Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

“REMEMBER ME”
Law enforcement officers are, indeed, a special breed of people. Ask anyone on the street and they will tell you that they would not have our jobs for anything in the world. It takes something special to do what we do and at the same time be able to even contemplate retirement. We try to be optimists. Unfortunately, there are a few of us who will never make that date with retirement. By the very nature of our job, we are at risk everyday of losing our lives, either at the hand of some deranged individual or in some other situation that we, by virtue of our occupation, may be unable to avoid. Some people have recognized the hazardous duties we involve ourselves in, the risks we take, and the pride we take in accomplishing that job. There is National Law Enforcement Week, dedicated to us who gladly accept the responsibility of protecting the citizens in our respective jurisdictions. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day is dedicated to those who gave their lives in the line of duty. These are but a two examples of remembrances specifically for law enforcement personnel. Remembrances that come but once a year. We should remind fellow officers of another type of remembrance, one that will last a lifetime. Sooner or later, a doctor will pronounce us dead. It is inevitable. Regardless of whatever happens, death is the end we will all have to face.
“IT IS IN DEATH THAT WE CAN LIVE FOREVER”
Author Unknown

Jim Moore
New Orleans P.D., Retired

August 11, 2005

“When God made Peace Officers….”

When the lord was creating Peace Officers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And the Lord said, Have you read the spec on this order? A Peace Officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn’t touch, and not wrinkle their uniform.

They have to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day.

They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black coffee and half- eaten meals. And they have to have six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands….No Way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me the problems,” said the Lord, “It’s the three pairs of eyes an officer has to have.”

That’s on the standard model? asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before he asks, “May I see what’s in there sir?” (When they already know and wishes they had taken that accounting job.) Another pair here in the side of their head for their partners’ safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, “ You’ll be alright ma’am, when they know it isn’t so.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching his sleeve,” rest and work tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on civil service paycheck.”

The angel circled the model of the Peace Officer very slowly, “Can it think?” she asked.

“You bet,” said the Lord, “It can tell you elements of a hundred crimes, recite Miranda warnings in it’s sleep; detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five judges to debate the legality of the stop…and still it keeps it’s sense of humor.

This officer also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with crime scenes painted in HELL, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim’s family’ and then read in the daily paper how Law Enforcement isn’t sensitive to the rights of criminal suspects.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Peace Officer. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.”

“That’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.”

“What’s the tear for?” asked the angel.

“It’s for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, and for justice.”

“You’re a genius,” said the angel.

The Lord looked sober. “I didn’t put it there,” he said.


Anonymous

Senior Instructor
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

August 11, 2005