Our Men in Blue

Today was a sobering day here in Ogden. Last week, an officer here was shot while serving a search warrant with the Weber-Morgan Narcotcis Strike Force and died early the next morning. He was the first officer to die here since 1963. Five other officers were shot as well, but survived. Today, they held the funeral for Officer Jared Francom. The turn out of support was so massive, they had to hold it at the Dee Events Center, the same place the college host it's basketball games, and also the venue for several large concerts. It was packed with 4,000+ people, including officers from all over the country (as far away as New York even). The most impressive sight however was the funeral procession. The casket was carried atop a fire engine for the 3 1/2 mile journey to the cemetary. That entire route was lined by flags and blue ribbons and led by 400-500 police vehicles, including motorcyle officers.
As I drove home, having my usual drive home phone call with Lindsey, she told me about a woman that was picking up her kids from the daycare that her sister Jennifer works at. The woman was going on and on about how ridiculous it was that the whold town had been shut down for this guy. How he was just another man and wasn't deserving of all the recognition. Nearby was abother parent waiting to pay his bill. He is a firefighter. He did his best to just ignore, but at one point, just couldn't. With a calm voice he simply told the woman she obviously didn't know what she was talking about, and maybe in this instance it might be best for her to keep her opinion to herself. Then he turned, waited his turn, paid his bill and left. She was in the parking lot waiting for him and let completely loose on him.
Now, I didn't know Officer Francom, but what I do know is this: even though these are the men and women that can easily ruin your day with a ticket, and might make you a little late to where you're going, they deserve every ounce of respect we can muster up. They are out in our streets dealing with all those things we like to pretend don't exist or just flat out avoid. And I don't know about you, but if someone called me and told me their home was being robbed by men with guns, I'd be headed the other direction while these men and women are running towards it. Long story short, they put themselves into situations every day that could end as this one did for our safety, and for that I will always be grateful.