Some people are just plain evil
With a daughter as a federal agent, I try not to think about the risks her job entails. However, when I wake up and read about four law enforcement officers being shot and killed and four others shot and injured while trying to serve a warrant, I cannot help but worry for her and her fellow law enforcement officers.
We can never forget that our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect us so we can live a safe and peaceful life. These law enforcement officers are parents, spouses, sons and daughters, grandchildren, and grandparents. They live in the neighborhoods. They shop at the local stores. They attend local high school activities. They support local charities. They do all the things normal people do in the community when they are not putting their lives on the lines.
It is unconscionable what happened this morning in North Carolina. Here are excerpts from The Guardian that I read first thing this morning.
Eight law-enforcement officers were shot, four fatally, during a shootout on Monday outside a home in North Carolina. The officers were serving a warrant to a person wanted for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon when the shooting began.
As marshals approached a home on the 5000 block of Galway Drive in Charlotte, the subject of the warrant began shooting at them in the front yard, police said. Officers shot back and killed the man. More gunfire then rang out from a second shooter inside the home, injuring four Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department officers – one of whom is in critical condition – and another officer from an unnamed agency.
“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief of Police, Johnny Jennings said at a news conference. “
A “high-power rifle” was recovered from the home and two additional people, including a 17-year-old, were brought to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police station as persons of interest, Jennings said.
The Marshals Service confirmed one of its agents was killed. Two officers from the state adult corrections department were also killed, said the North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper. The governor was in Charlotte and was speaking to the families of the officers.
The adult corrections department officers were identified as Sam Poloche and William “Alden” Elliott.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Joshua Eyer died at the hospital a few hours after being wounded at the shootout, Jennings said. Eyer was recently named the force’s officer of the month for April, the chief said.
Jennings described the incident as the most tragic in his 32 years with the police department. “I can’t imagine that there’s one any worse than what we’re seeing today,” he said.
“This is a good example of what we try to tell people every single day: when we put on this uniform we don’t have any guarantees that we’ll return home. But we have a lot of great men and women across this entire country that do it every day to make sure you’re safe in your communities.” The last few days has been very tough,” Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said at a news conference on Tuesday, pausing to collect himself and wipe tears from his eyes.
Vi Lyles, the Charlotte mayor, said she has been contacted by the White House and a host of state officials to ask what the community needs as they sort through the events of the day and plan for memorials to honor the officers.
“We’ve lost three people,” Lyles said during the news conference. “They lost their lives after they gave us the opportunity to be in a safe place. We know that there is a reason that everything happens and sometimes we don’t understand it.”
Sam Poloche, William Elliott, Joshua Eyer and Thomas Weeks.Credit…NC Dept. of Corrections, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Dept., US Marshals Service, via Associated Press
When my day starts like this, all I can do is text my daughter and tell her how much I love her and how proud I am of her for what she does.
Feel free to share my blog. To receive it in an email, please see the subscribe button below the Video of the Day.
Quote of the Day: “This is a good example of what we try to tell people every single day: when we put on this uniform we don’t have any guarantees that we’ll return home. But we have a lot of great men and women across this entire country that do it every day to make sure you’re safe in your communities.” The last few days has been very tough,” Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said at a news conference on Tuesday, pausing to collect himself and wipe tears from his eyes.
Orchid of the Day: The law enforcement and first responders who put their lives on the day every day.
Onion of the Day: The evil person and his accomplices who caused the deaths of the four officers and injured four others.
Question of the Day: Why?
Image of the Day: See the above pictures of the four officers killed today.