Respect

There is a lot of support for our military men and women, and deservedly so. Some of the ways we thank them are military discounts, bumper stickers, and a national holiday. All hard earned by those who serve, and in my humble opinion, well deserved and not even enough to express the debt of gratitude that we owe them.

But I will make the argument that the First Responder's are doing something similar to what our military do, only here within our communities. That is, protecting us at the expense of a "normal" life. Like the military, those who are First Responders, work odd hours at the expense of their personal lives, they see things that people should not see, and they put their lives on the line for you and me.

Now, complete disclosure, I am completely biased as my husband is an EMT and my brother is a police officer. But I believe that those who serve as first responders deserve the recognition and respect that is equivalent to how much they invest in protecting us. They at least should have a national holiday! (Or discounts would be nice too, although to be completely fair, a lot of local businesses will give discounts if the First Responder is in uniform.).

Back in March, a colleague of J.D.'s was killed by a drunk driver on the way home from his shift. This drunk driver had been drinking at a strip club for 12 hours straight...

The local news coverage was shameful.  Luckily, being a First Responder isn't just a job, but rather a life style choice. And because of that, they have their own community surrounding them. So even though the city did not recognize this EMT's passing, there was a funeral procession of approximately 30 ambulances through the city in his honor. The firefighters showed up and did a raised ladder salute. The police showed up in force as well.

I sent a letter to the local paper expressing my disgust at their treatment of the story. When they didn't respond, I posted the following on Facebook. But as I feel that respect for our First Responders is incredibly important, I am posting it again here:

In the early morning hours last Sunday, a Grady EMS EMT, Jason Strickland, was hit and killed by a drunk driver while going home from his shift. Accidents involving drunk drivers are always tragic, but this one is even more so as Mr. Strickland’s job was to help after tragedies like this. The local media has barely acknowledged that one of their First Responders has been struck down.

This is the article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "A motorcyclist died early Sunday morning after a collision with a passenger vehicle on I-20 Westbound in Douglas County, authorities said. About 5 a.m. Jason Dale Strickland, 37, of Bremen was driving his Harley Davidson west on I-20 near Lee Road. Authorities said a Honda Element driven by Francisco Ferrer, 33, of Dallas, struck Strickland from behind. The impact threw Strickland from the motorcycle into the center travel lane where he was hit by a truck. Strickland was killed in the crash. There were no other injuries. There are no charges pending against the driver of the truck, Joseph Edward Marrett, 66, of Conyers. Ferrer has been charged with driving under the influence and possibly other charges once the police investigation is complete."

This blurb does not even begin to cover Mr.Strickland 's life and the unfairness of this tragic accident. Below is a Letter to the Editor of the AJC that I wrote in response to their less than adequate coverage of Mr. Strickland’s life and death. I received an automatic response that they will let me know within a week if they are interested in running it. But Mr. Strickland’s funeral is today, Thursday 3/29/12, and I believe he deserves recognition and honor no matter whether the AJC decides to run his story. It will be posted here for those who wish to see it:

Dear Editor,

On March 25th, a man was killed by the very people he served and protected. At approximately 5:00 am, Jason Strickland, an EMT with Grady EMS was struck and killed by a drunk driver on the way home from his shift.

Mr. Strickland had spent all night answering 911 calls, probably even cleaning up after and generally helping drunk people. Then as he was driving home after a 12 hour shift serving the city of Atlanta, to his wife and kids, a drunk driver hit him from behind.

The men and women of Grady EMS, and ambulance services across the nation, answer the call to be there for people in the very worst of moments. Whether it’s a gun shot, overdosing on alcohol/drugs, or someone’s grandmother having chest pains, they arrive to pick up the pieces and give people the best opportunity to live as they possibly can.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper ran an article, or rather a blurb, about this horrible accident. It consisted of seven sentences and never once mentioned that Mr. Strickland was an EMT for Grady EMS or even that he was coming home from work and was not a rabble rouser out partying. Actually, the biggest detail the article discusses is his motorcycle. It would not have taken a lot to discover that Mr. Strickland was an EMT with Grady EMS as he died in his uniform.

If you have to call 911 in the coming weeks, you will see the Grady Medics that respond have black bands around their badges in honor of Mr. Strickland. His death is felt very strongly throughout the First Responders community and Mr. Strickland deserves the same recognition and honor from the city he served.

We often hear the stories about the tragedies caused by drunk drivers, but the shame of it is that when they are leaving from the party, they are sharing the road with this country’s First Responders that are often going into and coming home from work at the same time. They are working shifts ready to cover the fall out from this partying.

The horrible irony of this accident is that had this drunk driver hit anything other than Mr. Strickland, he would have been the first to stop and do everything he could to save lives.

Being a part of Grady EMS, or any emergency service nationwide, takes courage, strength, and sacrifice by both the Medic and their families. When they are on the job, they face the unimaginable. This accident has made us all realize that the families have to not only fear for their Medic’s safety when they are on the job, but also when they are going to and coming from work.

Mr. Strickland was a hero. Not just in extreme circumstances when we all would hope to be one, but as his everyday job. The First Responders community salutes him as a hero that has fallen, I hope this city will join them.

Sincerely,

Wife of a Grady EMS EMT that goes in to work at the same time Mr. Strickland used to drive home.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Strickland. Thank you over and over again to all those that put their lives on the line to be there when the rest of us need them the most.