Police officers are essential, urgent to us all

It was 11 years ago that the entire city of Pittsburgh mourned the loss of three of its finest during an ambush at a domestic call in Stanton Heights. And we’re soon coming up on the second anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre where multiple officers were injured, one almost dying and another permanently disabled, as they stopped the mass murderer of 11 congregants. They were rightfully lauded as heroes with special praise by the appreciative Jewish community.

Amazingly the winds of change have blown 180 degrees to where much of the community now disdains its brothers and sisters in blue. Huge marches and chants condemning all police officers for the actions of a few grow across the nation. Pittsburgh police vehicles are burned in protest, buildings looted.

All police are now perceived as racists with only one thing on their mind. And while police have tens of millions of interactions every year, it’s the very few egregious ones committed by a small fraction of officers that get endless publicity. This is in no way representative of police as a whole. Other groups who complain of being unfairly stereotyped because of the actions of a few should understand this.

The term “thin blue line” is a reality. We are the most violent nation in the western world and the thin buffer provided by law enforcement is all that separates civility from chaos. The idea to defund and abolish police departments is beyond comprehension.

The dedication and selfsacrifice that police give to a stressful, dangerous and often thankless job goes unrecognized and unappreciated. If this profession is destroyed, its essential necessity and urgency will become quite evident. STEVEN CRICHLEY

South Side Slopes