So there is a movement to make September 27th National First Responders Day. I fully support that, so today and tomorrow, I'm posting about the First Responders nearest and dearest to me. My little brother, the police officer and, tomorrow, my husband, the EMT. As an aside, I have to include my big brother as well, who is in the Merchant Marines and is a trained firefighter for ships and oil rigs. So take the intensity and scariness of a fire and put it on a ship or oil rig...I am lucky enough to be surrounded by brave and tough men that would have my back in a heartbeat (and I'm pretty tough in my own right) :)
Police officers get a bit of a bad rap with those who are fortunate enough not to need them. They only come into our lives when we are driving a little too fast or roll through a stop sign, etc. And then we curse them for being there and noticing our faux paux. But it obviously goes without saying, they do so much more. Medics will often respond to a call with police officers. They work together across the spectrum from wrestling crazy people to helping urban outdoorsmen (bums). J.D. responded to a woman that had thrown a hissy fit in front of one shelter and pissed herself (according to J.D., smelled like she had pissed herself multiple times). She didn't want to go to the hospital but did want the ambulance to take her across town to another shelter. They are not a taxi service (this is not obvious to everyone) so they can't do that. But the police officer offered to take her across town to the other shelter, after they wrapped her in a sheet so she wasn't sitting on his seats (how gross must she have been that they were protecting the back seat of a police car from her?). Then the next day, J.D. and his partner responded to a call where a woman was complaining of leg pain. A police officer was there as she had flagged him down first. Turned out, she had run out of ibuprofen. So the police officer walked across the street to the store and bought her a bottle of water and some ibuprofen. These are just two examples from last week of police officers going out of their way to help people they really didn't have to. And finally, medics don't carry guns or weapons of any kind, nor do they have any protective gear. So when they respond to a call that has potential for violence, police officers will go in first. Think about that, these men and women go in to places that aren't safe for other people to go into...
My little brother is a police officer in Florida. And I am crazy proud of him. If you google his name, at least five news articles pop up about him making stops and catching bad guys. He's the kind of cop that hates writing speeding tickets and does his darnedest to avoid it. But wants to be in the worst part of town stopping the drug trade, gangs, and other horrible stuff that makes you cringe when considering this is your little brother...Growing up, we were best friends and each others biggest tormentors. Two of our favorite games were juvenile delinquents with our matchbox cars and cops and robbers using an old porch as jail. What's it say about us that we became a police officer and an attorney?
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My brother loves his job, for the most part. He works bad hours, has to deal with red tape, and sees things that no one should ever have to see. His whole life is shaped by the job he does, a job that protects the rest of us. So to my little brother (and his colleagues), thank you from myself, thank you on behalf of the community of Gainesville, Florida, and thank you from all of us that could never do what you do.
I love you little brother! Stay safe!
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