Coffee Talk

All of us do it - get together with our friends, drink a cup of coffee and yack. We call it the Sergeant's Meeting, and we hold it at a local indie shop. Yeah, we watch people come and go but we're talking, laughing, looking at our iPhones. We're not expecting someone to kill us. We certainly never thought we'd have to tell our friends - the owner and her barristas - what to do if someone starts shooting at us. It isn't fair.

But, we all know that two things are true. Life isn't fair, and we aren't safe. I wear a uniform that clearly identifies me as a police officer, No one has to ask what I do for a living. If someone hates police officers and wants to kill one - there I am. It's not fair and I'm not safe.

I grieve for my brothers and sister and their families. I hope for a quick conclusion to the hunt for a man who should already have been in prison. I pray for my friends, who surely will suffer more loss, more death, because we are police officers.

It isn't fair.

It's What Cops Do

As I write this, not all of the facts are in regarding the shooting at Ft. Hood. Calm, rational analysis of the murders awaits a painstaking investigation. It seems apparent, as this moment, that the law enforcement community can be proud of Sgt. Kimberly Munley, first officer on scene. Initial reports suggest that Sergeant Munley confronted the active shooter and neutralized him despite gunshot wounds of her own.

It's what cops do. Good job, Sergeant.