why the cop pulled the trigger. Some people want to immediately condemn the cop and call for his head before they know all the facts. That's sad.
We wonder if the increase of law enforcement killings is more related to retribution or whether some law enforcement officers are now hesitant to pull their weapon in fear of the retribution if they fire that fatal shot? That split-second hesitation can mean the difference between life and death.
Police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers and game wardens put their lives on the line everyday for one reason – to protect the people in their community.
Every vehicle they pull over for speeding may involve a wanted fugitive who has vowed not to go back to prison and has a gun; every domestic dispute a cop responds to can turn deadly in a hurry; the simple serving of an arrest warrant can turn south in a hurry.
You can rest assured of one thing, they don't take that job for the money. They take it because they want to make a difference.
See a cop, say thank you. They deserve it.
