Me again. I am having a really hard time today understanding the hatred so many people have for law enforcement. Today it's an accident that looks like was not the officer's fault. And no matter what the outcome he will be hated. There is no way to win and it's sad that society has come to this. 

There is this man who was misguided as a young boy. So many kids these days see things in their lifetime that were never meant for them and it molds them for life. Most of them get some sort of purpose for life in those years. He is no different. For whatever reason he is driven to a job that most hate and few could do themselves. A bulletproof vest, a heavy burden, and a conviction to see justice is what he will carry into battle every day.

He worked hard for years to get through college and then worked even harder to prove he had what it takes to walk the thin blue line. That line is what saves you from the unimaginable truth, the truth that evil is out there all the time waiting in the shadows for you. He was put through a veritable hell so that he could one day hold that line. 

He got married to the love of his life and pursued a love for God. He gives everything of himself so unselfishly to the people he protects. He helped bring three children into this world. They are his world and despite the hardened life he leads, manages to soften for them and be this incredible father. He dances with them, wrestles with them, takes them to gym, makes lunches, drives to school, watched the golf lessons, watches the plays, and kisses them goodnight. He is human first but has developed a thick skin because the horrors he sees would break any other man. He internalizes the pain and moves forward because without him there is no line.

I think that most people detach the human from the officer. They often assume officers are all robots that have no feelings. He has come home in tears after losing a baby on shift, feeling like if he could have just been there sooner or been better at CPR...it's all there in his head. He feels sorrow and guilt for having to use force or even deadly force to stop a looming threat. He is not a robot and he will always have emotions. He will grieve, love, hope, and smile too big when he sees his kids succeed or his wife after a long day. He is you and I and every other human out there. He makes mistakes just as you and I do. There is no way for him to be perfect just as you, are in no way perfect. We are all just imperfect people trying to make it in this world that gets ever more violent as the seconds recede.

He can be any officer and have a wife who loves him at home (Patti's, Lisa's, Molly's, Ali's, Karen's or Nicole's) and HE is mine and he puts you before me. He gives YOU the best he has and I get what he has left after the day ends. Sometimes it's not much but I am willing to take anything I can get of this hero I call my husband. I love him. He is nothing short of amazing and every one of these incredible officers deserves our respect, admiration, and our unwavering support as they walk this thin blue line.