Violent Attacks On Law Enforcement Shouldn't Be The Norm
As I was calling it a night on Tuesday, I received a message about three Kansas City Officers who had been shot. Checking their status throughout the night and into Wednesday morning, I thanked God when I learned they were expected to survive. That's a long way from being non-injured, though.
The physical and traumatic injuries they sustained will be long lasting.
The stress, anxiety and fear inflicted upon their families and loves ones certainly won't go away overnight, if ever.
Unfortunately, we know all too well the violence toward law enforcement is not confined to major cities in other parts of our country.
We see it here in rural America on an ever increasing basis, with multiple situations occurring just over the past year involving our local law enforcement officers being shot and shot at.
As a society, I hope we resist the ease of becoming de-sensitized to these attacks.
When someone attempts to kill one of our neighbors, who through a sense of service and selflessness pins a badge to their chest every day, it should shock and infuriate the hell out of us.
Just because the men and women of law enforcement are willing to put themselves in harms way on behalf of others, doesn't mean "that's what they signed up for." I assure you it isn't. What they signed up for is to help the victim of violence become safe, to bring comfort to the scared, to do their best to establish peace and order from chaos.
It's okay to not like the personality of every officer or be frustrated by the way they handle - or fail to handle - a particular situation and it's okay to become frustrated with a justice system which can seem more geared toward accommodating criminals than doling out justice for victims. That's understandable. But it should not - and I pray it never does - become "normal" for us to wake up and read that those who serve our community fell victim to a targeted act of violence for no other reason than they were willing to step up and serve others.
As I was leaving a meeting the other evening, a man came up to me and wanted to share that each and every night he says a prayer for the safety of our area law enforcement and I know he represents many in this community who do the same. It's appreciated more than you may ever know.
Thank you for the privilege to serve.
Stay Safe and God Bless,
Sheriff David Groves