Hate Cops?

[PKRWUD]

I'm not here to tell you you're wrong, because you most definately have your reasons. I personally have mixed feelings, which I've discussed in Skyman's thread, but I wanted to share something with you all. This is an email I received from another member of this website on April 4th. He's a cop in Florida, and I haven't seen him around here much in the past several months, for personal reasons. We have spoke on the phone before, and I firmly believe him to be one of "the good guys". I'm not sharing this email to take away from anyone elses feelings, because like I said, I'm sure they are all well deserved. I just want to let you get a glimpse into the mind of a real cop doing real work. Out of respect, I'm not going to ID the author, but I'm sure if he see's this, he'll cop to it (pun intended).

It was titled "Venting".

Hi everyone. Here in Palm Beach County today, I attended a funeral for a friend I never knew: Deputy Donald Schavolt. He died on Easter Sunday from a massive heart attack after fighting with a resistant teenage prisoner who had threatened to kill Deputy Schavolt as he charged him. Like all police funerals, the display of uniforms from throughout the state was impressive. I would estimate about 600-700 officers were present. Donald left behind four children and a wife, Dana. Dana and Donald were friends of my father.
When I came home today, emotionally spent and tired, I turned on the news. I wanted to see the funeral coverage with the hopes that the media actually did some good for a change and gave Donald the respect he deserved. Instead, what I saw was another tragedy. A fellow officer in Lantana, a neighboring city to my jurisdiction, was found dead in a lake behind his home after being reported missing for two days. Ofc. Jan Ickes covered my back many times, as I did for him since he worked the north end of his city and I cover the south end of mine-we met up quite often.
It's been a rough week for law enforcement here in Palm Beach county. Last month, a coworker of mine's brother was killed in the line of duty in Louisiana. He was shot in the face after a high speed pursuit of a bunch of juveniles who had attempted to defraud a bank with bad checks.
This world is a rather shitty place to live. Some of you on my "To" list are fellow officers and see more of this filth than the general public. The others on this list are people I care about that we swore to protect. If you are a religous person, say a prayer for these two officers. If not, just give a thought to what police officers do on a daily basis. Get out of your head that we are ticket writing, harrassing, trouble making, do nothing wimps hiding behind a badge. I wonder how many times Ofc. Ickes and Deputy Schavolt heard that. I wonder how many times their families, their children, their widows, will hear that in the future-it's only getting worse.
I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

FWIW, this gemtleman is a speed-loving Mustang owner, who takes pride in his car, and appreciates and respects others who have devoted so much time to a hobby they love so much.

Take care,
-Chris