It’s national police week, and so I wanted to use the opportunity to personally thank our police officers, EMTs, firefighters, co-responders, and other individuals who help keep our community safe. 

It’s sometimes hard to see everything our police officers do for our community. We see them watching as we commute to work or cart our kids around, but we don’t always stop to think about all the things they are doing, when we assume they’re just trying to find and ticket traffic violators. 

When the officer pulls over an individual, they’re looking for any signs something might be off. They are trying to find out if the driver is intoxicated or under any kind of influence. They will take impaired drivers off the road so they are not a danger to themselves or others. It’s also worth noting that many drugs are prevented from being sold in our community because an officer noticed something off about a traffic stop and searched the vehicle. 

Individuals might call the police to their homes after finding property stolen or damaged. But they don’t always know that the same individual has targeted several homes in the area and police are tracking them down. 

There is so much that the police do for us that we simply don’t see every day. These individuals put themselves in stressful and dangerous situations to keep the rest of us safe. 

I hope that, if only for this week, our police officers feel seen and appreciated by the rest of the community. Thank you for all you do, and I wish you safety as you continue to protect the rest of us.