I wish every person could go on a ridealong. I wish everyone could see the things, the people, and the situations that our officers experience each day. I wish that they could see the tenderness of an officer clutching a wailing baby that was just pulled out of a car wreck. I wish they could experience the pure joy in everyone’s faces after an officer pulls over and shoots hoops with the neighborhood kids. The determination and courage evident in an officer’s posture as they show up to a dangerous domestic violence call. And the exhaustion and brokenness evident in the slump of their shoulders and the darkness in their eyes as they lean again the kitchen counter after a particularly rough shift.
“Defund the police” they call as they make judgements from their living room chairs and cuts from their city council seats. “Walk a mile in their shoes” we answer. Don’t just read the news and watch a handful of partial YouTube videos. Go see firsthand what our law enforcement departments deal with on a daily basis, and then come back and tell us what you see. I already know what I see every day as I send my officer out the door without knowing if he’ll return-a a kind, steady, reliable man who is answering his call to serve 🖤💙🖤
“To stand beside an officer and walk with their pain will cause a civilian to no longer complain.”
