Dear Officer

Dear Officer,

I see you.

I need you.

I appreciate you.

I may not know you, but I see your efforts. I see you put my family's safety before your own. I see you seat yourself in a restaurant with your back to the wall in the back of the restaurant, and if that seat isn't available, at least facing the door, constantly scanning your surroundings, suspicious of all and trusting of none, better safe than sorry. I see you being filmed every time you try and do your job. I see you live your life frustrated and misunderstood. I see you ridiculed on social media and in the news for implementing your training. I see your exhaustion. I see you walk up to the car on your next traffic stop hoping it isn't your last. I see you touch the taillight of that car, so that should you get shot, at least your fingerprints are there to lead investigators to the right vehicle/owner.

 

I see you.

I see you leave your family and home for each shift, hoping but not knowing that you will return after your 8, 10, or 12+ -hour shift is over. I see your wife putting your kids to bed each night alone, and encouraging them to go to sleep and that Daddy will be home when they wake up. I see you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, as well as the 40+ pounds of duty belt on your waist. I see you hold back the tears as you hold the lifeless body of a baby that was beat to death by their parents, just after slamming cuffs on them and putting them behind bars. I see you wish there had been signs earlier, or wish the neighbor had heard/suspected sooner. I see you question your faith in God, when over and over again all you see is the negative aspects of society, and you wonder how a God who is supposed to be in control of it all, lets what used to be a 'nation under God' become so crime-ridden and evil.

I see you.

 

I see you become more and more frustrated with parents because they refuse to teach their children right from wrong and then blame you when they are caught breaking the law. I see you wish away parents' choices to make you the bad guy to their young children, with saying such as, 'If you don't finish your supper, the cops are going to come and take you away,' not even giving you a chance to be a hero in that little kid's eyes, but instead, making you the enemy from the time they can talk/walk. I see you not just shoot the gun out of the hand of someone who has aimed it at you, and then be condemned for not just tasing them. I see you do right by you, the law, and your department, but forever be scorned for not doing your job right, because let's face it, everyone on mainstream media knows every law and every part of your training and job requirements you must abide by.

I see you.

 

I see you work your 12+ hour shifts without knowing if you will get a break for supper or for a quick goodnight call to your husband. I see you spend countless hours away from your family, putting in overtime as it is needed, but somehow never reaping the benefits of it on payday, good thing you aren't in this noble profession for the paychecks. I see you respond to crazy calls to solve other people's problems because they have deemed themselves incapable. I see you threatened on a daily basis. I see people hate you, not because of who you are, but again because of 'what' you are. I see you breakdown in the office over a call that you responded to and took care of while holding it all together, but couldn't any longer after you reached the secure area of your desk amongst your thin blue line family that you know you can trust enough to break down in front of, but then find yourself being reprimanded by your superior, and told to man-up by your peers.

 

I see you.

 

I see you wishing you had made it home in time for a warm meal, rather than the lukewarm, already considered leftover meal, you received when you finally made it home for lunch. I see you apologize to your wife for being late, and then filling her in on the details you are able to about the ridiculous call that kept you from coming home when you said you would. I see you patrolling the neighborhood that your home lies within, in hopes of catching a criminal in the act before s/he is able to break into your own home in hopes of attacking your family in response to your arresting them or a family member of theirs.

 

I see you.

I see you get asked if you are even capable of doing your job when the crime isn't solved and the guilty party in jail in the allotted 60 minutes it takes investigators on television to do so. I see you be despised, hated, distrusted, and mostly unwanted by others. I see you become a 'bad cop' because someone 6 states away forgot their oath of honor and the whole world knew about it within a couple days, again, thank you mainstream media, thus affecting the image of every cop ever in the public's eye. I see you itching under that Kevlar, while silently knowing it may be all that stands between life and death, hoping it will be enough to protect you from the bullets of a stranger's gun that may be pulled on you at any minute, day or night. I see you arresting a potentially dangerous, combative suspect, and realize there is no 'nice' way to do so. I see you get accused of police brutality, even though you were just doing what you had to to protect yourself and those around you, whether it be more Officers or civilians.

I see you.

I see you burying your brothers and sisters that died too soon simply because they wore a badge and a vest. I see you hurting. I see you holding it all together, being strong for everyone else. I see your honor and duty to serve and protect the very civilians that mock you to your face, the very civilians pulling out their cameras after calling you to their home to deal with their disobeying and argumentative child, with hopes of catching you slipping up, in order to tear you down more on social media. I see you show up to work every shift, ready to do your job, and excited for a new day.

I see you.

 

I see you spend your holidays in a squad car. I see you miss your child's first steps or first words because you were sleeping after a long night shift. I see you take a bullet for your partner. I see you jump into a lake with questionable creatures, to pull a crash victim from the heap of metal that used to be a car. I see you being blamed and accused for doing what you were sworn to do. I see a few bad men and women amongst a majority of good cops, that the world allows to taint their image of an entire population of. I see you doing the dirty work that we are too afraid to do. I see you keep the bad guys out of our businesses, our cars, our homes, and our faces. I see you be the bodyguard, the hired fists, batons, and guns of our lives. I see you do what I am too unskilled or too civilized to do myself. I see you fear no evil.

 

I see you.

 

I see you make all your date night plans in a city in another county in order to avoid the awkward moments of walking out after being seated and realizing you have arrested half of the staff in the restaurant. I see you telling the man in the hardware store that you work for the city, and leaving it at that to protect your family and yourself from any possible danger had they known your real job title, because that is the world you live in today, one that targets you and your blue line family.

I see you.

I see you make yet another run to a home for a domestic call, hoping that the girlfriend is still alive when you get there, hoping that she will press charges this time, hoping that she won't be the one who bails him out so he can beat her all over again, hoping she will be strong this time, and get out while she still is alive, wondering how long it is going to take for her to learn that this isn't healthy. I see you wondering how long her poor fragile body will sustain the abuse.

 

I see you.

I see you wishing you could adopt all the mistreated children in your district. I see your heart break for them. I see you hurting. I see the weight of each call weighing down on you, until you aren't even sure you can stand anymore. I see you running after a subject through alleys in the dark, with no fear, only adrenaline, hopping fences, just praying that the criminal isn't armed and doesn't hurt you or a fellow officer. I see you fight, not because you hate what is in front of you, but because you love those who stand behind you. I see you stay calm in the most intense of situations. I see you help that old lady cross the street. I see you directing traffic in rain, sleet, snow, ice, and the beating sun. I see you maneuver the freeway in a chase like a boss, always careful to keep the innocent civilians safe, while yet managing to not lose the suspect's vehicle.

 

I see you.

 

I see you and your family of blue gather around a lost brother or sister's family and lend all the help you can. I see you all band together in support of those grieving. I see you never stop looking for the man that shot your brother. I see you working overtime day and night seeking justice for that criminal, and to do right by your fallen comrade. I see you pursuing him/her relentlessly.

 

I see you.

 

I see you reach the solace of your home, and just weep tears of sorrow, knowing that it could have been you, and sorry that it was your comrade. I see you sneak in to your sleeping child's room and gaze upon them and wonder when they got so big, then silently promising yourself that you are going to be around more often, because you have already missed so much. I see you snuggle closer and hold tighter to your spouse in bed, and whisper to them that you love them. I see you make a point to stop and tell them that as often as possible, not just at the end of the phone call dates, not just as you are walking out the door for what has the potential to be the last time every time, but throughout the day, maybe while you are busy washing dishes, or mowing the lawn, just pausing to tell your spouse in the moment, because you know then and there that you have this moment, but quite possibly may not have the next. I see you sacrifice nights away from those you love to protect those you don't even know.
 

I see you.

I see you always on alert, always prepared for anything at all times. I see you back your car up against a building so that you are aware of your surroundings and making it impossible for someone to sneak up behind you as you finish that report an hour after your shift was supposed to end. I see you finally catching a break between calls, and chatting with a fellow officer pulled up alongside each other, parked opposite directions so you can watch each other's 6, because these are your brothers and sisters and will always only be second to your family at home.

I. See. You.
 

When I look at you Officer, first I see:

a Brother.

a Sister.

a Mother.

a Father.

a Son.

a Daughter.

an Aunt.

an Uncle.

a Grandparent.

a Cousin.

a Friend.

a Citizen.

an American.

Then I see:

a Sheep Dog.

a Wolf Hunter.

a Protector.

a Guardian.

a Patriot.

I see a Fighter.

I see a Defender.

I see a Hero.

 

No cape, no powers, just Kevlar and class-B attire, but a superhero nonetheless.

 

I say a prayer everyday for you. I pray for your protection while you are putting your life on the line for mine. I pray for your safe return home to your parents, wife, kids, husband, dog, from each shift. I pray for courage, strength, and might. I pray for discernment on how to handle each call and situation you find yourself in throughout each shift. 

And even when it seems like no one else does, know God and I got your 6. Thank you for your sacrifice, shift after shift, to protect myself and my loved ones. Thank you for defending the thin blue line in our society. Thank you for showing up.
 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9