There have been 14 police officer deaths in 2019; mind you, we are only 37 days into the new year. Four of those alone have taken place since the month of February began, six days ago.

As the girlfriend of a police officer, the death of one comes as shock and massive heartache.

On February 4th, state trooper Lucas Dowell died in the line of duty while executing a search warrant with the Piedmont Regional Drug and Gang Task Force. His tour consisted of four years and three months; he was only 28 years old.

This positively haunts me. My boyfriend is only six years younger, his tour, not even a year. This officer's death hit home more so than others.

Being the officer is a challenge of emotions in itself and their work takes so much strength and courage, but being the loved one of an officer comes with its own challenges. For those 12 hours, you may not even hear from them that they are okay. For those 12 hours, you don't know where they are, who they are potentially dealing with, what trouble they are getting themselves into; it is HARD.

There aren't words to describe the initial reaction for his loved ones or his department, and I don't want to take away from that. Even for the town of Farmville, only miles away from the incident, tragedy seemed to have stricken the town. Hold your loved ones closer tonight, because some are not as lucky.