Meet the cops who gave their lives
By Michelle Malkin
MichelleMalkin.com
The entrance to the National Law Enforcement
Memorial in Washington, D.C. The inscription reads:
“In Valor There is Hope — Tacitus.”
If you’ve been
watching cable news, reading
Hollywood celebrities’ tweets and listening to
race-hustling opportunists, you might think that
every police officer in America has a finger on the
trigger, hunting for any excuse to gun down
defenseless youths.
This hysterical nonsense must be stopped.
The Cirque du Cop-Bashing, with
Al Sharpton as ringmaster, is working overtime
to exploit the deadly incident in Ferguson, Mo. That
means stoking anti-law enforcement fires at all
costs.
Are there bad cops? Yes. Does the police state go
overboard sometimes? Yes. Do the demagogues decrying
systemic racism and braying about “assassinations”
know what happened when teenager Mike Brown was
tragically shot and killed last week? No.
Here’s a reality check. While narcissistic liberal
journalists and college kids are all posting
“Hands Up” selfies in hipster solidarity with
Ferguson protesters, it’s law enforcement officers
who risk their lives in “war zones” every day across
the country.
The National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF)
reports that 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. These include local and state police
officers, federal officers, correctional officers
and military law enforcement officers.
Fact:
Last year, 100 law enforcement officers were killed.
On average, over the past decade, there have been
58,261 assaults against law enforcement each year,
resulting in 15,658 injuries.
Fact: New
York City has lost more officers in the line of duty
than any other department, with 697 deaths. Texas
has lost 1,675 officers, more than any other state.
Just this week, NLEOMF released preliminary fatality
statistics from August 2013 to August 2014. Total
fatalities are
up 14 percent, from 63 last year to 72 this
year. “Five officers were killed in ambushes, which
continue to be a major threat to law enforcement
safety,” the group notes.
Among the men in uniform who
gave their lives this summer:
Officer Scott Patrick and his accused killer
Brian Fitch
Police Officer Scott Patrick of the Mendota Heights
Police Department in Minnesota. He was shot and
killed while conducting a traffic stop on July 30.
Patrick leaves behind a wife and two teenage
daughters.
Police Officer Jeffrey Westerfield of the Gary
Police Department in Indiana. Westerfield was
shot in the head and killed in a July 6 ambush while
sitting in his police vehicle after responding to a
911 call. The suspect had been previously arrested
for domestic violence and for kicking another
officer. Westerfield, a 19-year police department
veteran as well as an Army veteran, leaves behind a
wife and four daughters.
Officer Perry Renn of the Indianapolis Police
Department. He was shot and killed while responding
to reports of gunfire on July 5. After 20 years on
the job, Renn chose to serve in one of the city’s
most dangerous areas, even though his seniority
would have allowed him to take a less dangerous
role.
“He chose to work in patrol to make a difference in
the field,” Police Chief Rick Hite said at
Renn’s funeral. “Every day, Perry got out of his
police car.” Renn is survived by his wife.
Deputy Sheriff Allen Bares, Jr. and his accused
killervQuintylan Richard
Deputy Sheriff Allen Bares, Jr. of the Vermilion
Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. The
15-year law enforcement veteran was
shot and killed on June 23 while investigating
two suspicious suspects. Bares had been mowing his
lawn while off-duty when he witnessed a suspicious
car crash. When he went to investigate, he was
gunned down. The assailants stole his truck as he
lay dying. “He’s the type of person that would give
his shirt off his back to anybody,” a cousin said in
tribute. “Anyone that knows Allen will tell you that
he was that kind of person.” Bares leaves behind a
wife and two children.
Officer Melvin Santiago and his killer Lawrence
Campbell
Police Officer Melvin Santiago of the Jersey City
Police Department in New Jersey. Santiago, a
proud rookie cop who loved his job, was ambushed on
July 13 by a homicidal armed robber. Santiago was 23
years old. After Santiago’s killer was shot dead by
police, the violent Bloods street gang vowed to
“kill a Jersey City cop and not stop until the
National Guard is called out.”
Al Sharpton, concocter of hate-crimes hoaxes and
inciter of violent riots against police, had no
comment.
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2014