An Open Letter From A Police Officer’s Niece:

My uncle is not only a police officer for the state of Arkansas, but he also holds a high position of power in his ranking. He is a highway patrolman. He has numerous friends in other departments around the area, and his law enforcement family is quite large. I am so proud to call T.G. my uncle because each day he goes to work, he puts his life on the line. His actions are selfless yet professional. Besides my dad and my papa, my uncle is one of my favorite people and I look up to him greatly.

Everyday my uncle goes to work, he serves his community (and others) with all he has. He doesn't bat an eye when he gets a call about a dangerous situation, he just responds. My uncle went through extensive amounts of training to become an officer, handle dangerous weapons, use deadly weapons in certain situations, and so on. He is more prepared for the job than anyone I know. He knows the ropes, the protocols, the codes, and how to handle any situation. He is prepared and will demonstrate the proper ways to use weapons, handle situations, and anything that can be thrown at him.

I'm proud to call him my uncle because in today's society being a police officer or in any type of law enforcement is one of the most dangerous tasks around. I fear for him to even go to the office because there is no guarantee nothing will happen. I'm not sure what the rise in hatred of law enforcement is about or where it even came from, but it is scary for our family and other law enforcement families. There appears to be more and more people out to attack and kill police officers now than there ever has been. I cannot fathom why someone would want to take the life of someone who is trying to protect a community, people, an area, his family, fellow brothers, etc.. Police officers are here to make our society more secure, safer, and a better place to live. I used to wonder about him catching the bad guys, now I worry about the bad guys catching him.

My uncle tries to make this world we live in a safer place, yet by doing that it places a target on his back. It makes him more susceptible for hate groups, people wanting to shoot him, and discrimination for what he does. Police officers and other law enforcement catch a lot of slack for the good they are doing. Many people paint them to be the bad guys. I'm here to tell you the actions of a few do not reflect the whole group. I know many people are against law enforcement because a few officers have made poor decisions, but this is not the reality for all law enforcement. Not all of them are hateful, cruel, mean, out to get you, murders, liars: you get the point. The media can twist a scenario into a whole different story by not having all the pieces, only telling half the truth, and giving one side of the story. Don't trust the media when it comes to this. A lot of the time, these officers are placed in dangerous situations, forced to make a difficult decision (they know it's the right one), and act on it. Often, half of the story is told, and the actions before what the officer had to do is not told. The officers are made to look like the bad people, and this is wrong. They are out there saving people, putting their lives on the line, being placed in hard situations; all to keep us safe.

This past weekend I went home for a visit, and there were too many accidents involving police officers. The first was one of my uncle's dear friends who laid his life down to save the lives of many. There was a drunk driver who was driving down the wrong side of the road. The officer out his squad car in the line of this driver to stop him from killing any innocent people. The officer is in critical condition, but stable, all because of a split second selfless action to save the lives of others and sacrifice his own. Another incident was a guy who had negative feelings toward law enforcement. He shot two officers, a police chief and a deputy. My uncle was at this incident, he had arrived early, and had to take cover. Talk about a scary moment where in a flash his life could have been taken. The chief is going to be okay, but sadly, the deputy’s injuries were too serious and he passed away. I'm so thankful for the officers who placed their lives in the line of fire or danger to save the lives of many. They are selfless.

Many hate groups out there make police officers out to be less of a human, not worthy of their uniforms and serving for the communities, etc.. I won't sit around and let someone behind a computer decide if my uncle and his brothers are “worthy” enough to live, all because of the way their career is portrayed. These men and women in law enforcement are worth as much (maybe even more) than we are because of the selfless acts they fulfill every day. They place themselves in danger, put their lives on the line, and sacrifice themselves for their community, work, friends, and family. The sworn to protect the lives of everyone, no matter what, so this is what they do.

My uncle goes to work to protect the lives of his district. He writes tickets, arrests people, does drug busts, paperwork, monitors construction sites, goes on calls to accidents and other emergencies, and so much more. He does everything without hesitation, knowing what may come from it. He is one of the most selfless people I know. Because of my uncle’s job, my family bleeds blue and has for many years. We have the blue lights outside our homes, the American flag shirts with the blue stripe, pray for our law enforcement daily, and we fear anytime he goes out for what could come. This is true for all the other “blue” families out there, and we stick together. My uncle is a worthy, selfless, protective, funny, loving, human being. For all he does and goes through for those around him (some he knows and some he doesn't), I am proud to be the niece of a police officer.