To Protect and Serve

If you know me, you also know that most of my family are or have been involved in some sort of law enforcement in their lives.  This means two things:

1) I am not likely to be chosen to serve on a jury ever in my life.
2) I will always defend police officers who are honestly and honorably doing their jobs to protect the community.

While reason number one is very convenient, reason number two is the point of this post.

I heard a story on the radio this morning about a Fort Worth police officer that is in the hospital now after what began as a routine traffic stop.  Isn't that always how the really bad stories begin?


It was just a normal, boring, routine traffic stop.  Then something went wrong.


This one went wrong when the man he had stopped decided he had something to hide from the officer, with his three children, ages 7-11, in the back seat.  The man tried to flee, and when the cop tried to stop him, he rolled the police officer's arm up in his window.  This trapped the officer, who was then dragged along the side of the vehicle for blocks.  He was being pulled under the car.

Let me pause at this point to visit the options the police officer had.  First, he could be pulled under the car, run over, and never get to see his family again, while this degenerate continued to roam the streets after putting his children through this horrible car ride.  Or, his second option would be to do something to end the not-so-joyful-ride and save his own life so he is able to return home to his family.

It's a no brainer to me.

The cop then decided to take action to end the scene.  He was able to reach his handgun and shot the suspect in the head, killing him instantly.  Unfortunately, the man's three children were in the back seat of the car when this all took place.

[Warning: This post is going to become very opinionated.  If you can't figure it out yet, refer back to reason number two at the top to give you an idea of what is to follow.]

Now, the media and community are hounding the police officer, people are going to the hospital where he was admitted for his injuries to make threats against his life for killing their friend, and they are not even releasing the officer's identity in fear for his safety.

This is unbelievable to me.

The man was a criminal, with a wrap sheet a mile long.  If the officer had allowed that to continue, he would have been pulled under the car and killed.  He wouldn't have gone home to his family ever again.  He was doing his job as an officer of the law by trying to apprehend a criminal and his life was in danger.  He had no other choice but to use deadly force.  This man was not going to stop any other way. The choice was simple:  stop the car or die.

Yes, it is extremely horrible that his children were in the seat and had to witness what happened.  But here is the kicker:  THEIR FATHER PUT THEM IN THE CAR IN THE FIRST PLACE.  He exposed them to what they saw.  They watched their father drag another human being with their car.  He made the choice to flee from the officer.  He made the choice to close the officer's arm in the window.  Ultimately, he chose his fate.  He had any number of opportunities in this situation, as he did through his entire delinquent past, to make choices that would have not led to legal trouble or his own death.

Bottom line, this police officer does not deserve to come under fire.  He did his job.  In doing so, he put his life on the line.  Unfortunately, he was forced to use lethal force against someone else to save his own life, the lives of innocent bystanders, and even that man's own children.

I cannot tell you how many times my father told me that he never wanted to discharge his weapon while on duty.  I can guarantee that this police officer felt the same way.  But it's part of the job.  When it comes down to protecting the community and yourself so you can go home to your own family, it cannot be avoided at times.

This officer had to choose to end someone else's life to save many others, including his own.

I'll get off my soap box soon, but before I do, remember that police officers might be there to write tickets or take you to jail when you've done something wrong, but they are also those who lay down their lives daily to protect you when something goes wrong.  Their families never know if they are going to make it home the next morning because they are out protecting the lives of others.  They are making a sacrifice to keep you and others safe every single day.  Don't forget that.