Just hours after a police officer was fatally shot numerous times in what authorities have described as an unprovoked, execution-style murder, the Harris County Texas district attorney issued a long overdue call for the silent majority in this country to demonstrate their support for law enforcement.
By Assemblyman Dave Rible
Just hours after a police officer was fatally shot numerous times in what authorities have described as an unprovoked, execution-style murder, the Harris County Texas district attorney issued a long overdue call for the silent majority in this country to demonstrate their support for law enforcement.
Authorities related to the case were quick to say that they believed this heinous murder, in which a lone gunman shot the officer in the back of the head and continued to shoot another 14 times after the officer fell to the ground, could have been due to the fact that the officer was in uniform - targeted simply for being a member of the law enforcement community.
It is deeply disturbing that someone could be targeted because of their profession as a police officer. However, it is sadly not surprising that we are witnessing a disturbing trend of violence that threatens our country's brave officers at the same time we are seeing a hostile rhetoric toward the law enforcement community.
This rhetoric has become so disruptive and inflammatory that it has led some individuals to believe it is acceptable to throw bottles or bricks at police officers. Others have openly called for police to be harmed, like the group of protestors in New York City who chanted, "What do we want? Dead cops!" just days before two New York Police Department officers were gunned down while on patrol.
And it is not just the murder of officers that is disturbing. Over the past decade there has been nearly 60,000 assaults against law enforcement each year. Attacked while simply doing their job, many of these assaults resulted in injury to the officers.
This irresponsible and negative rhetoric toward law enforcement officers must stop and we must come together to support the men and women who bravely put their safety on the line each and every day. Serving as a police officer can be difficult enough and this new era of rushing to judgment before a case is closed or the facts are known has only made a difficult job even more challenging.
In some incidents, the overbearing scrutiny of law enforcement has caused some officers to second guess their decisions, making their job even more dangerous. For example, an Alabama detective recently was pistol-whipped unconscious while several bystanders took pictures instead of helping him. The officer said he hesitated to use force because he did not want to be another headline in the news cycle.
We cannot create a climate where police become reluctant to be effective just because we are publicly prosecuting cops instead of criminals.
As a former police officer I can assure you no officer starts their shift hoping to find themselves in an altercation. No officer starts their shift hoping to use deadly force. However, I can tell you that officers begin their shifts hoping to protect their community and return home safely to their loved ones.
And while we cannot go back in time and undo the damage done to the families and communities of the more than 80 police officers who were killed in the line of duty so far this year, we can move forward and work together to show our support for law enforcement officers and change the attitude and rhetoric in this country.
These men and women who were killed in the line of duty were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, just like Fox Lake, Illinois, Officer Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, who was recently murdered while on pursuit and set to retire this month after a storied career. He leaves behind a wife and four children.
And let us not forget the 72 officers who were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. These officers were running toward the chaos doing what they took an oath to do - protect the public at all costs.
We also cannot forget the difficult job performed by our corrections officers who keep our communities safe by keeping criminals off the streets. These men and women also face a dangerous work environment and should be recognized for the hard work they do.
And yes, there are bad characters in every profession but let's not discredit the noble and hard work done by the more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers serving our country. Seldom does a story make the news about a police officer doing a good deed while stories about an officer behaving badly run endlessly on the news.
Put simply, all lives matter. So instead of rallying against the men and women in blue, let us come together to offer our support to them for their service.
Assemblyman Dave Rible is the Republican Conference Leader and represents Monmouth and Ocean counties.
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