{"id":12044,"date":"2016-06-13T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T13:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12044"},"modified":"2016-06-13T11:04:38","modified_gmt":"2016-06-13T15:04:38","slug":"reflections-on-being-a-police-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12044","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Being A Police Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"download\"<\/a>On\u00a0\u00a0June 11th, 2016 the J.B. Covert Masonic Lodge presented its annual Flag Retirement Ceremony<\/a>. The Lodge, in partnership with a local Boy Scout Troop, accepted flags from around the community to be retired in a proper and respectful way. In addition, the lodge chose to Honor law enforcement by burning a scroll containing all the names of officers killed in the line of duty during 2015 and 2016. I was honored to be able to give a few words on being a police officer. I share my thoughts with you today.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

“Have you ever wondered, what makes a person want to become a police officer? Many people make career choices based on an opportunity to gain wealth or become well-known? A police officer is not very likely to ever get rich or become famous, so fame and fortune is not what motivates a person to become a police officer. So what does compel a person to become a police officer?<\/em><\/p>\n

A police officer is not forced into the occupation. There is no draft and no mandate that anyone must serve. All who serve in the profession do so voluntarily, because it is something they want to or feel called to do, not something they were forced to do. Although there may be many reasons giving for serving, I think the primary, underlying, theme of what is that compels a person to choose law enforcement as a career, is a desire to be of service, a desire to help, a desire to make a difference. If one can fulfill these desires by engaging in a career that allows that to happen, then they are not only fortunate, they are among the most fortunate.<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been said that Law Enforcement is a thankless job, and for the most part, it is. But it is a rewarding job. A police does not hear the words \u201cthank you spoken very often. It is much more likely they will hear another expression ending in \u201cyou\u201d. The words \u201cthank you\u201d are few, but the emotional rewards are many.<\/em><\/p>\n

One may wonder why anyone would choose a career that is fraught with danger. No question, it is a very dangerous job. It is the only job where a person is expected to run towards a man with a gun, to run towards the sound of gun fire, and not run in the opposite direction, which every fiber of their being is telling them to do. It was written on Facebook, the repository of all things stupid, that it is a police officer\u2019s job to be killed in the line of duty, that is what they are being paid to do. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is their job to stay safe, it is their job to stay alive, it is their job to go home to their families at the end of their shift. Sadly, that is not always the case.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last year in the United States 128 Law Enforcement Officers lost their lives while serving their communities. So far this year 42 have fallen. When you consider the grief and devastation felt by the family members, the new widows or widowers, the orphaned children, and the communities that are affected by such a tragedy , the ripple effect of any officer\u2019s death is far-reaching and wide. It impacts all of us. Each time an officer is killed in the line of duty a weakening of the shroud of protection provided by the thin blue line occurs. At each death, all of us become less safe. As a side note, when I wrote these words a week ago, the number for this year was 39 who had fallen. Now it is 42.<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been almost a year since the last line of duty death occurred in the Greater Cincinnati Area. June 19th, 2015 Officer Sonny Kim of the Cincinnati Police Department was shot and killed while serving his community. He was gunned down because he went toward the man with a gun. Please remember his service and service of over 200* others who have paid the ultimate price in the Greater Cincinnati area, to keep us all safe.<\/em><\/p>\n

In closing, may I suggest that the next time you see a police officer, take a moment and say thank you. To all Law Enforcement, active and retired, alive and dead, and to those who have honored us with their presence here today, thank you, thank you for your service.”<\/em><\/p>\n

*The stories of all 200 who have fallen can be found in the \u201cFallen Officer\u2019s\u201d section on the Greater\u00a0Cincinnati Police Historical Society and Museum<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/sub><\/p>\n

\n

It was an honor and a privilege to be selected to represent the lodge and represent law enforcement at this event. The entire program is a very moving and patriotic experience. If you missed it this year, there is always next year. See you then.<\/p>\n

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n

Feel free to comment, like, share, agree or disagree with this post. Please consider a free subscription. Options to like and subscribe can be found elsewhere on the page. Thank you for reading the Townehouse Blog.<\/p>\n

This material may be published, broadcast, or redistributed. In fact, I encourage it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On\u00a0\u00a0June 11th, 2016 the J.B. Covert Masonic Lodge presented its annual Flag Retirement Ceremony. The Lodge, in partnership with a local Boy Scout Troop, accepted flags from around the community to be retired in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Reflections on Being A Police Officer","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/slider.png?fit=781%2C411&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11984,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11984","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":0},"title":"The Good Guys Wear White Hats","author":"Tom Lind","date":"February 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was growing up, many years ago, times were simpler. As a child, I was taught the difference between right and wrong and when I failed to acknowledge this difference, or chose to violate my parents teachings, punishment was sure and swift. I did not always do the right\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1399886333000-policememorial2.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1399886333000-policememorial2.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1399886333000-policememorial2.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/1399886333000-policememorial2.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11506,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11506","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":1},"title":"For Police Officer Sonny Kim","author":"Tom Lind","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning while sitting at my computer I was considering several possible\u00a0topics for this weeks blog article. Of the various thoughts I had, I had no idea that I would be writing on the death of a Cincinnati Police Officer. A topic I would never want to write about, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cincinnati-officer-sonny-kim.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cincinnati-officer-sonny-kim.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cincinnati-officer-sonny-kim.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cincinnati-officer-sonny-kim.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11761,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11761","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":2},"title":"Heroes Don’t Hide","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I probably should know better than to write this article. I should know better because I am angry and tend to not choose the best words to describe my feelings under such circumstances. But I am angry and I am sad. I need to do this because this is how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":884,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=884","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":3},"title":"National Police Week","author":"Tom Lind","date":"May 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"May 11-17, 2014 is National Police Week. For those of you who are not familiar with National Police Week, or Police Memorial Day, here is what it is all about. In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"download","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/download-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":918,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=918","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":4},"title":"Cop Bashing","author":"Tom Lind","date":"July 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I have noticed a trend on social media sites such as Face Book and Twitter. This trend is disturbing and is distasteful. I am, of course, speaking of the latest fad, cop bashing. I, for one, am quite tired of it. I am tired of citizens who think they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"protect-and-serve","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/protect-and-serve-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1268,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1268","url_meta":{"origin":12044,"position":5},"title":"Jeffrey Blackwell \u2013 The Puppet Police Chief","author":"Tom Lind","date":"January 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week the Townehouse Phoenix provided insight to issues with regards to the current Police Chief of Cincinnati, Jeffrey Blackwell. It is not my intent to rehash the same talking points I discussed last week. The purpose of this article is to continue the ongoing saga of how Jeffrey Blackwell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"eddbe9d6d0220d1ce17c1f0f2a225328","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eddbe9d6d0220d1ce17c1f0f2a225328.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-38g","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}