Police officers deserve our gratitude and respect
Police Officers, by their vary nature, have to be tough, often forced to swallow the pain and evil they see on a daily basis, because to be weak could get them killed. They are targets for criminals, ever having to be vigilant while doing the rounds, not knowing if the next block is going to see gunfire directed at them. They enter domestic violence scenes, where moms have been beaten, and where little children are showing signs of sexual abuse. They see the evil that at times seems to dominate their whole world, and they take it home with them, unable to share what they’ve seen with their spouses. Being tough guys, they can’t let down their guard, nor can they always see that evil has not completely won the battle. Trust becomes harder for the officers, because they come in contact with the evil throughout their work week.
When I was a high school student my father was a police officer, as well as a golf pro during the short golfing season of Northern Idaho. An influential lady came up to me after church and complained about a speeding ticket my father had given her, and how he’d “done a power trip on her because he’d been overzealous. She was angry because, as a fellow Lutheran, he should not have ticketed her. I surprised myself by telling her that if she were such a good Lutheran, my dad wouldn’t have had to pull her over for speeding, and that furthermore, since he was an honest cop, he had the duty to give everyone a ticket, if they deserved it, regardless of where they went to church. The woman walked off in a huff.
Police protect us from ourselves, it would seem, and often take abuse from the very people who need their services the most. It doesn’t hurt to thank an officer for doing his or her duty, when you are at fault, and deserve the ticket. You should be thanking the officer for pulling you over because you’ve been drinking, and be grateful they’re not pulling your body out of a crumpled wreckage.
We need to be mindful that police deserve to receive smiles, and friendly expressions of our gratefulness for protecting us from the bad guys, all the while not acting like one of the bad guys ourselves. They are appointed to be our protectors, and we should not act like the spoiled brat that resents being reminded, we will not be allowed to break the law. There are enough truly bad guys out there without our contribution to the further breakdown of civilization.
Write a commendation letter to the officer’s chief, letting the department know how much you appreciated the politeness of the officer as he was writing your ticket. Let the officer know you are grateful he’s kept you from doing something stupid, and that he’s like a guardian angel, keeping you safe from yourself.
As members of society we need to show our love and respect to the men and women in uniform, and not let ourselves act like rough teenagers who want to party without adult supervision. We need to take a new look at how very much we need their services, for our society would break down overnight, without them.
We need to pray for our police offices, and recognize their service to the greater community is what keeps society from the chaos, violence, and total breakdown of civilization that would take place without them. We must remember to pray for our police officers, put their own lives on the line, each and every day, for our safety. These police officers are the guardians of peace and safely, and a lifeline to countless men, woman, and children, each and every day. The least we can do for them is to pray for them and their families, show respect when we have been caught breaking the law, and thank them for all they do for us.
The point of my article is not to whitewash the problem of bad cops, but to explain why every police officer struggles not to surrender to a bleak and dark image of our society as a whole. The evil our police face on a daily basis, together with an epidemic of police shootings across the country, would be enough to push most of us who judge them collectively, over the edge. I am writing this following the funeral of Tacoma Police Officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, which I attended as a police chaplain, a few hours ago.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photos: 1) Some police and fire chaplains, and I. 2) The arrival of the body of Police Officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, to the Tacoma Dome.
Saturday December 10, 2016 / November 27, 2016
25th Week after Pentecost. Tone seven.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos named “Znamenie”.
Commemoration of the miracle of the Weeping Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of the Sign” at Novgorod in 1170.
Great-martyr James the Persian (421).
Venerable Palladius of Thessalonica (6th-7th c.).
St. James, bishop and wonderworker of Rostov (1392).
Uncovering of the relics (1192) of St. Vsevolod (Gabriel), prince and wonderworker of Pskov (1138).
Blessed Andrew of Symbirsk (1841).
New Hieromartyrs Nicholas archbishop of Vladimir, Basil, Boris, Theodore, Nicholas, Alexis, John, Sergius, John, Sergius, Nicholas priests, New Hieromartyrs Ioasaf, Cronides, Nicholas, Xenophon, Alexis, Appolos, Seraphim, Nicholas and Martyr John (1937).
17 Monk-martyrs in India (4th c.).
Venerable Romanus the Wonderworker of Cilicia (5th c.).
Znamenie-Sign Icons of the Mother of God: “Kursk-Root” (1295), “Abalatsk” (1637), “Tsarskotsel’sk” and “Seraphimo-Ponetaevsk”(1879), Verkhnetagilsk (1753) and named “Korchemnaia” (18 c.).
Venerable Pinuphrius of Egypt (4th c.).
Venerable Nathaniel of Nitria (6th c.).
Venerable Diodorus of George Hill (Solovki) (1633).
St. Maximus of Riez (460).
Venerable Theodosius of Trnovo (1363).
St. Virgil, bishop of Salzburg (748).
St. Congar, bishop of Somerset.
St. Fergus, bishop of Glamis.
Scripture Readings
Luke 1:39-49
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
The Song of Mary
46 And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
Luke 1:56
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Galatians 1:3-10
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Only One Gospel
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Luke 10:19-21
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Rejoices in the Spirit
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
Fr Tryphon not just Police Officers but all Emergency Services Officers need our support from the Paramedic to the Fire Brigade and even Correctional Officers ,we all see the worst that we humans are capable of.The Paramedic who sees the drugged out ice addict who is intent on beating him up as he tries to bring him back from a overdose ,the firey who has to put out a blaze started by a arsonist or the correctional officer who has to deal with the unrepentant child molester or mass murderer who proceeds to blame everyone but himself for his sins and then expects the Officer to have sympathy for him.All these jobs require a strong will but also i think a very strong spiritual faith for i fear if you do not it will destroy both yourself and sadly those around you.
As someone who has served a fire department for over fourteen years, and who was a volunteer prison chaplain for eight years, I absolutely agree with you. However, my article was written following the funeral on Friday for a fallen police officer in Tacoma,
Washington. Like many Americans, my heart goes out to police, who are collectively, under attack across the country.
I agree wholeheartedly and i did not realise it was it was after a funeral.The whole culture of attacking any officer needs to change.I know it is tough right now in the US and my thoughts go out to all who serve .
I agree 100%. These people see & live with things we can’t imagine. They need our full support & prayers at all times, even if they seem to be going wrong. We must pray for them to come back to the right path.
May God have mercy.
Memory Eternal for all who lost their lives.
Matushka Anna
Bless Father,
I was a police officer for 21 years. I knew very, very few bad officers juxtaposed to the media narrative. I’m heart broken and angry that our culture (although I suspect a minority that is amplified by the media) are negative on police to the point of calling for violence. Especially painful is to see our top leaders involved in much of it.
My rule of prayer, as with all of us, includes armed forces but I specifically pray for those who do dangerous and difficult work so I can live a peaceful life.
Lord have mercy on the military, police, fire and EMS, et al. (and their families.)
Fr Tryphon, for many years I have lived with several unpleasant memories of treatment by police and corrections officers belied your adulation of the police. When I was falsely accused of vandalism the investigating officer refused my request to call my mother, saying that I was guilty and had no right to make any calls; apparently he had no need to apologize for being in error. Five years later, when I had been caught shoplifting, the same officer told my father and me that it is typical behavior and not to worry about it. Twenty years or so ago, an officer pulled me over for a traffic violation I did not commit he proceeded to tell me that I had no right to contest the ticket and during the conversation his partner had one foot on my bumper and his weapon drawn. I signed the ticket indicating that I would see them in court; later that day on of the Department’s secretaries called me to have me tear up that ticket because the officer made a mistake. When I worked in the Ohio prison system, I witnessed officers regularly setting up inmates to be beaten by either other inmates or officers; I also witnessed officers stealing inmate mail in order to rent it to other inmates in the joint. And because I reported that theft, one of the offending officers met me at my car after my shift to threaten my life. Perhaps they are hardened by the evil they witness but it seems they are a part of the evil. Do not forget, each one of us have fallen short of the glory of God — even the bad guy.
Thank you for the wonderful article ! My son was a street officer, now an investigator, and I prayed for his safety daily. I still do, but it was particularly worrisome when he was on the street. I talk to him daily about the evil he sees, and it is so easy to be discouraged when you see that so much. People need to realize how much good our officers do. I totally agree with your point that we should thank them for keeping us safe!! Your article is extremely timely in this wilderness in which we live.