Lately in the media, it seems as if police officers have been portrayed as the bad guys. They’re not.

Police officers and firefighters are there to protect you and keep you safe. They lay their lives on the line every single day for people like you and me. And I respect them for that.

My oldest brother is a career firefighter for Hanover County and he risks his life every single day to help people. My family and I are so very proud of him because he absolutely loves what he does and he has put his heart and soul into Hanover County Fire and EMS.

Right before my brother graduated from the academy, a family day was held at the training facility he was at. The families of the firefighters-to-be were invited to take a tour of the training facility and watch the new firefighters perform training drills. At the end of the drills there was a mini graduation ceremony and a lunch afterwards.

Watching my brother preform those drills made me even prouder of him. Watching him trade in his blue trainee helmet for his yellow career helmet made me even more proud. He had worked so hard for this and all of his work finally paid off.

In addition to being proud, I also worry about him. I don’t always know if he’s going to come home safely after a shift and I can’t stand the thought of losing my big brother.

My family also has friends that are police officers, some of which are more like family to us. I also couldn’t stand the thought of losing them.

I admire these people for always being there when they are needed, no matter what. They will come when they are called, not because they’re paid to do it, but because they genuinely want to help those in need.

These people deserve to be respected for all that they do. It breaks my heart to see people disrespect a police officer or firefighter. It also makes me mad, because they do so much for us and yet people act like police officers and firefighters are the bad guys.

I think police officers and firefighters deserve more respect than they receive. They risk so much every day in order to protect the community that we live in.

I am disheartened at all the news coverage of people’s hatred towards police officers. They’re being painted as the bad guys, when they’re the exact opposite.

I agree that that police officer shouldn’t have shot that guy at the traffic stop, but I also agree that protesting, rioting and more shootings are NOT the way to handle this situation.

I don’t understand this hatred, and I probably never will.

As long as police officers and firefighters are protecting and serving my community, I will always respect them.

So to all of the police officers and firefighters out there, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for protecting and saving lives in communities across America. You are greatly appreciated and I feel like saying "thanks" is just not enough because of all that you do.