Remember to thank our peace officers

  • Posted: Sunday, January 8, 2012 7:00 a.m.
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Eagle Editorial Board


Last week, police officers in Ogden, Utah, went to a house to serve a search warrant in a drug investigation. It is something law enforcement officers across the country do on a routine basis.


Most of the time, officers conduct their business and leave the scene in good shape. This time, as it too often does, the event turned tragic.


The officers knocked several times on the door, with no response. So, as allowed under the law, they broke down the door. As they entered the small house, they were met with a fusillade of bullets apparently fired by Matthew David Stewart, 37, a veteran of the U.S. Army reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.


When the shooting stopped, Officer Jared Francom, a seven-year veteran of the Ogden Police Department and a father of daughters 5 and 3 was dead. Despite wearing bullet-resistant vests, five other officers were wounded, some of them critically. Stewart also was wounded.


Even though we didn't know any of the officers, we grieve for Francom and his family, and we hurt for the officers who were injured.


Any time something such as this happens, we are reminded of the dangerous job our law enforcement officers do protecting us every day of the year, with no let-up. Every day, they risk their life. Even routine traffic stops can prove deadly and other assignments carry even greater danger.


The brave men and women of this area are our neighbors, our friends, our guardians. Usually, we are too busy to give them much thought, but for most of us, the sight of a police car reassures us and makes us feel so much safer.


Yes, sometimes law enforcement officers exceed their authority or react badly to a situation. But, despite the publicity they generate, those instances are few in number and no one wants them resolved quickly than fellow officers.


We don't pay our officers enough -- indeed, we can never pay them enough for what they do. And, we never say thank you enough for their service.


We're just glad we have so many fine law enforcement officers in this area and around the country. They make life better for the rest of us.


For that, we thank them, even if we don't always say it.

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