Today, I will not answer the radio call that your boyfriend has come home drunk and is beating you again.
Today I will not answer the radio call that your 16 year old daughter, who is very responsible, is four hours late coming home from school.
Today I will not answer the radio call that your store has been robbed or your house has been burglarized.
Today I will not stop a drunk driver from killing someone.
Today I will not catch a rapist or a murderer or a car thief.
Today I will not answer the radio call that a man has a gun or tried to abduct a child or that someone has been stabbed or has been in a terrible accident.
Today I will not save your child that you locked in a car or the child you were to busy to watch who went outside and fell into the swimming pool, but that I revived.
No, today I will not do that.
Why?
Because Today I was killed by a drunk driver while I was helping push a disabled car off the highway.
Today I was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop to simply tell someone that they had a taillight out.
Today I was killed in a traffic accident rushing to help a citizen.
Today I was shot and killed serving a warrant on a known drug dealer.
Today I was killed by a man when I came by to do a welfare check because his family was to busy.
Today I was killed trying to stop a bank robbery or a grocery store robbery.
Today I was killed doing my job.
A chaplain and an officer will go to a house and tell a mom and dad or a wife or husband or a child that their son or daughter or husband or wife or father or mother won’t be coming home today.
The flags at many police stations were flown at half-mast today but most people won’t know why.
There will be a funeral and my fellow officers will come, a twenty-one-gun salute will be given, and taps will be played as I am laid to rest.
My name will be put on a plaque, on a wall, in a building, in a city somewhere.
A folded flag will be placed on a mantel or a bookcase in a home somewhere and a family will mourn.
There will be no cries for justice.
There will be no riots in the streets.
There will be no officers marching, screaming “no justice, no peace.”
No citizens will scream that something must be done.
No windows will be smashed, no cars burned, no stones thrown, no names called.
Only someone crying themselves to sleep tonight will be the only sign that I was cared about.
I was a police officer.
ht/ sam s.
See also –
You Were an Anti-Police Protestor
In my mind, I hear the late Paul Harvey reading this. And it feels like a sledgehammer to the heart.
Police Officer
Tyler Jacob Stewart
Flagstaff Police Department, Arizona
End of Watch: Saturday, December 27, 2014
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 24
Tour: 1 year
Badge # Not available
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 12/27/2014
Weapon: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect: Committed suicide
Police Officer Tyler Stewart was shot and killed while investigating a domestic violence incident at a home in the 800 block of West Clay Avenue at approximately 1:30 pm.
Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/22313-police-officer-tyler-jacob-stewart#ixzz3NA8ZdmI1
There’s some pretty smart people that are theorizing all this racist anti cop crap is going to end up in an effort to nationalize all police and Sherrifs departments.
Unfortunately, were I to run into any of those problems TODAY, the cops are the last people I would call.
I’ve been in the biz long enough not to expect many/if any, to have empathy let alone sympathy (interchangeable).
BigGun, I gotta big gun too and will stand side by side with LEO. Just so you know, and I’m certainly not alone.
Brad_Brad, thank you for the back and I do know as well as appreciate. 😉
I’ve had my six covered with good folks as you and will continue to watch their six as well. On behalf of many, I appreciate your determination(s). We’re in this together and at the risk of what we hold dear.
Very well done. Gut wrenching.
Can you feel that Progs? Can ya?
My mother’s father was a New York City Police officer. When I was in high school and a cadet with the local PD, I carried his brass police whistle. The inscription was more of a simple advertisement: “Compliments of the New York Evening Telegram.” He became a police officer because he saved a man who tried to commit suicide by jumping in the East River. He later died in the line of duty.
**********
Oh…Danny Boy.
The pipes, the pipes are calling.
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside.
The summer’s gone, and all the leaves are falling.
‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow,
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow.
‘Tis I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow.
Danny Boy, oh…Danny Boy, I love you so.
And when he come, and all the flowers are dying.
If I am dead, as dead I well may be.
He come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an “Ave” there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft he tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be.
For you shall bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
And I shall sleep in peace, until you,
Come…to…me.
My husband is a FF. He goes on a lot of those types of calls as support to the police. He catches mouth from the people who call for help. He gets spit on. He gets lunged at. He gets accused of atrocities. He gets sworn at and ordered around by asshat lowlifes who don’t have jobs but do have drugs.
And when he isn’t doing that crap he runs into burning buildings to look for people to try to save.
Every “fire day” I hold my breath. This morning I came bolt awake thinking I had heard someone saying “Oh fuck!”, as though it was a person who realized they were done for and that there was no escape for them.
It was several minutes before I understood it was just a dream, I kept waiting to figure out if it was real – or maybe an omen. So I waited anxiously for a knock at the door for a long while before I got out of bed.
As a wife of a first responder this fear- it is a weird balance that never evens out.
Who votes with the union, almost every time?
Progress?
Have to edit to say; In the blue states.
When 95% of the police walk off the job, I’ll know who they side with.
Unions suck when they take over a car company or a bean field, but when the union takes over the cops it’s okay? Yet we all commit to the fact a cop won’t be there for us when seconds count, so we all fight for 2A?
I’m not seeing the conflict here Old Oak. However my county in Northern Cali has a great Sherrif. You want a ccw you got it. I Train with several Sac County pistoleros. All bid second amendment people. There are some bad cops out there no doubt. It sounds like you’ve run into a few. The teachers union, Aerospace Union, and machinists union send money to the Dems like it was free. ThT doesn’t mean the members are libtard a.
You know what else he won’t be around to do? Shoot someone waving a garden hose in their front lawn. Or toss a flash-bang inside some two-year-old’s playpen. He won’t be shooting an innocent because his SWAT team raided the wrong house two blocks away from the correct one.
I could go on…
I, [employee name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of [………….] against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of [……….]; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.
When they (LEO’s) are true to their ‘oath,’ you will know (an, “Oath Keeper”). Notice there isn’t anything in the oath which states that they/we ‘shall’, “enforce all laws.” And…. an oath holds a much higher obligation than that of a mere, “promise.”
Constitutional rights are inclusive of those that are good folks or those that some call, “bad” folks. In short, the rules are the same for all.
I tell my crew to look at their badge. The badge is about 2 3/4 to 3 inches in height. They are 5’5″-6’+. It ain’t the other way around and they can’t hide behind it.
It’s the officer that makes the badge.
Yes, there are bad cops out there, just as there are bad employees in any field.
However, good cops don’t like the ‘bad’ cops either.
There’s common ground here with most of us and good cops. We better find it fast. More bad shits coming.
Start talking to me about the good cops when they start testifying against their fellow cops in open court.
R.K, while you’re shooting you’re mouth off, document when they haven’t. Then, I will respond.
R.K. Do you live in Ferguson?
Document when they haven’t?! Are you people not familiar with the work of Frank Serpico? Do you think that since Serpico testified, the blue veil of silence no longer exists? Cops are expected to police themselves through internal affairs bureaus and shooting boards.
I don’t live in Ferguson. I happen to live in a rather quiet town of about 27,000 people in a state of less than 900,000. I just happen to rank policing right up there with lawyers and politicians on the list of professions that I happen to find generally suspect (no pun intended).
R.K. Well I respect your opinion but it I think if you ever had a chance to meet some pro LEO you might see them In a different light.
Today, I will not murder your dog.
Today, I will not throw a flashbang in your infants crib.
Today, I will not stomp on your 1st Amendment rights.
Today, I will not stomp on your 4th Amendment rights.
Today, I will not stomp on your 5th Amendment rights.
Today, I will not lie to you and legally get away with it.
Today, I will not suppress evidence of my wrongdoings.
Today, I will not assault you for recording my actions.
Today, I will not throw an innocent man to the ground for asking me questions.
Today, I will not murder your family member and claim he was resisting arrest.
Today, I will not murder a veteran in a no-knock raid.
Today, I will not play soldier by driving an MRAP down your streets.
When the day comes that LEOs are not allowed to wipe their asses with the Constitution, I might start having respect for them. Until then, there is no such thing as a good cop.
Bad_Brad, recognition that I am expressing an opinion, and respect in your disagreement with it, is all that I ask.
I am most certainly NOT calling for eye-for-an-eye justice, nor am I an anti-police anarchist. What happened to Ramos and Liu was inexcusable, tragic, and utterly unquestionably criminal. The shooter should face the full wrath of the law. That being the case, I’d like to see certain institutional reforms take place at the level of municipal police departments (including my hometown PD) that move them closer to the ideal of Peelian policing principles. Don’t expect me to believe the “…to protect and serve…” bullshit unless it is backed up with action.
R.K. Keep your nose to the wind. There’s a damn good chance new battle lines have been drawn thanks to Holder, Sharpton and Barry.
Douche or not, how does this escalate to this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqJrgwBSdLM
Unions.
Unions = Democrats = Progressives
It is my genuine fear that those new battle lines will result in blood being shed. And I no more want to see police officers’ blood shed than I want to see citizens’. There’s a better way to achieve sound policing than what passes for “protest” these days.
Today, I turned my back on the mayor because he is a traitorous, race-baiting commie.
R.K. wouldn’ t stand for Robert Kennedy, would it?
My local guys…sheriff, police….are pretty cool. Families, beer, good times.
Got stopped by a hiway patrolman….total dick head….and i’m pretty tolerant…..but this fucker needed shot
I know some cops who organize races to raise money for children with cancer. This is one of those races, which brought in over $10,000 for medical expenses :
http://www.redcrossblood.org/news/greaterozarks/cancer-patients-honored-during-superhero-5k-red-cross-blood-drive-river-valley-ru
They, like all the good cops, never stop trying to help people who need help. And I know that it hurts them when people group them together with the bad cops. They don’t get paid enough to put up with all the shit they have to put up with every day. But they still do it, thinking it will do some good, thinking they might make a difference. I’ve seen it, and it is good — what they do. And I am a guy who has had bones broken and ass beat by bad cops.
We need the good cops. We don’t need the good cops having to worry about being shot just for being good cops, or because it is the current trend as a result of the progressive agenda.
If the good cops quit their jobs, we will be left with only the assholes, and it will be hell on earth.
We could go a long way in solving policing’s image by cutting federal funding for every Podunk PD gear-queer “special operations” power junky magnets. America is recoiling at these morons flash banging babies and shooting the family dog because it barked at them. Many, if not most, don’t have IQ, emotional maturity or constant training it takes and are real threats to civilian safety.
The communists are simply playing on this anxiety, turning us against each other to foment chaos.
Is it possible that everyone can be right here?
A time is coming where the police are going to need those chits in the bank built up from public trust. Clearly, the balance is not where it was a generation ago even with people are ostensibly leaning right.
So, why is that?
There are a lot of good cops and a lot of bad cops. Some because of who they are and some made bad cops because they are following bad policies. As I have said many times before, the problem isThe Book. The one that says you treat civilians as enemies. That you can kick in their doors, even the wrong doors, with impunity. Use deadly force where it is unwarranted against people and their pets, and as bad as anything – the increasing trend to enrich their departments through civil asset forfeiture when no crime has been committed.
Decent, freedom loving, responsible citizens should not have to fear the police. This absolutely has to be addressed. Acknowledging it is the first step.
You see it in comments here and everywhere in the country. The Left hates the police. If they lose a chunk of the center and right too then that is bad for everyone.
Brian, so how does one tell the difference between a good cop, and a bad one? My experience tells me, that it’s only after the encounter with one, do you realize the difference.
Bad Brad and Big Gun, where are all the good cops speaking out against the bad cops?
I pay pretty close attention to these issues and have never, EVER, heard one cop saying anything along the lines of “I will not serve with HIM!”
Ever.
I have never seen a single article written, nor a letter to the editor published, in anybody’s real name, speaking out against the multitude of un-Constitutional laws and egregiously illegal behavior that we the People have to bear witness to,and suffer from on a daily basis.
Obviously, I have seen the feel-good stories of the occasional cop helping a shoplifter trying to feed the kids, etc., but please, don’t for one second, try to take credit for such things if you think you shouldn’t take the blame for other things. Those stories are not even close enough to make up for the fact that, right now, cops are enforcing un-Constitutional laws and taking advantage of the political and criminal cover provided by corrupt politicians and judges.
If you don’t want to be counted with the bad cops, you’d better distinguish yourselves from them ASAP, çuz you all look the same in a sight picture.
I’m with you, BadBrad – Cops are unsung heroes, they have a sucky job and they are getting shat upon lately for absolutely no reason.
I know a number of small town LEOs and they are great guys and gals and have taken it upon themselves to do this job.
Also, while I don’t know what RK’s motivations are, I see his side of the argument – Car cameras have been made normal fare, and body cameras should be also – for every cop and SWAT officer.
It is undeniable that there are a few overly aggressive power-tripped thugs wearing blue who are just looking for someone to pound, pepper spray or shoot.
Investigators and lawyers alike would (for the most part) love it if the body cameras were mandatory across the board.
Sarthuk: Would transparency work? Ratings from within the Department and by the public.
Obviously, if you arrest someone they probably aren’t going to recommend you for the key to the city but if you go about your job professionally then people would recognize that. More than not. Body cameras would help solve that. And those seem like a pretty quick fix.
So you say I abused you? A video can clear that up.
Act like a abusive, cocksucking power tripper and they’ll recognize that too.
Re-evaluate the immunity granted to police for violating people’s rights will help too. Too many scenarios to describe here but if someone feels personally liable for taking someone’s life from them then they might be less trigger happy or assaulting them.
That kind of immunity certainly doesn’t extend to a CCW permit holder.
End SWAT use except for violent offenses. End the collaboration of local law enforcement using data mined from people’s communications by federal agencies without warrants and not disclosing it to the public.
End policing for profit. The discretion being used for highway robbery and asset forfeiture violates RICO statutes. Anything confiscated should be put into a general fund and not an enrichment to those who decided to take it.
I am an American Man,
Today I will not call the cops because someone I know has come home drunk. We are free and responsible for our own lives and can handle family issues in our family without resorting to calling the government every single time someone gets offended.
Today I will not call the cops because one of our children is running late. We taught our children to defend themselves in all situations and to use their heads. They called us when they knew they were going to run late as responsible kids do.
Today I will not call the cops because our store or home was burglarized except to report that the police need to come out and clean up the bodies of the fools who thought they could take from us what was ours by right and law.
Today I will not call the cops because I saw a drunk driver on the road, coming out of a bar, doing drugs on the road, weaving in and out of traffic or dealing drugs right out in the open. We have done it before and nobody ever shows up.
Today you will not catch a rapist, murderer or car thief because we already took care of him. Please send someone to pick up the corpse.
Today you will not have to answer a call that someone has a gun because many people have guns and that doest make them criminals. You will not have to answer a call about someone trying to abduct child because we already took care of that, please send someone to pick up the body. You will not have to answer a call about a stabbing because we already took care of that with a little situational awareness and as for the terrible accident, we don’t need the police, we need an ambulance.
Today you will not save our child from a sweltering car because we are never so busy that we forgot our children; you will also not be saving our children from the swimming pool as we have taught our children to respect the pool as we have taught them to respect the guns.
Nope, today you will do none of that.
Why?
Because we are responsible adults. We are not children in need of a nanny government. We do not need people to show up who do not even know the laws to add to an already potentially chaotic situation.
Because today you killed a dog that was restrained as prescribed by law and you shot it anyways.
Because today you raped a woman you pulled over on the highway.
Because today you opened fire on a mini-van full of kids.
Because today you shot 22 bullets on the crowded streets of a city and only hit some guy twice.
Because today someone called you for help with a mentally disabled person and you killed the person.
Because today you were called to help with a suicidal teen and you shot and killed the teen.
Because today you killed a man, woman, child or pet for no reason other than you could I guess.
Because today you were the drunk driver.
Because today during a routine traffic stop you killed a boy because you thought his finger looked like a AK-47.
Because today you shot and killed a little boy playing in the park because you thought his plastic gun was an AK-47.
Because today your job has obviously become killing citizens.
A police spokesman will get up on TV and tell everyone how there will be no charges against you. You have done nothing wrong.
A family will sit at home hating that they called you.
No flags will be lowered.
There will be a funeral but nothing will be solved.
There will be no plaque other than on a gravestone.
A folded flag will be placed on a mantel or a bookcase in a home somewhere and a family will mourn.
There will be no justice.
There may be riots in the streets.
There will be no officers marching, screaming that they need justice. There will only be a thin blue line and all the police and lawyers standing behind it.
People will demand something be done but that is not really going to happen now is it?
Yeah, you are a police officer, but we are not better off and we are not any safer because of it.