For as long as I can remember, my dad has been a cop. I visit and see him in full uniform, I call him and hear radios and walkie-talkies in the background, I hear him tell stories of run-ins and explain policies. I also watch the news with him, every night when he gets home from work.
Lately the news is hard to watch, as the proud daughter of a cop. I can’t imagine how angering and terrifying it must be to watch as someone working in the profession. My dad, and all others in his line of duty, have to live with the fact that they are a target, they have to go to work not being 100 percent certain if they’ll return home to their families, and they have to protect the very citizens that demonize them. The media and the few-second clips on the internet do not do a good job of portraying the difficult job of being a cop. Many would be willing to say that it is one of the most difficult jobs in America in times like this.
It’s a sad moment when wives and kids have to send their husbands and fathers to work, hoping with everything they are that they don’t run into the wrong person. You know, the person supporting Black Lives Matter as an extremist, committing crime, hating cops, etc. If my dad were to have to arrest the wrong person, or even just happen to encounter the wrong person, he may be shot. All because he wears a badge and is tasked with the chore that is protecting us.
When I tell people that my dad is a cop, they jump to one of two things: either, “Oh, haha, you must live in a strict house!” or “Oh, your dad’s a racist?” My question, recently, is this: why do people think “cop” is automatically synonymous with “racist” or “corrupt” or, in extreme cases, “murderer”? If your answer to that question is, “because they are”, then maybe you should re-evaluate. Saying all cops are bad because one did a bad thing is just like saying all dogs are bad because one bit a little kid. Yes, there are bad cops. But why do people assume that all cops are bad cops?
I can’t begin to explain the anger, disappointment, and fear I feel when I hear of people saying that cops “deserve” to die or to hear about another murdered officer on the news. When one is harmed, all fear, and all grieve. The families, myself included, have a different kind of fear, though. What if my dad leaves for work one day and doesn’t come home? That’s something that I’ve always had to live with, but something that has recently become a legitimate fear. People all over social media saying to kill all cops, people in Dallas yelling “kill white cops," people who feel that killing cops will make some political statement, or that it will help or avenge, anything. It’s terrifying enough as a cop’s daughter—imagine being the cop.
I have always, and will always be proud to say “my dad is a cop." I have not a single reason to be ashamed of that, or afraid of saying that. Anyone who knows my dad knows what an amazing person he is. It takes a very selfless, generous person to be willing to put their own life on the line in order to protect another. I am now, and always will be proud to say that my dad is that person.
