We need to recognize that the large majority of police are here to help

Members of our law enforcement teams risk their life every day, fighting to protect the citizens and to make sure justice prevails. The animosity for police has grown immensely, and unfortunately, this may have led to more police deaths.  According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 99 police fatalities occurred in 2015, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year.  

Ryan Yudt, who has been with the Farmington Hills Police Department since 2007,explained that no day is ever the same.

“Every day when we go to work, the one thing that is certain is that we don’t know what we’re going to face,” he said. He stated that his scariest moment would be when they have to go on runs involving domestic issues because emotions are so high. When he was 6-7 months into the job he discovered a lady unconscious in a car and they performed CPR, saving her life. Being a motorcycle officer, he gets the chance to interact with youth more.

“Giving a kid a high five is one of the highlights of my career.”

There are numerous accounts of life-saving actions done by law enforcement each and every day.

“You can’t fully believe what you see in the media. Don’t take what you see in the media as gospel. To form an opinion on an officer go out and greet them on the job. You’ll see that he/she is great at the job. We truly care.” Yudt went on to explain, “Police officers, by large and far, are great at what they do. They want to make the community better. They truly want to do good.

Similarly, Officer Mark Rash, coming up on 20 years with FHPD, said that we shouldn’t generalize the police just like you wouldn’t want to be generalized.

“The proudest thing I think of myself is to always listen to other people before I take action, if possible.”

Often, female officers face additional challenges. Virginia Oneill has been with FHPD for 9 years now. “There’s only 7 female officers. You have to prove that you can be there and do the same job,” she said.

Officers are human too, and at the end of the day they just care about the safety of, not only themselves, but the citizens around them. They have families waiting for them to return home each and every night.

“People call 911 and expect the cops to be there,” she said. One of Oneill’s scariest moments was searching a house where there was gunfire involved and finding that two people had been killed. “I feel sympathy for the families and just feel like you want to help them cope as best as you can without revealing too much information about the scene.”

Our law enforcement puts their life on the line every day so that we may have as much of a peaceful environment as possible. The public often sheds a bad light on police for rare incidents of police misconduct, but they do not make the laws, they only enforce them. Not all cops are bad, and not all cops are out to be the bad guys. So appreciate the good ones, and obey the law.