Thank God for Police Officers

I continue to read, with more than passing interest, the very recent case of two police officers, Russell Timoshenko, and Herman Yan, both from New York City, who pulled over what they believed to be a stolen BMW X5 SUV less than 48 hours ago (in the morning of July 9), only to have the passenger fire at them. Officer Timoshenko was hit twice in the face and is in very bad shape in hospital. Officer Yan was shot in the chest and arm, but he had a bulletproof vest on, which the New York City police chief says, probably saved his life. Officer Yan was able to fire back and it was believe that he hit one of the suspects.

The perpetrators are still on the lam, but they do have a description of a suspect. He apparently was a salesman at the BMW dealership from which the SUV came, but interesting enough, he is a convicted rapist and has a history of violent behaviour (how BMW came to employ him was anyone's guess). Anyways, despite the fact that this was such a sad, violent act that is perpetrated on another human being, it is of increasing concern that police officers were the target of the bullets. I think many of us will think the story is still sad if it was two rival gangs shooting each other up (or depending on who you are, it may be a good thing), but I cannot understand how a guy can pull a gun and deliberately shoot a police officer.

The police, to me, represent the people who willingly serve so you and I can live in a safe neighbourhood, town or city (or hamlet or village). Whenever I get pulled over by a police officer (by the way, it is not a regular occurrence, but I have been pulled over for speeding and for rolling stops, all of which were my fault and I have no excuse), I always call them "sir", "maam" and "officer". I have also been pulled over once by accident (there was another Jeremy Choi in the province driving with a suspended licence (wonder if it was that guy running for town council who shares my name) - an officer ran my plates at some lights and then pulled me over, to the shock of my Grandma, who was in the passenger's side. I wasn't upset, but I know some people who would be. I'm actually glad that police are doing their job, even if once in a blue moon, they pull over the wrong guy. I wasn't upset and even told the officer, "no problem". We've had the police at our house when a schitzophrenic lady tried to kick in our front door, thinking that we had kidnapped her friend Sue. We have had the police over when we reported strange noises in the backyard (which eventually turned out to be a toy bear of Isaac's, whose batteries were dying - what an awful sound it made!). Every single time, we have had professional, courteous (and thank God!) large and bulky officers whose presence made us feel much safer. I'm very thankful we have police officers to serve and protect us.

My cousin's a police officer in Edmonton. Last year (or was it 2004 during our other visit), I had an opportunity to sit down with my cousin. He was a bit down about his job and said that it wasn't very exicting. He said (and I thought he was pulling my leg, but his facial expression revealed he wasn't) that he wished that he had an exciting job in Information Technology like what I do. I told him, "you have got to be kidding!" I have a freaking office job, the most boringist of the boring occupations you can have. I said that as far as societal contributions go and inherent occupational value, there is not much that compares to a police officer. If I asked him in 2004, then I revisited the discussion last year since I spent a good chunk of the evening and well into the night louging on a chair while he sat on the opposing couch telling me story after story about his day-to-day job. Some of the stories just blow my mind - what an exciting life it is, and while yes, it is dangerous, and my aunt I am sure is on pins and needles on a regular basis when my cousin goes into work, I am very proud of him, and thanked him in person for putting his life on the line in serving others. In 2004, we walked the street with him (he was off-duty of course) and he bumped into some other off-duty cops and they were like old buddies at a bar discussing current events - these officers were like anyone else - they had families, a good sense of humour, etc.

I would love to be a police officer. But as my Mom and Dad (and wife) can attest, I'm not exactly the bravest soul on earth. Plus, the fact that I am a mere 5' 6" and under 145 lbs. is not exactly physically imposing. So I end up playing Police Quest video games and watch NYPD Blue and think that at the very least, I'm learning about police work.

All that being said, whenever I hear of a police officer being shot, or shot at, the only thing that comes to my mind is that these criminals obviously not only are devoid of a healthy fear and respect for authority, but the fact that they would contemplate killing a law enforcement official would indicate to me that they have forfeited any remnant of humanity that they have left. The very vast majority of human beings would recognize that their actions are governed by laws, which society as a whole has put into place. If they feel no remorse in snuffing out the life of one of the enforcers of those very laws, I would dare say, they just forfeited their right to be among the living. I would count copkillers on the same level as child molesters and rapists (and if you've read my blog thus far, you'll know what I suggest should be the punishment for those sub-humans, despite how vehemently left-wing psychologists would argue otherwise).

I hope that they find this/these coward(s) who shot these brave officers in New York (unfortunately, New York State abolished the death penalty), and I hope that Officer Timoshenko pulls through, even though it will obviously be an extraordinarily long healing and re-habilitation process. May God continue to bless the men and women who serve as upholders of the law so that people like me can write blogs in a safe place, and readers like you can read them in a safe place.