By Jon Harris:
Today in Whittier, California, one officer was killed and another was wounded as they responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a gang member and a stolen vehicle. When officers arrived on scene to provide assistance the gang member open fired killing one officer and seriously wounding another. The suspect was also wounded in the shootout. According to Sheriff’s spokesman, Lt. John Corina, the officers were responding at the time to a report of a traffic collision in the area. “It’s extremely tragic. You’ve got a couple of officers who just responded to a traffic accident, and they think they’re there to help out people involved in a traffic accident. Next thing they know, they got this guy shooting at them. He shoots both of them and kills one of them.”
More than 30 years ago, Dave Smith of the Law Enforcement Television Network ( LETN) played a fictional police trainer named J.D. “Buck” Savage. I remember him saying, “Remember, bad guy’s cars break down too.” When I read about the shooting, words from Buck Savage came rushing back. Even after so many years, I remembered that phrase as if I was still sitting in that officer survival class. We were always told that no call is routine. We were taught that every call could be dangerous. Clearly, that is exactly what happened here. A simple call went terribly wrong.
These two officers had no idea what they were about to encounter. They were there to help a citizen in trouble. As happens so often, one call, a simple routine call, turned bad. In this case, it cost the life of a hero and changed the lives of many more. The families of those involved will never be the same. All are victims, no one wins.
Officers seldom know who they are contacting or what that person is thinking. They step into the fray again and again. Each day, each call, could be the last and each officer knows it. Regardless, they still put on the uniform. They still pin on the badge. They still go out to protect the public even when they know some of them will try to take the life from them.
When you go home tonight, please take a moment to remember this officer and the family as they mourn. Then take a moment and think of all those lost in the line of duty and the burden of sadness those families will always carry. Think of what he and every other officer go through every day to protect your way of life. They are the knights in blue armor, and we cannot survive without them.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
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