This past weekend while driving to Kansas City, I noticed two highway patrolman sitting in the median and I wondered how difficult their job is now.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.org), across the country 48 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty in 2019. I don’t know how many were injured. So far this year, 47 have died from COVID, 23 have been fatally shot, another eight were struck by a vehicle sometimes intentionally in their role of keeping us safe.
Yet all we hear from the press is how bad they are based on the actions of a few. After considerable thought and windshield time, I was compelled to stop at the next highway patrolman to share with him how grateful I am that he is still on the job keeping me safe. Ten miles later, I had my chance. He was also parked in the median. I changed lanes and then came to a rather abrupt stop next to the patrolman.
My perceived aggressive action caused him alarm...swinging the cop car 180 degrees, turning on his lights and, when I exited the vehicle, he forcefully shouted for me to get back in the truck. After a very cautious approach to my vehicle, I apologize to him for my careless and threatening behavior.
The officer reacted to my poor behavior not based on my truck's color but instead my threatening action. He explained given the current events which has emboldened criminals, all law enforcement are now on hyper alert. After again apologizing profusely for my thoughtless and careless behavior, I explained how grateful I was he is willing to daily put his life on the line for me. He was very encouraged by our conversation and my thoughtfulness to share my opinion; as this was the first time anyone has stopped on the highway to tell him how happy they were that he was there.
After our meeting, I resolved that I will take the time to thank every police officer, highway patrol, National Guard and military personnel for their service and their willingness to put their lives at risk to allow me freedom and security. They are the ones at risk keeping us safe from the predators and thugs that are ruling the streets in some of our larger cities.
It saddens me to see leaders in our country take a knee in solidarity against the police because of the actions of a few bad actors. Unfortunately, not all officers do what’s right but the vast majority are protecting us from the very dangerous element that exists in our society. Clearly, we need reforms to eliminate and fully prosecute those bad officers but to eliminate, defund and disrespect the entire force? If you share my opinions in this post, I would encourage you to personally share your opinions with law enforcement.
However, I would not ever recommend stopping on the highway to share your opinion with a highway patrol officer.
Don Tillman, Hays