#BlueLivesMatter: Law enforcement officers deserve support

By: Brennan Kohls

In the past year or so we’ve seen massive anti-police riots in Ferguson, Baltimore and other cities — all fueled by anti-police rhetoric coming from Bill de Blasio, Barack Obama, Al Sharpton and Eric Holder to name just a few. Since then, police officers have had a target on their backs.

On Aug. 12, 2015, just three days after Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, President Obama spoke on racial problems with the police department. This was before anybody knew anything about what happened. This was also after the first set of riots started; nothing stops a riot like telling the rioter that the people they are rioting against are a bunch of racists and bad guys.

On Dec. 20, 2014, officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot and killed while sitting inside their squad car. The killer was Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a man from Baltimore who had just posted on Instagram saying, “I’m putting Wings on Pigs today.” Brinsley then drove up to New York where he shot the officers from point blank range. Ramos had two kids, and Liu got married two months before the shooting. Needless to say, President Obama or Sharpton did not go to their funerals.

Anti-police rhetoric has risen since Ferguson. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio openly stated that, “What parents have done for decades, who have young men of color, is train them to be very careful when they have a connection with a police officer.” He literally called the New York Police Department, the people who work for him and protect him and his family, racist. Three weeks later, the two NYPD officers, Ramos and Liu, were ambushed and killed.

Regarding anti-police culture, officer Leary of the Cedar Falls Police Department said, “There are some cops out there who don’t act in the best interest of what their profession is, but those are few and far in between, and it’s made to look like all cops are bad.” Regarding Bill de Blasio’s comments, officer Leary said, “I don’t think he should come out and immediately say because his son is black that he needs to worry about the police.”

Last week, officer Randolph Holder, an immigrant from Guyana, was shot and killed by a robbery suspect in East Harlem. There were no protests against criminals. The president didn’t call his family. Reporters on national television were not holding signs that say “#BlueLivesMatter.” Four days after officer Holder was killed, an anti-police rally was held in New York City. Criminals who are shot by the police get more respect and media attention than officers who were killed serving their city.

Criminals who are shot by police are made to look like the victim, and, of course, in some cases the officers did use excessive force, but today as soon as cops defend themselves, they receive public outcry, things like, “Hands up. Don’t shoot.” The “Hands up. Don’t shoot” was proven false, but I’ll save that for another day.

Police officers are hesitant to use their firearm in self defense because they’ll face media persecution. In Birmingham, on Aug. 7, 2015, a police detective was beaten unconscious with his own weapon because he was hesitant to use it on an unarmed man. “I hesitated because I didn’t want to be in the media like I am right now,” the officer said. He did not shoot the suspect because he feared that the media would have made him into a murderer. The anti-police rhetoric is killing and/or seriously injuring police officers.

Put yourself in a police officer’s shoes for a second. Would you want to put on a uniform that is now a target, respond to extremely dangerous situations, not get paid very well, then get absolutely no respect or support from the public?

Here’s another situation: there is a 300-pound unarmed man running at you attempting to grab your firearm and hurt you with it. Do you fire to defend yourself or let him grab your gun and most likely kill you with it? Keep in mind you only have a few seconds to think about this.

So why do people get outraged when officers defend themselves? Because the media and people like Obama and Sharpton portray officers as hateful, racist murderers and not as police officers defending themselves before anyone even sees the facts and evidence.

Police officers are not just a uniform; there is a person behind each badge. Most cops are not racist, evil, bad guys who are out to shoot you. Officers are here to protect us, whether that means by giving you a speeding ticket because you were going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone or by chasing down a criminal. They are here to do good. When you have an emergency, who are you going to call? Here’s a hint, it isn’t the Ghostbusters.