There are triggers for me that I really shouldn’t write about. Things that get me SO wound up that I really ought to walk away. Things that I identify with and tear up my heart.

This story is one of them.

I love twitter. I really, really do. One of the coolest things in the past year or so has been the Edmonton City Police Officer accounts. They are intriguing and interesting, because they put a person behind the badge. They show the real side (good AND bad) of the job.

And now, the program is under fire because one officer tweeted a photo of a standoff, down the barrel of his firearm.

Was it sensational? Yes.

Was it appropriate? Hell yes. Because what he also wrote was that it ended peacefully. The ultimate win for everyone involved.

I will admit that the photo made me nervous for his and his coworkers safety. Taking time for a photo op says “distracted” to me. But the content? I give it two thumbs up. This is real. This is every day.

Honestly, what on EARTH do you think these men and women do each day?? It’s not all donuts and speeding tickets. Every. Single. Day. They wake up and they don’t know if they will come home after their shift. And they do it for shit salaries.

And they do it for YOU. They do it to keep YOR FAMILY safe in YOUR HOUSE while you complain about YOUR TAX DOLLARS paying their menial salary.

I don’t care if your views conflict with the organizations running our police forces. I don’t care about the lawsuits and the discriminations and the internal reviews reviewing internal corruption.

I care about the individual men and women who choose to protect us every single day. The ones you curse and bitch about when your poor choices end up with you on the receiving end of a ticket or a pair of handcuffs.

I care about the stakeout for a cop-killer my dad was on in 1987. The fast-asleep drivers who piled into him at highway speed twice when he had to pull some other law-breaker over for a preventable infraction. The hotel owner who shot at him/em> when he was responding to said owner’s call about a break and enter.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and that’s just ONE officer’s story.

So, Cst Power, I applaud you for your community policing, and for your honest glimpse into the day of a police officer. Your voice will be missed until this pointless debacle blows over.

In the meantime, thank you and your brother and sisters for the sacrifice you make for MY family every day.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

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This post is a part of the 2012 Summer Blog Challenge: a post for every day of the month. Feel free to play along, and check out some of the other participants: April, Natasha, and Zita!