Written by my friend's neice.

I’m done. I’m done. I. Am. Done… For the last week our family has been through hell. (other police families know exactly what I’m talking about) I’ve never been one to stir anything up on social media. I’d rather talk one-on-one, but this is absolutely crazy right now! I’m not posting to argue or change your opinion (I know I can’t do that on fb). I’m breaking my silence to say that the portrayal of Police on TV is not right! It’s not what is actually happening on the streets! And the overall disrespect and hate being thrown at them is unbelievable! STOP IT!!!! The Police are just as saddened by George Floyd’s death as anyone. My husband is going in to work for the 12th day today. 12 straight days… and the last week almost all the days have been from before my girls wake up in the morning to after they go to bed. Why is he doing this? Because he took an oath to defend YOU (the community)!!! He’s missed more than I could ever begin to tell you… our kids bdays, holidays, anniversaries, swim meets, dance shows, campouts, dates, overall LIFE… serving and protecting the community! He has been a police officer for 13 years and has received a great deal of hate over that time, but this last week… I can’t even put in to words the disbelief I see in his eyes… the way he has been broken down in one week from constant hate. In conversation with him he described it like this… “I’m used to being cussed at and yelled at, but never for 12 hours straight – day after day”. STOP IT!!! For 13 years he has sacrificed SO much for this community!!! And might I remind everyone that my husband is one of the absolute best Police Officers! He has had criminals thank him for treating them like humans! What he has done in 13 years is incredible, yet he is having rocks and bottles thrown at him… and having unbelievable things yelled at him – all of which are inappropriate for fb. He’s being told that they hope he goes home to a dead wife! Really! But that’s not on TV. Unless you are wearing a badge during this or have immediate family that is you really have no idea what it’s been like… because no one is telling this side. My girls have cried so much and have seen friends say/post awful things… my son has never been more angry and has had to defend his dad to people saying “save a life – kill a cop” and “if you are currently a cop, you deserve to die” !!! That’s for real people… that’s really what is being said! Imagine what is going through my kids’ heads. They are proud of their dad and have seen what he has had to sacrifice for YOU (the community), but they also see how the Police are now being hated, truly hated. They know that things have been thrown at their dad like rocks, bottles, even explosives and they are scared. I am scared. We’re scared because he will continue to get up every day and go back out there in this hate. Their dad, my husband ( and many Police officers) have kept the community safe for so long. Can you even imagine a community without them? My husband has taken hundreds of intoxicated drivers off the streets, taken unreal amounts of illegal guns and drugs off the streets and community, been fought by criminals so many times it’s scary, comforted crash victims as they wait for the ambulance, taken food to the homeless, taken clothes/toys(our own children’s) to fire victims, saved lives including a young man shot in the neck at a bar on Christmas Eve where my husband shoved gauze in the bullet hole, he’s had conversations over and over about turning their lives around and being better people, he’s shared about Jesus and plays Christian radio in his police car for them to hear, he’s conducted interview after interview where he gets a confession that has surprised even his coworkers, he’s been flipped off by a 6 year old, and had threats made to his life and his family’s, he has stopped burglars off duty, he had a gun pulled from under a driver’s leg and brought up to shoot him that my husband deflected, he has worked in the scorching heat and in blizzards, he has worked double, triple, and quadruple shifts to take down criminals, he’s been scared and he’s been exhausted, but never like right now. STOP IT!!! I’m crying and shaking, just like every day this last week. Prayers to all Police officers and their families, it is a very sad and scary time. In our home we have always taught to love and be kind to everyone (both genders and all colors and cultures). My kids are nice, and I always have told them that being told that from a teacher means more to me than their grades…. ALWAYS! Be a kind human, make someone’s day better… those are things we say in our home… always have, always will. What is happening right now is crazy and scary. It needs to stop! Love God, Love People and lift up the Police in prayer right now please!

I’m not willing to argue with anyone… I just felt the need to get one Police family’s experience out there.