In a world where anger, rage and political strife are the norm rather than the exception, it is uplifting to see the response to the death of a public safety professional in the line of duty.
It is a fitting tribute to a person who has made the ultimate sacrifice to their community but the time, effort and costs are massive. The loss of a police officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician is a loss to society as a whole.
There is nothing more chilling than to watch a line of hundreds of vehicles on the moving slowly up the street with only their emergency lights operating. The silence is deafening. There is nothing more rewarding than to see people lining the procession route holding American Flags or just standing quietly with their hands over their hearts who are present simply to show their appreciation for the service the person gave their life for.
Public Safety agencies commit dollars and equipment to provide personnel to the agency who suffered the loss so that they can participate in the service. They also provide equipment to participate in the service, such as fire apparatus with ladders crossed hanging the American flag and the Blue Line flag for the procession to drive under. The drivers of the equipment may well volunteer their time, but there is still a cost associated with the vehicles.
The cost to the local media who lose hours of advertising dollars could well be in the tens of thousands, but they forgo those dollars to provide live coverage of the event.
The most recent funeral is a thirty-one year old Springfield Township, Ohio Police officer who died in a traffic crash while responding to an Officer needs help call. What made this event unique is that the family of the fallen officer called for the public to offer condolences to the innocent civilian also killed in the two-vehicle crash.
Police agencies from hundreds of miles away from Cincinnati, Ohio make the drive to pay homage to a fallen hero because it is truly a brotherhood.
Clearly, there are bad cops, just like there are bad Doctors, bad Lawyers, bad Clergy and bad Teachers, but the reality is that the number of “bad” people is miniscule. Cops have to deal with a small vocal minority who demand “Defund the Police”, ACAB (All cops are bastards) and other slurs designed to demean them. The silent majority needs to speak up with their concerns and ideas to provide better service, Cops take off their uniforms and return to being fathers, mothers, friends and neighbors at the end of their shift. They mow their lawns, shovel their snow and coach their children every day.