A quick word on police
You know, I've written plenty on my experiences with the ugly side of police officers. But tragedies like the one that happened over the weekend, in which two police officers were shot, one of them killed, by a piece of human filth really serve as a reminder to us -- and especially to people like me, who are often wary of the police force -- of what a thankless, dangerous job the boys in blue (or in our case, white and green) have.
The dead officer, Brian Tephford, leaves behind three children. The man arrested, Eloyn Ingraham, leaves behind a laundry list of previous violent crimes. I am not without personal sympathies with the cops. I covered police for a daily paper. I have an uncle who was once a commissioner of the Balitmore police force before becoming the head of the Maryland state prison system. I have a cousin who is currently serving as a police officer in the same force as our uncle before him. My cousin is a great guy, a heck of a lot of fun. I don't know that "fun" would be the first word I'd use to describe my uncle, but he is certainly among the most decent and dedicated men I have ever known. It's worth remembering that, despite the recollections from the two posts I linked above, there are a lot of good people who strap on a gun and a badge every morning. Sure, it's tough to remember that when they're writing you a ticket or lobbing tear gas at you. But that's just the flip side from a guy like Tephford, gunned down in the streets for doing his job.