I remember clearly the first time that I heard of a police officer being killed. It was 1964 and I was seven years old. In fact, it was not just one police officer. It was three police officers who were all shot and killed at the same time in Gwinnett County, Georgia. I can still see the images in the daily newspaper of the three as they all lay handcuffed together at the base of a tree.<br />
<br />
While I still remember the news of the killings, I don't remember very much about how the news made me feel. Maybe it was because I absorbed the news just like any other bad news that a seven year old learns about. I'm sure that my parents limited the impact that it would have had if I had truly understood the ramifications of a crime that would draw international attention. My father was in the process of beginning his new job with the very same police department that employed the three officers who were killed. I think that I knew that what had happened was bad, but I don't remember being afraid that my father was about to start a career that had ended brutally for those three officers. But what I do remember is hearing that this type of crime, where police officers are killed, very seldom happens. Maybe it was true then, but it surely is not true anymore.<br />
<br />
A lot has happened since those headlines of April 17, 1964. My father did become a police officer and so did I. I recently celebrated my 32nd anniversary in the law enforcement and judicial arena. During that time, many police officers have been killed in the line of duty. I have never met the majority of them, but some of them happen to be good friends. One of them happened to be a great friend. I suppose that it is naïve to think that police officers would never be killed in the line of duty. It is wishful thinking
