When I was
growing up I remember an officer that was killed in the line of duty. There was
a county wide man-hunt to apprehend the perpetrator. Unfortunately he was
apprehended alive. Later he was found guilty and sentenced. Just a few years
ago they released him and the story was covered all over again. I remember
thinking to myself “Why are you releasing him?” I
remember this story because it was so unusual to hear about an officer that was
killed in the line of duty, what I didn’t understand then was that there is a
difference between “hearing about” and the real life events that take place
within our community.
The National
press has been brutal on the Law Enforcements Community lately. This adverse
public exposure has had a detrimental effect on our officers and their
families. This exposure has resulted in an even larger risk exposure for our
officers in the area of embolden attacks and also on officer behavior. In
Chicago last week we heard of a female officer refusing to fight back because
she was worried about how the press would cover it, luckily she survived the
attack, others have not been so luck. Does anybody here think, Enough is Enough
already? Really?
The proud sponsors
of this event wanted to take an opportunity to thank our officers in a
meaningful and real way, and we wanted to change the narrative from “look what
they messed up again” to “Look how lucky we are to have them”. This is the
narrative we are starting tonight.
Just this
week we heard of another officer involved shooting. The suspect is still on the
run and the FBI is helping in the search for this individual.
So what type
of person wants to be an officer?
Well lets
look at one of the officers shot this week. He was shot in the foot, fell to
the ground (because I’m sure getting shot in the foot stings just a little)
regained his composure, stood up again and re-joined the firefight. That is the
type of person who signs up to be an officer.
According to
officer down memorial page
Gunfire
related deaths are up an alarming 53% this year
Here in MN
we have seen a member of the community take his own life partially due to job
related stress.
In Minnesota
We have lost
Since 2000
MN has seen 22 duty related deaths and 3 K9 officer duty related deaths
Last 10
Years: 14
Last 25
years: 36
Last 50
years: 89
Last 100
years: 206
Last 200
years: 239
If you
google the term “What not to say to an officer” several interesting hits come
up. Most of the list say things like “Don’t say well done Barney, they don’t
have a sense of humor”. Well, were going to challenge that assumption tonight.
So to start us off I put a short list of to do and not to do if you’re a bad
guy and are confronted by an officer.
Things not
to do
1)
Do not reach for your black wallet and pull it
our fast
2)
When told to get down don’t complain about your
new jeans your girl friend just gave you, just get down
3)
Do not strike an officer, no mater how justified
you think you are this will not end well for you
4)
Don’t blame your stupidity on the officer
5)
If you threaten an officer with a weapon, don’t
blame them when you get hurt
6)
No, you not going to be on an episode of COPs,
don’t even try to break a records
| I would like to turn the comedy over to a professional now. Our sponsors wanted to share our featured entertainer as a token of the communities appreciation of our law enforcement community’s service and dedication. We also wanted to extend a thank you to the families of our law enforcement community. We know that when one member of the family puts on that badge and steps into the patrol car that the whole family has their future on the line and we wanted to tank all the family members for their support for our officers. Our featured act has been on Fox Comedy as well as appearing locally at some comedy clubs in Rochester. His act has open for Louis Anderson and his home city is Minneapolis MN. We are lucky to have him for tonight’s entertainment please help me welcome Mark Poolos. |  |
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