I've had my fair share of run-ins with Auburn Police Officers — but who in the Auburn area hasn't? I've never had a bad experience with them, or at least never been in serious trouble. I know a decent amount and they are some of the greatest guys you could meet.

I remember working a late night at Academy because of one of the Alabama vs Clemson Championship games and just chilling goofing around with a couple officers. We were there to do our job and everything was prepped and they were there to do there's. So why not joke around and have some fun.

Later on at an A Day game, I used a girl's Auburn ID to get into the game for free and ran into one of the officers at the entrance. He looked at the ID and at me and laughed and we joked about it because me and the girl looked a lot alike. The best part is my friends thought I was getting in trouble but nope just joking with a cop I'd gotten to know.

I've had other experiences but those are some of the best with Auburn Officers. At the end of the day, these guys want to be able to joke around some and make it through their shift. They have a rough job with long hours and a simple joke helps a lot.

In February an Auburn Officer was shot multiple times on a traffic stop with a driver suspected of robbing a drug store. Even the location is crazy to me in front of a Dollar General on a busy Auburn road. This officer, Justin Sanders, wasn't expecting to be shot that night yet he was and still tried to stop the suspect. He is a brave hero. Shortly after the gunman would fire upon many more officers after a manhunt before firing upon himself and setting the apartment he barricaded himself and female in. Fortunately, even in a hail of gunfire, no more officers were injured in pretty much a war zone.

Several days ago on a quiet Sunday night in May, three more Auburn Officers were shot. Unfortunately, one officer, William Buechner, a 13-year veteran of the force answered his final call and died in the line of duty. He doesn't get to go home to his wife and two kids because of one man's poor choices. Two other officers, Webb Sistrunk, and Evan Elliot, both of whom I know, were shot but fortunately, both survived.

That's when I really realized how close to home these police shootings are. These guys are just there to do a job that gives them low pay, long hours, and plenty of shit every day. These guys bravely protect us on the home front every day and do it humbly. Yes, I understand there are some bad cops out there but every officer I know in Auburn's Police Department are great men and women. It's time we put an end to killing innocent officers who just answer a call and knock on a door to be opened and met immediately with gunfire.

And with that, I am a supporter of #BlueLivesMatter and also #RedLivesMatter because firefighters work hard too.