This Christmas, one Georgia town is doing something very special for law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty during 2016. As of today, one hundred and thirty seven police officers, troopers, and deputies have died while performing their jobs this year.
The Cedartown Police Department, in Cedartown Georgia, has dedicated a very special tree in remembrance of their service and sacrifice. The tree is hung with the names, photographs, and departments where the fallen had served.
Cedartown chief of Police Jamie Newsome says that he and his team wanted to offer their own tribute to their fellow law enforcement officers around the country who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their communities. They also wanted the families of these men and women to know that their loved ones are not forgotten.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chief Newsome says “Every one of these is a person with a real life story, a family, not just a badge.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Unfortunately, with Christmas less than two weeks away, the tree is not yet complete. Just this week, three more officers are to be added to the tree’s roll call, including officers Jody Smith and Nicholas Smarr, who were shot and killed last week, while on duty in Americus, Georgia.
“We’ll come over here, have a moment of silence, say a prayer for the families, then add their pictures and names,” said Chief Newsome.
Crowning this very special memorial tree are four Cedartown officers who have died in the line of duty over the years. The angel topping the tree is the most recent, Officer Joy Nolan, who passed away this past October
This year, Rep. John Rogers (D. Birmingham) made the news when he urged his fellow lawmakers to pass new legislation identifying police officers as a protected group in order to prosecute criminals who attack them more severely.
Rogers said “It is a hate crime because it attacks a certain class of individuals: police officers”.
Rogers says he plans to introduce the measure when the next legislative session begins in february, “It is a hate crime, so therefore I support it. I will have that bill drawn up tomorrow.”
This most recent proposal is the next step beyond the 2015 “Thin Blue Line” bill (HB 953) presented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Jeff Sessions (R. Alabama), and will follow on the heels of many state-level laws designed to provide greater protection for police and other first responders.
Publicly, there has been a perception of an increase nationally in the number of attacks against law enforcement, although the data suggest otherwise. According to statistics from the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a national organization dedicated to honoring and remembering the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers in the United States, 2015 actually demonstrated a 21 percent decrease on the average 57 fatalities per year, 2000-2009.
Some reasons for the increased public concern for First Responder safety may include a general focus on gun-related crime, attention being brought to officer-related shootings by the Black Lives Matter movement, and a quantifiable, but slight, spike in violence against law enforcement officers this year.
Statistically, however, violence against law enforcement is down from an historic high during the mid-1970’s, when the average number of police officers killed in the line of duty reached around 280 a year. In fact, current numbers are even down significantly from 2010, when more than 175 officers were killed in action, including 61 gun-related fatalities and 6 assaults.
And, According to the FBI, there was an almost 20 percent decrease in the number of felonious deaths of police officers between 2014 to 2015.
How do you honor those who served your community? Share your stories and thoughts with us here.
ADVERTISEMENT
This Tree Seems Normal, But When I Saw The Ornaments Close Up I Couldn’t Stop Crying
No comments:
Post a Comment