Ever notice the human tendency to generalize? To take the example of a few, or even just one person sometimes, and extrapolate their characteristics to a larger group, or profession, that they're a part of? We do this all the time.
Perhaps no other profession gets as maligned like this than America's police officers. Do some cops make terrible choices and do atrocious things while wearing the badge? Of course. But that is far from the norm.
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There are over 740,000 police officers in the U.S. They made over 10 million arrests last year. One hundred forty four officers died in the line of duty in 2018. Yet, what makes the news? The tiny sliver of a percentage of the bad apples. Our culture often jumps to the worst conclusion when a cop is blamed for some wrongdoing. There are bad apples, as in every profession. But bad cops are the rare exception.
Our police officers don't often get their due for the daily grind they endure to keep our communities safe. Their "daily grind" makes most of ours look like a cake walk. Dealing with the very worst tendencies of humanity is what they do for a living. And sometimes, confronting those worst tendencies erupts, and an otherwise typical day for police officers turns tragic.
Pray for these wounded officers and their families. And pray for the police officers in your community.
That's what happened to four police officers in Houston yesterday. Serving a narcotics warrant, they were at the front door of a house when two suspects opened fire on them from inside. Four officers were shot, one of them in the face. As of last night, two of the officers remain in critical condition. Two suspects were shot and killed in the firefight.
Pray for these wounded officers and their families. And pray for the police officers in your community. Right now, across the nation, police men and women are putting on the badge and sliding behind the wheel of their cruisers with the knowledge that any number of moments they face today could turn deadly. We might call that heroic. They call it Tuesday.
