Unsung Heroes

A few times a year, we’ll hear on the local news the story of some cop who takes it upon himself, or a group of cops who get together from a sense of charity, to provide something wonderful for a member of the community.

Maybe it’s Christmas presents. Or shoes for an entire family, or just one homeless man, or diapers and kids shoes for a mom caught shoplifting.

The thing is, this happens on a daily basis.

What cops will never tell you is that while most people think cops have it made in terms of their job security and benefits, that’s often not true. Across the country, cops often make less than they would at other jobs — like bartender, or in some cases, working at Walmart.

And they don’t complain. It’s the nature of the job — and it’s why we refer to it as a calling.

This morning I saw this come across our police email, from someone in HR:

An officer broke their arm in the line of duty, and the benefits and time off just isn’t enough for them to make ends meet. Our HR specialist is asking if other officers will donate some of their accrued vacation and leave time to this officer so she or he can recuperate.

It kills cops to have to ask for help. Often they don’t.

But I wanted to post this to highlight the sacrifices our nation’s nearly one million officers make for their communities on a daily basis.