Last Thursday's near fatal chase involving police officer Cody Gentry is a sobering reminder of the daily sacrifices police and other emergency personnel make.
Those behind the thin blue line put their lives at risk, not just with a chance encounter with some nut holding a gun, but chasing bad guys to recover property and put them in handcuffs.
While trained to drive at high rates of speed, anything can happen in those dangerous situations.
Officers likely don't ponder the danger, they do their jobs, and think of the business owners, citizens or whomever is aggrieved first.
It's easy to get angry when an officer issues one a ticket and to portray him or her in a negative light.
It's also easy to stereotype an entire police department by one or two bad apples.
Perhaps, I'm wrong, but most officers don't put on the uniform to satisfy some power trip. They do it to protect and serve.
Sadly, their compensation doesn't equal their service to the community.
Or maybe it does. Maybe their compensation is knowing when they lay down their heads at night, they have made the community a safer place, taking some drug dealer, thief or potential murderer off the streets.
I've heard it said, more eloquently than this, that police officers and fire fighters run into the places that other people are running out of.
They put themselves in harms way to where it becomes second nature.
They may be off the clock, but they are officers 24/7.
If there is a dangerous situation, it's a good bet they will do their best to help resolve it without regard to their own welfare or if they are getting paid for it.
No matter what strategic plans are in place, crime is a given any place with human beings.
Hopefully, there will always be those willing to protect and serve at a wage, sadly, not much more than the poverty level.
Industrial jobs are much safer and much more lucrative. Some former officers and firemen have chosen that path, and who can blame them?
I, personally, don't have what it takes to be in their shoes. I couldn't stomach the thought of kissing my kids goodbye, not knowing what the day will bring and if it would be the last words I spoke to them.
Thankfully, there are people much braver than I am.
Next time you see an officer checking radar from a vacant parking lot, remember he's trying to slow down traffic to avoid smashed up cars and injured people -- not to ruin someone's day.
If one abides by the law, he won't get a ticket.
I'll never forget a conversation with a late northeast Arkansas police chief, Corky Richardson.
He recalled a time he was caught speeding in another town. When the officer recognized he was a fellow badge-carrier, he started to give him a warning.
Chief Richardson told him to write the ticket.
I believe that is more reflective of the type of individual willing to be a police officer than some stereotypical buzz-cut cop on a power trip.
We should all be thankful for those willing to sacrifice daily for the safety of the community.
May God protect them as they protect us.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com