Hug Your Favorite Law Enforcement Officer About This Page:

[jenifermg0]

So, I know there has been a lot in the news in the past year about civilians being killed or injuried by over zealous law enforcement officers. However, I would still ask that this week we all stop and think about the many good and virtous men and women who get up each day and protect our communities from the bad guys.

Today in Alaska, we will be honoring the men who have given their lives in the performance of their duty. That duty being to keep the citizens of Alaska safe.

Last year on May 1st, the Alaska State Troopers lost two of our own. Their names will be officially added to the Alaska memorial this year, so we expect the ceremony to be especially difficult for many of the attendees. While one of the fallen men had been with the department for only a few years, he had made many friends in the department and was well liked. The other had been with DPS for 20 years and was well known across the state. The loss of these two men was a blow to the entire department and law enforcement community. They were also honored at a ceremony in New Mexico and will be added to national memorial as well.

These were good men, honest men, brave men, men with a purpose. They had loved ones who grieve their loss each and every day. They got up each day and went to work, knowing that the kiss they gave their families could very well be last one ever. And yet, they didn't hesitate to do it. Our department is diminished and made smaller by their loss.

Their sacrifice and the sacrifice of all the officers across our nation must not be lost in the media crush surrouding the terrible loss of civilians as well.

Please, take a moment today to thank a police officer for his or her committment to their duty. Let them know you care and that you support them. Check with your local departments, they, too, may be having memorials today or in the near future. Think about attending one and seeing some of the people left behind, real family as well as law enforcement family.

Think of the chaos that would rule our streets if not for these brave men and women.

Thank you for your time.

[wishes]

Well said! I just literally finished watching the funeral services for the fallen NYPD officer, who was killed in the line of duty last weekend. It hit especially close to home, because my kids are very close in age, and he is from my neighboring home town. The procession is going past my Church and the street I grew up on, on the way to the cemetery; which is the same one where all of my family is buried. My heart is breaking for this family--watching the parents just sobbing undid me. God Bless all of our men & women in blue, and in all of our services, including firefighters, military and police. You are right, I hate to think what our lives would be like without these brave people.

[KMB733]

This is an easy one, my dad is my favorite law enforcement officer. Even though he is retired, I'm thankful and proud of the service he gave to the community to keep our streets safe. It makes me angry when I read some of the stories and people rush to judgement about police officers. No one knows what it is like to walk in their shoes and face the dangerous situations they are in. They are doing their jobs and just trying to get home safe to their families.

[joelsmom]

I completely agree with your sentiments. The current unrest over law enforcement is extraordinarily sad for me to see. These men and women put their lives on the line every day to "protect and serve," and it's a shame to see all the protests and riots going on. I wish we could all see the sacrifices made by people of all occupations. There'd be far less complaining, I think.

[jenifermg0]

Originally Posted by joelsmom

I wish we could all see the sacrifices made by people of all occupations. There'd be far less complaining, I think.

Here in Alaska the sacrifices are not always life and limb. And I'm sure this applies to other areas of our nation as well, I'm not trying to exclude anyone.

Often it is quite simply, TIME. Time with your spouse, time with your children, missing the school band concert, missing an anniversary, missing dinner, missing Saturday moring cartoons.

So many of our troopers end up traveling...A LOT...in the course of their jobs. The investigators are taken away from their personal lives regularly and have to travel out to VERY rural areas for investigations that may keep them there for days or weeks. The patrol troopers in our "outlying areas" are patroling hundreds and hundreds of miles and have to fly/ATV/snowmobile out and about and will probably not get home for days.

Here there is more danger in the form of plane crashes, animal attacks, getting stranded in the wilderness than you would normally consider for the average officer.

I truly admire the men and women I work with. They are all amazing individuals.

[Terrio]

Being a law enforcement officer has got to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest jobs! I have so much respect for them. I have a cousin who is an officer.

[jenifermg0]

The Alaska ceremony went very well. My DS and 11 of his fellow scouts were on hand to help out and stand as part of the formation with all the attending officers. It was beautiful. These boys will become men who may decide they want to continue their lives of service in a larger fashion. Some of them may be standing in this formation as officers in days to come. If this happens, I will be proud to say I knew them when...

The widow of a trooper lost in 2013 in a helicopter accident was the key note speaker. At the start of her speech, she talked about the memorial in Washington DC and the words on it that read, "In valor, there is hope." That is an amazing quote. It just cuts right to the heart of what it is to be a law enforcement officer. If it were not for their valor, there might not be hope.

She also described the memorial (I've never seen it so I have to take her at her word) as having a lion protecting her cubs. I can to a degree relate to the visual of the memorial, although as an Alaskan, I relate more to a bear than a lion. Pretty much any mom (or dad) can. We would do anything to protect our children. This is what our law enforcement does every day.

Again as we progress towards the National Memorial Ceremony next week on the 15th, I would ask each of you to support those deserving officers out there and let them know you care.