Policemen are not Supermen

Fox 59 TV

The story above is of an IMPD officer, off duty, who was arrested for OVWI, Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated. It seems IMPD has been in the news a LOT recently. From the comfort of our chairs in our safe homes, it is easy to sit in judgement on an organization, and individuals, who serve and protect. We shake our heads, give ourselves a "tut, tut", and feel sorrow over the lost honor of a fallen cop. Not one who has fallen in the line of duty, but fallen from grace.

I have had the privilege of participating in two Citizen's Academies, the FBI's Indianapolis Field Office Citizen's Academy, and the Speedway Police Department Citizen's Academy. The one thing I learned during both of these experiences is the vast number of decisions these folks make on a daily basis. FBI agents have numerous cases they work simultaneously, while the Speedway police officers face scorn, derision, and outright verbal abuse from those they deal with, without the benefit of making them stop.

For these men and women, they daily number of decisions take their toll. You want to talk about stress in your life? Make the life-and-death decisions these folks do daily and get back to me. Walk a mile in their shoes, if you can.

Having seen, briefly, what they go through, I find myself amazed that more of them don't succumb to the stresses. They are, after all, people like you and I. They feel pain and loss, they have pride, they are human they are flawed. Yet, because they made the choice to stand between chaos and us, they are special people. They are Sheepdogs.

The vast majority of the members of IMPD, the Speedway Police Department, and the FBI are great people, flawed as they are as humans. 9 out of 10 of us flinch away from angry, hurtful people. the 1 in 10, the magnificent Sheepdogs, face that anger, that desire to do harm, and they place themselves between us and them. There is a price to pay.

That doesn't mean we accept unacceptable behavior, nor does it mean that they should not face the consequences of their actions. In that regard, they are no different from us.

But we must not take the easy road and allow the actions of individuals to dishonor the organization, or the vast majority of the members of those organizations who do their duty every day.

They are the thin blue line that stands between our civilization and chaos.

I, for one, am thankful they are there.