A TRIBUTE TO THE FIGHTING GENERATION :

In harm's way.

Sometimes cops make the news for very wrong reasons. Corruption, fraud, theft. But very seldom does a cop dying on duty make the news.

I want to try and take you into the mind of those men and women who selflessly put themselves in harms way. Being a cop is in your genes. In your blood. In your very soul. If you ask a born cop that answers his calling why he does it the gist of the answer will be "To protect the helpless"

Yet that simple statement encompasses so much. It means being gentle for a victim. It means being hard on a perpetrator. It means being wise beyond limit and brave beyond reason. Because oftentimes cops get killed for being helpful. They die to save the next person's life.

Nobody outside the cop world would understand the mixture of adreneline high, fear, apprehension, excitement you feel as that call comes. Lights on, siren on and the next moment you are rushing at mad speed towards...........

You do not find out untill you get there. Sometimes a false alarm. Sometimes an easy arrest. Sometimes a firefight where bullets fly.

And sometimes your line is drawn. The chaplain, together with a close buddy will knock on the door of your house.

Then your proffessional memory will get tainted. Often by ppl that never ssrved, never will because they are scared of living the life a cop lives. Yet they will post-mortem your death by saying how stupid you were, how unproffessional you acted, how you could have-should have done things differently. But they talk in hindsight. All stands revealed to them and they have hours and days to assess a situation the participants had seconds to assess and plan and execute a response plan.

But despite these negative factors there are still brave men and women that would for the sake of a total stranger put themselves directly in harms way.

Written by

Mike🐕‍🦺