Thank you: Local officers should know community appreciates them

Today local law enforcement personnel gathered at Wayne Community College to honor their brethren who did not make it home.

The ceremony was moving, the occasion solemn.

And it was a reminder that so many of the people who wear badges these days face real concerns, real dangers.

Sometimes it might seem that communities only honor the men and women who proudly wear uniforms when one of them loses his or her life in the line of duty.

So, today, while we pause to honor those who defended their communities but who lost their lives at the hands of a criminal, we also take a moment to honor those who could not attend this morning's ceremony because they were out on the streets -- investigating crimes and protecting their community -- as well as those who joined them after the memorial service was over.

Being a law enforcement officer is often a thankless job. Keeping the streets safe and drugs and crime at bay is not easy.

There are days when these men and women leave their houses not knowing what they will encounter -- and if today is the day that they will not come home.

It takes a special person to care about a community enough to put your life on the line -- and there are hundreds of local and state officers who do just that every day.

So we shed a tear for those we have lost.

But we also honor them by remembering that there are heroes still among us.

And they wear badges.

Published in Editorials on May 6, 2015 11:00 AM