I have heard this many times before. I have posted the Audio of it on Social Media, but today I read the words. I read them and I let them sink deep into my soul. I have seen too many negative things said about our countries Law Enforcement Officers over the past year and it absolutely disgust me. Before I get to deep into it, please read these words…think about them…understand them and try to imagine yourself walking in the shoes of a police officer for just one day. Hopefully I can get through to some with this posting, I doubt it. Most of the people that read my blog already feel the same way as I do. On the off chance that this gets spread far and wide and reaches the masses, and I pray it does…maybe, just maybe I can make someone think and understand what it means. If I can open just one persons mind with this blog post, my mission will be complete.

A Policeman is a composite of what all men are, mingling of a saint and sinner, dust and deity.

Gulled statistics wave the fan over the stinkers, underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are “new”. What they really mean is that they are exceptional, unusual, not commonplace.

Buried under the frost is the fact: Less than one-half of one percent of policemen misfit the uniform. That’s a better average than you’d find among clergy!

What is a policeman made of? He, of all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He’s a strangely nameless creature who is “sir” to his face and “fuzz” to his back

He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won.

But…If the policeman is neat, he’s conceited; if he’s careless, he’s a bum. If he’s pleasant, he’s flirting;if not, he’s a grouch.

He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make.

But…If he hurries, he’s careless; if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued.

The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn’t hurt.He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being “brutal”. If you hit him, he’s a coward. If he hits you, he’s a bully.

A policeman must know everything-and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.

A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal- and tell you where the criminal is hiding.

But…If he catches the criminal, he’s lucky; if he doesn’t, he’s a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn’t, he’s a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen-but refused to remember.

The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.

And, of course, he’d have to be genius….For he will have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.

I am not a police officer, nor have I ever been or will I ever be. I do not have the patience or the civility to deal with this many people on a daily basis. I was raised in a Police Family. My Father spent most of his working years as a police officer dealing with these very issues that Paul Harvey describes every day. I know this, I have see it first hand. I could see the struggle in his face when I was young. Until I grew older and started a family of my own, I didn’t really know what that was. The look on his face after a long shift. Why he was so eager to get to bed or fall asleep when he came home from work. What did this man have to do on a daily basis that made him so stressed and tired all the time. But somehow he did it. Somehow he raised 5 children on that Police Officers Salary. Somehow he found time to coach my Baseball team. Somehow he found time to teach my siblings and I the difference between wrong and right. Somehow he found time to be there for us as a Father, a Husband, and a Police Officer.

Being a Police Officer all those years almost killed him. Not just on the job…but because of the job. The criminals and their hatred for police is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to close encounters with death. It is the aftermath from the everyday dealings with crime, what it does to a person mentally and physically. How the stress alone is enough to kill the average man. I didn’t realize that every night I went to sleep that one morning he just might not come home. These are the things you don’t know or want to know as a kid. Somehow he kept that danger from us, that knowledge that what he really did every day was so dangerous that he may not return home at night. I had no idea that at any point in my childhood that my father looked danger straight in the face every day, but still returned home to his family and tried to put those dealings and experiences way back in his mind and not share that grief or stress with us.

I cant imagine what these men and women go through on a daily basis. Yet I hear people bashing police, badmouthing them because of the encounters they have had. I have not had very many encounters with police officers in my everyday life, yet somehow all of the encounters I have had were civil, courteous and polite. I think to myself and wonder sometimes why is this? Why have I not had any of these bad encounters with Law enforcement Officers that so many people describe? I realize it is due to one thing…I try not to break the law, and so far in life I have done a pretty good job of obeying the laws of our country. And the times I did have encounters with police officers, I either knew I was breaking the law already or I was unaware of the law that I was breaking. In both instances I have acted accordingly. I was open & honest, courteous, and I complied with requests and lawful commands. Even in the times where the police officer was not in a good mood or appeared agitated or upset. Even in times where I didn’t think I was breaking the law and I found out after the fact. Following these basic ideas has made every encounter with the Police very uneventful.

Take a step back for a moment and think about it. These men and women have the most dangerous job in our country. They barely make a livable wage, they care about our society and keeping the peace and upholding the law. Like Paul Harvey said, “Less than one-half of one percent of policemen misfit the uniform. That’s a better average than you’d find among clergy!” These men and women have a thankless job. They want to do their job and return home every night to their families and live a life in a safe community. Is it too much for us to ask as a society to obey the laws, respect the officers and comply with their commands. If you think you are right and they are wrong, that’s great.  Get a lawyer and take it up in court. Don’t fight with the person trying to uphold the law, we have a whole other legal system designed for fighting. I can tell you this, you are much less likely to get Shot, Tasered, Beaten or Battered by a police officer if you do two simple things. 1. Obey the law. 2. Do as they say and take your argument up in court not on the street.

For those of you that are angered by bad experience with Law Enforcement, or are angry because someone you know has had bad experiences. Stop, think and read the words of Paul Harvey I posted here. Police Officers are people too. They are only human. Humans make mistakes. Don’t hold a grudge against all of them because of your bad experience with one or a few. Hating all police officers because you had a bad experience with one makes you a Bigot…. Definition: A person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance. I have met a lot of police officers in my life time, I did not like all of them, I absolutely hated some of them, and I loved some of them. I refuse to define an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. If the people of this world could bring themselves to this way of thinking, we truly would be that much closer to peace on earth!