Benoit L’Ecuyer – Officer Down

Over the years, in addition to meeting many cops, I have also made friends with quite a few. There are some who take advantage of their badge, as there are some who use their badge as a bully-pulpit.

But mostly; they are just a bunch of regular people trying to get through life, like the rest of us. With one exception.

When something scary is happening, they’re the first people we call. When we need help real quick, they’re the first people on the scene. When there is a family crisis, where on the spot mediation is critical, they’re the ones on the spot. They’re even the ones we call to deliver a baby, when there is no one else around who can get it done.

Being a cop isn’t just a job. It’s a total commitment to uphold everything that keeps our society ticking. Without them, there would be mayhem. Civilization could not exist. Laws would be meaningless. And we would be forced to live with war-lords. Just like they do in countries we wouldn’t ever want to visit.

My heart breaks for the Montreal officer who lost his life yesterday, while carrying on his duty to keep our lives safe. He will never again feel the touch of his loved ones, and be able to laugh or cry with his friends and family.

My heart breaks for his wife and children. She will not have him in her physical life any longer, and their children will grow, never really knowing their father.

But; mostly, my heart breaks for all of us, that we can live within a society where people can be so evil, as to gun anyone down; especially a cop, whose only reason to die on the streets of Montreal, was that he was just doing his job.

An officer went down yesterday, and all of us died a little bit with him. May his soul rest in peace. And his memory continue to live on in our hearts.