No tags yet.
Today (September 19) is Thank a Police Officer Day. This year they need the thank you more than ever. It has certainly been difficult to put on the uniform and come to work in the middle of a pandemic and under the current climate. I could go through and just start listing things that they do to be thankful for, but many of them you would probably know already. I want to try to share some things that might not be as common knowledge.
I’m thankful for the number of meals that they miss. I’m not referring to dinners with their families or holiday meals, even though they do miss a lot of those. I’m talking about meals during their regular 12 hour shift. This may sound like a strange one, but it says a lot about their work ethic. There are so many shifts that they are answering a large number of calls and doing so much work that they don’t even get to eat. They have run out of numerous restaurants and left half eaten meals in the report room because they have to rush to answer a call. Then there are shifts that they can’t even get a moment to think about eating their food. A spouse posted a picture the other day of an uneaten meal in her husband’s lunch kit that she found a day later. Even though he came prepared with his food, he couldn’t stop long enough to heat it up and get a few bites. Thank you officers for caring about the people you serve enough to miss out on those meals. It shows that they routinely put others before themselves.
***Shameless plug- this is one of the reasons I keep snacks in my office for the officers. If you ever want to contribute to that, please let me know!***
Thank you for doing all the paperwork. Police work contains a lot of paperwork and it all has to be done in a very specific manner. Most of it is not quick to get done either. Everything has to be articulated in a very clear manner and all of the details have to be included. One example of a lengthy one is the process and paperwork for a DWI arrest. The whole process can take 4-6 hour depending on the various pieces. Just the normal reports can be tough too because they usually get stacked up. Most shifts it’s busy enough out on the street that they can’t stop to write the report right after they go to the call. So toward the end of the shift they have to come back with pieces of paper spread all over the desk making sure they get the right details matched to the right call.
Thank you for caring about people that others often overlook. Officers know the names and stories of many of the convenient store employees. They have their normal gas station that they stop at and they check in on the employees. They know their names, about their families, and more. In fact, a couple of the officers helped one of the gas station employees to get the paperwork done so he could stay working in the US. Many have also befriended some older members of the community that don’t have family regularly checking in on them. One of the female officers responded to a call of an elderly gentleman who said he didn’t have family in the area and was lonely. Thankfully we discovered he was in good hands, but prior to that the officer decided she was going to go by his home whenever she was on duty and check on him.
Thank you for seeing and hearing the difficult stuff over and over and over again. Most of us are able to shield ourselves from the true evils in the world, but police officers can’t do that. They have to see the body of the person who chose to take their life and then have to go and tell the family the news. They have to see the fear in the eyes of a family who can’t find a family member that was out playing in the ocean and has possibly drown. They have to investigate car accidents and piece together what happened to take the life of the people inside. They have to see children living in awful situations and hope that they can do something to get them into a better home. They have to investigate crimes against children and see things done to them that break their hearts. They have to drive past the scenes where all these awful things took place each time they are on shift. It takes such a toll on them.
Thank you for doing a job that so drastically changes your life. A lot of police officers choose not to live where they patrol because they don’t want to run into people they have arrested or seen on calls when they’re out with their families. Police officers are trained to see what is wrong in the world, so they see things differently. This means that officers are always looking around when they go out to eat or do anything with family or friends. They have a job that is not very easy to just snap out of. When they get off of shift they have to figure out how to turn off the police officer and become spouse, parent, friend, child, roommate or whatever role they are in. It’s hard for civilian people to understand what officers go through and feel, so it can be hard to maintain non-law enforcement friendships. Basically, their work as a police officer flows into every aspect of life and impacts the people closest to them.
There is so much more I could say. I’m so thankful for the officers that I get to work with each day. I’m thankful they opened a door into their world for me and that I’ve learned so much from them. I’m thankful that I’ve had a chance to see their hearts and see them persevere through all of the difficult things. I’m thankful for each day that they go home safely to their families who support them so wholeheartedly. My Galveston PD officers are incredible men and women who show me each day what it means to faithfully serve your community.