Law enforcement officers keep us safe

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt Lucas Heller
  • 88th Security Force Squadron
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  It's Friday night. You've got the sport utility vehicle loaded up, kids and all, on your way to that highly anticipated summer blockbuster movie.

You're running slightly behind schedule for the 7 p.m. showing and to make up for lost time, you gradually accelerate until you're exceeding the speed limit. You can't miss the previews as they are the best part, of course.

Then you look up and suddenly in the rearview mirror you see the sight you always dread: strobes of red and blue. As you look down at your dashboard, under your breath, you utter a phrase probably not best suited for the rear passengers.

As you sit idle on the side of the road, the police officer exits his vehicle and cautiously makes his approach. While you're contemplating 17 different excuses trying to determine which one to use in an attempt to avoid a ticket, the officer is running hundreds of different what-if scenarios through his head, preparing for the worst.

Luckily, this traffic stop will end routinely. As he courteously greets you, he glances at your dashboard making note of the movie tickets. He quickly requests your driver's license and returns to his patrol car. Minutes later he returns, and to your relief issues only a verbal warning advising you to slow down. He delivers a playful smirk to the children in the back seat and departs. Though thankful to avoid a ticket, you still express frustration of the setback as you realize you have completely missed the previews.

May 12-18 is National Police Week, a week to pay recognition to law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, ensuring the safety and protection of others. On average, one law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty every 57 hours on a nationwide scale. Many of these deaths occur in what begin as routine situations.

Unfortunately, the Air Force is not immune from these losses. One of these fateful days was Jan. 10, 1998, when Tech. Sgt. Robert Butler initiated a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle near Edwards Air Force Base. With suspicion the vehicle operator was driving under the influence, Sergeant Butler radioed for backup. The backup patrol arrived moments later, only to find the officer lying motionless on the ground. Sergeant Butler suffered a fatal single gunshot wound to the head. His sidearm was still holstered, implying the situation escalated without warning and served as a painful reminder that no response is routine for our law enforcement officers. Sergeant Butler was survived by his wife and three children.

We should also be thinking of our law enforcement officers (LEOs) who are immersed in a setting that is far from routine, deployed to combat zones thousands of miles away from home. There, hundreds of our LEOs are also serving and protecting, albeit in an inheritably different fashion.

Air Force Security Forces have lost nine Airmen in the last decade in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Germany. Airman First Class Elizabeth Jacobson was killed on a convoy near Camp Bucca, Iraq, on Sept. 28, 2005, when her vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. She was the first female Airman and the first security forces Airman to be killed in the line of duty supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Tech. Sgt. Jason Norton was killed Jan. 22, 2006, when his armored Humvee hit a roadside bomb near Taji, 18 miles north of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Brian McElroy, 28, was killed on Jan. 22, 2006, when a roadside bomb exploded by his armored Humvee near Taji, 18 miles north of Baghdad. Airman First Class Lee Bernard Chavis was killed by enemy gunfire Oct. 14, 2006, in the vicinity of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. John Self lost his life May 14, 2007, while on his 79th combat patrol as a fire team leader assisting Iraqis taking back the streets of Baghdad.

Airman First Class Jason D. Nathan, 22, died in Iraq June 23, 2007, from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle while on patrol. Staff Sergeant Travis Griffin was killed in action April 3, 2008, when an IED exploded near his vehicle while on patrol in Baghdad. First Lieutenant Joseph Helton died Sept. 8, 2009, while on patrol near Baghdad, when his vehicle was hit by an IED. Airman Alden was murdered by a gunman March 2, 2011, while on a bus at Frankfurt International Air Terminal Germany en route to deployment.

These deadly circumstances are sadly too common an occurrence for the men and women that serve our country and our communities. They have passed far before their time, having only a shortened opportunity to portray the good they were capable of delivering. Tonight you may have missed your movie previews, but remember, for the thousands of law enforcement officers around the country who have lost their lives in effort of your ensuring safety and protection, their life was only but a preview. I urge you to take a moment out of your day to display your appreciation for the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day. The next time you are coming through one of our gates, or you see an officer in your community, take a moment to thank them for doing what they do to keep us all safe.