Every day it seems more and more people forget that police officers have lives beyond their blue uniforms. The public all too often forgets these men and women in blue have spouses, children, siblings, parents, and friends. The public forgets these men and women who risk their lives to save ours have feelings and emotions. What they do every day is not 'fun' or 'relaxing'. Police officers do not feel a sense of enjoyment pulling the trigger in situations where their lives or lives of others are in danger. Officers do not feel a sense of relaxation or ease patrolling through the streets. Even on what may be considered 'quiet' days with few calls, those days are not actually quiet for the police officers. Many people do not realize every second for at least eight hours requires officers to be completely and entirely aware of every aspect of their surroundings. It is not 'fun'. It is exhausting and challenging, but you know what, that is what these wonderful men and women in blue choose to do. They chose to protect YOU, a complete stranger, someone they may never encounter, ever, until YOU need help. When that time comes, and I pray it never does, my father or one of the many other men and women in blue will be right at your side assisting you in any situation.
And regardless of what anyone may think, what happens during a day of work for a police officer does not simply disappear once it is over. The feelings and adrenaline of a situation or even just a ‘quiet’ shift take over. There have been countless times where I woke up to get a glass of water at three or four in the morning, and there my dad would be, perched up, wide awake staring at the television. I will ask him what he is still doing awake, and his response is usually along the lines that it takes his body some time to calm down after being alert for so long. It takes hours for these men and women in blue to even feel the slightest sense of relaxation after an eight-hour shift, whether it was a busy or quiet shift. Even then, nowadays they never do get to fully feel a sense of relaxation. Police officers see the news, and they see social media. They see what awful and cruel things the public and media put out about them. Yes, don’t get me wrong, there are bad cops, but one bad cop does not mean every cop is bad.
As a daughter of a police officer in a big city, I see firsthand how difficult these recent times have been for our men and women in blue. I cannot begin to explain how many times over the past several years, my dad has broken the news of a police friend taking his or her own life due to the negativity surrounding police officers. It has turned into a daily occurrence of waking up to see the news of a police officer targeted and shot or killed somewhere across the country just for being a police officer. I never miss a chance to tell my father I love him before he leaves for work or if he calls during it because, honestly, nowadays he and I both silently fear it will be the last time we speak. Our police officers are here to serve and protect us, and it is time the public begins remembering this again.
