I just came across a shameful post that attempted to diminish the dangers of policing by pointing out that law enforcement is not among the 10 most dangerous occupations in America. I have done my best to avoid responding to the social media commentary that I have seen regarding some of the recent police controversies, because I respect that people have disparate views on these complicated matters, and that they have every right to express those views. This awful post that I just read, however, crossed the line for me, because it was an overt and obtuse distortion of the environment in which our officers must function. Forgive my lack of brevity, but I wanted to share my responsive post here, as it will likely be deleted from the offending page on which I replied, and I think it includes information that more people need to consider: What on Earth is your point with this obtuse post? Nationally, a total of 1,501 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 58 hours or 150 per year. There were 100 law enforcement officers killed in 2013 alone. On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,261 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,658 injuries. In Wisconsin, violent crime increased from 2011-2013 (the last year for which data is available) by 19%, and the number of assaults on officers in the line of duty has increased by 52% from 2008-2012 (the last year for which data on this is presently available). Yes, commercial fisherman and loggers, among a few others, have higher occupational fatality rates than do police officers, but those rates also exceed the fatality rates of the dedicated men and women who serve in the military. Would you belittle their service as well? There are plenty of legitimate discussions that can be had about the future of policing in our country, but you accomplish very little when you trivialize the sacrifices of a profession dedicated to protecting others by comparing it to other occupations that dont entail the same commitment to our common security. Shame on you.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 19:24:48 +0000
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