By: Angela Hanberg
I personally feel that our public safety workers are not praised enough for all they do here in the Uintah Basin. They deal with so much and rarely get the recognition they deserve. This is the second of a four-part series acknowledging those men and women.
"Goin' down the highway, doin' ninety-four..." Actually no, it was only 44, in a 45 mph zone so why did I panic when I looked in the rearview and saw the blue and reds? I don't know why, exactly, but every time I have a cop driving in my vicinity, I automatically turn into the World's Most Defensive Driver. First thing I do is yell at the kids to "Sit down and hush up! There's a cop!" Like somehow their talking and giggling is going to be grounds for a ticket. At the same time my hands go back to that 10 and 2 position on the wheel and I slow down to a crawl hoping they'll go around me. For some (NEVER me) they probably hurry and get off the phone with whomever they've been gabbing with for the last six blocks. I haven't had a ticket in years, but automatically feel like I'm doing something wrong when I see those law enforcement vehicles. I guess it has something to do with a guilty conscience. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I pull over to stop and they don't, but then it's full blown ambulance-chaser mode and I wonder what they're up to.
Although it doesn't happen as often as in the movies, it does happen: the irate race car driver who gets a citation and turns into a sailor, the intoxicated driver who gets his head held out the window of the patrol car on the way to the station to avoid a very unpleasant mess later, or the parolee trying to run from officers on a drug bust with gun in hand. Local law enforcement officers risk their lives, and sanity, every day on the job. Some days may be easier and more entertaining than others, but on those bad days, they are dealing with some very atrocious situations. It doesn't hurt to remember those men we've lost in the line of duty and remind ourselves what they're here to do.
Roosevelt Police Chief Cecil Gurr was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call on July 6, 2001.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer Joshua Yazzie died on June 8, 2010 when his patrol vehicle rolled 200 feet down an embankment on the side of Bottle Hollow Dam.
Uintah County Sheriff's detective Kevin Orr was killed in the line of duty when a helicopter crashed during a search and rescue operation Nov. 22, 2006.
Duchesne County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Gerry Lane Ivie was accidentally shot and killed on July 2, 1987 by a fellow officer at a roadblock which had been set up to catch a suspect.
Ute Tribal Police Officer Adolph F. Bush was shot to death on September 19, 1967 while investigating a report of domestic violence at a residence in Randlett.
Celebrating two years of life after a near miss is Vernal Police officer Dustin Gray. Halloween night of 2009 he found himself under fire while following up on a report of a prowler. Taking one bullet in the thigh and grazed by another, he came very close to joining the every-growing list of fallen officers in Utah. We are thankful for Officer Gray along with all the other men and women of our law enforcement entities here in the basin.
Police, deputies, detectives, sheriffs, fuzz, po-po, bacon... These men and women in uniform are not our enemy but our advocates. They are available to serve and protect us from the evil, the corrupt and the criminal wrongdoings that occur daily
No comments:
Post a Comment