The last blog post I wrote was about how officers can easily live in the negative. What amazes me is that despite that, they are often the kindest and most caring people. A large majority of them go into law enforcement because they really do want to help and make a difference. I have been very impressed by some of the things that I’ve seen while I’ve been out on scenes with them. I could share so many stories with you, but I'll keep it to just a few. If you want to hear more stories I'm happy to share them with you! Here are just a few of the stories…
One night I was with one of the female officers and we checked a home that was supposed to be vacant. Her and the other officer that was her backup noticed two women inside the home, so they knocked on the door and were able to get the women out. As they searched the home, they eventually went into the garage below the house. There they found a little boy amidst a ton of stuff. He had a very small spot carved out within the junk filing the garage. He had a pillow and a bag of chips and that was it. He was cold and very hungry. The female officer took the two women to jail and the male officer took the little boy. He gave the little boy his jacket so he could warm up and took him to McDonald’s to get some food. He did all he could to make the little boy happy in such a sad situation.
There are many officers who spend their own money going to purchase things for kids or families that they encounter on their calls. One officer tells a story of getting called to ticket a woman who was caught stealing from one of the grocery stores. When he arrived he realized she was taking the food because she had no other way to provide for her family. Stealing is not the way to go about it, so he had to write her a ticket, but he wrote it for the smallest charge he could. Then he went back to the store later, purchased some groceries, and took it to the woman’s home. There is another story of some officers purchasing a basketball goal for a neighborhood that needed it and some others that purchased toys and other for kids who didn’t have any.
Watching how the officers talk to the people that they come in contact with shows great kindness too. Officers show up on scenes and speak to people in various emotional states. Of course there are exceptions, but on the whole I have seen officers always be very patient and caring. One night I was on a scene where a young man had died from a drug overdose. His mother was having a very hard time facing the fact that her son was dead, which is completely understandable. I was trying to talk with her, but still didn’t seem like she was grasping reality. One of the officers came over to me and began speaking to the mother. He spoke very directly and honestly, but did so in such a gentle and compassionate way. It got the mother to be able to face reality enough to handle what needed to be handled, but also allowed her to be comforted by me and her friends that were there. I’ve seen this same care and compassion with people who are feeling suicidal, victims of family violence, people who have just been in car accidents and so many other situations.
So many officers have gone out of their way to care for the students that I’ve worked with. They know the students’ names and their stories. They ask how the students are doing and care about them succeeding in life. Just this past week I was on a mission trip and three of the prayer partners for the trip were GPD officers. They wrote notes of encouragement and purchased items for the students to have during the week. They have built some really cool friendships and it’s all based on the officers being willing to put the time in. Some of the officers bought a bicycle, an Xbox, and a new pair of shoes for a student who wasn’t going to have much of a Christmas. This all meant so much to me of course.
The officers show me new ways to love people all the time. They say things to comfort people that I hadn’t thought about. They ask questions that show they really care about how people respond. They listen with an intentionality that would make anyone feel valued. They are really great people who do make a big difference as they serve and protect.