Think of what your dad does for a living. Now imagine people saying that every person in that profession is better off dead. Scary, right?

My dad has been a police officer since right before I was born. Him being a police officer is all I’ve ever known. In my mind, he’s a hero not only to me but also to the people in our community that he works to protect and serve every day.

Some of my earliest memories revolve around my dad’s career. My siblings and I would be sent outside to play, or told to find a quiet activity so that my dad could take a nap before his midnight shift at work. Or waking up before school to find that my dad’s truck was not in the driveway because he had been at work all night searching for a mentally unstable man who was armed, dangerous, and hiding out in the woods.

Being a police officer means missing out on family events and holidays because of work, to be there for somebody else’s family. My dad often would have to miss my cheerleading competitions and games, or show up for a moment in uniform just to be called away by someone in need of his help. His Christmas mornings were spent on duty, responding to a call of a domestic dispute between two family members, while all he wanted was to be at home with our family, celebrating and opening presents.

Chances are a police officer is never “out to get you.” You choose to break a law, and they enforce it. You get a speeding ticket because you chose to speed, and the police officer was required to do their job and give you a ticket.

The same thing goes for the “police brutality” uproar in the media. When a person is under arrest, a police officer is required and allowed by law to use any force necessary to put that person under arrest and in handcuffs. Fighting back against this is known as resisting arrest, and under such circumstances a greater force is taken. To those who are unaware of the rules and regulations of law enforcement, this is thought of as “police brutality.”

Wishing a police officer dead, would potentially be taking away a little girl’s dad who could never teach her to ride a bike, or see her go to her first prom. That police officer you wish was dead would never get to meet her daughter’s first boyfriend, and give him those same empty threats every dad gives to protect his daughter. Wishing a police officer dead could take away a girl’s dad to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day, or somebody’s mother, daughter, son, or uncle.

Police officers are more than just their job title. At the end of the day when they take off their badges and duty belts, they lead regular lives just like you and me. They are just men and women with families waiting for them to come home, that they love and care about just as much as you do yours.

In my life, I have spent a lot of time around cops. Whether it was my dad, his brother, or any of my dad’s co-workers we took vacations with, I am one of the few who still view police officers as heroes.

I’m not saying that there are no “bad cops” and, of course, police brutality may be real in some situations, but it does not apply to police officers as a whole. There may be a bad apple in every bunch, but the actions of those few should not represent law enforcement as a whole. Police officer’s lives should be valued and respected just as much as any other human being.