Dear Men and Women in Blue,

With the recent chain of events that have taken place, many of you have been targeted for inexcusable reasons. Your lives are being taken due to the decisions of other officers, and that is not fair. You are putting your life on the line for people who are unappreciative of you and all that you do. Every day that you are out, whether patrolling streets of cities, neighborhoods or responding to calls, you are at risking your life and are being put in harm’s way. You don’t know what you are going to endure or what situations may spiral into tragic endings and yet, you do not hesitate to respond to those in need. With the amount of hatred being spread in the world, I want to shine away from the negativity to say thank you.

I see you every day. I walk past you, I stand next to you in the checkout lines, stop behind you at red lights. I see you on holidays, weekend nights and sunny afternoons riding around in my small town, keeping everyone within the community safe. For that I am forever thankful. You are putting your life on the line to protect mine. You spend days and nights, away from your families, sacrificing your time, so that mine may be protected. You miss holiday parties, birthday parties and special moments with your family members to go out into a world that has begun branding you with accusations that are both sickening and unfair. You leave behind your wives, husbands, children and so many more when you put on that uniform and report for duty. Yet, day after day, so many of your lives are being taken. There is no way to justify what is happening. There are no words that can make these tragic times seem right. Some of the world may look at you with hatred in their eyes, but I do not. I respect you, I thank you, I honor you and I appreciate you. I do not know what it is like to be in your footsteps, to walk in your shoes, to deal with the situations that you, as a police officer, are put through. I do not know the battles you fight every single day. I do not know how many sleepless nights you have had or how many tiring mornings you’ve worked. When you step out into this world wearing your uniform, you are not just any police officer to me- you are a true hero, one that I am proud to support.