Prayers for heroes
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 11, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Brent Collins, representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sarah, pray for the safety of Wayne County lawmen at a community gathering at the Goldsboro Police Department on Thursday. The event drew more than 100 community members, officers and church leaders to pray for law enforcement officers.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Sarah Collins, left, event organizer, gives Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce several cards made by elementary school students, thanking the Wayne County Sheriff's Department for its service to residents of the county.
Sarah Collins started with an idea.
She posted a message on her Facebook page encouraging members of the community to get involved.
And they did.
More than 50 Goldsboro and Wayne County citizens descended on the Goldsboro Police Department Thursday at 11 a.m. for a show of love and support for the men and women in law enforcement who put on the badge each day and go to work.
Mrs. Collins said she attended a political rally hosted by Glenn Beck and Bishop James Lowe in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this year. What she saw there inspired her to initiate a call to action once she got back home.
"They were so inspiring the way they modeled their march after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and after Gandhi," she said.
She was filled with the idea of bringing unity, peace and love back to Goldsboro.
"I can't change people in Texas, I can't change people in Washington, nobody can change anybody in D.C., and I don't even know that I can change anybody in N.C., but I know that I can start small and maybe hope that it gets bigger and it grows and that other people feel it," Mrs. Collins said.
According to the National Law enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 85 officer across the country have died so far in 2015 while serving their communities. Of those deaths, 26 came by gunfire. Other deaths in the line of duty included four officers killed in the course of vehicle pursuits, three by vehicular assaults and three more officers fell victim to illnesses related to 9/11.
Earlier this year two New York Police Department officers were ambushed and murdered while sitting in their patrol car, and last month an Illinois officer was killed by three men who specifically targeted him.
Here at home, a recent rash of violent crime including three homicides in August has had the community -- law enforcement and private citizens alike -- on edge.
Interim Police Chief Mike West recently issued a call for city government, law enforcement and community leaders to come together to work toward a solution.
He did not know at the time Mrs. Collins' message had already gone out.
"It's overwhelming. In law enforcement, you know, we don't put on the badge wanting to go out here and receive the accolades and the pats on the back and the thank yous. But it does make a difference when we receive the support, especially today when you don't hear a lot of positives about law enforcement. This is great," West said.
He said he did not expect it to happen so soon, however.
Church leaders from several different faiths took the opportunity to lead prayers for the safety of the officers who place themselves in danger each day. Community members held signs with the universal symbol for police -- the thin blue line -- and with messages such as "Blue lives matter" and "We support those who protect and serve."
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce was also invited to attend. He brought along his command staff and jail administration to Thursday's event.
"This was an amazing turn out. I am so impressed with the people and the response that they made." he said. "To support us as law enforcement officers, it humbles me. It's an honor to serve the public anyway, but it humbles me when we have a turnout like this," Pierce said.
Pierce said he is keenly aware of the rate that officers have been killed across the nation over the past few weeks. It is something he thinks about each night before bed.
"It breaks my heart everyday when I see that and I go to bed every night and I pray that we don't lose an officer that night," he said.
Pierce said worrying about his troops is a burden any administrator carries anytime he has his men and women in the field.
"It is a burden we have to bear and, you know, I have a lot of good men, and Goldsboro PD and all of law enforcement in Wayne County, we have a lot of great guys that are out here fighting on the front lines. The highway patrol, you know, all of these guys are working hard. We're a brotherhood," Pierce said.