I had an unpleasant

dream the other night. In the dream, I happened to overhear two people

who were discussing one of my newspaper columns. One of them said to the

other, "You know that the guy who writes this stuff is anti-police,

don't you?" Though I was in the midst of a deep sleep, this comment

in the dream disturbed me enough to wake me up. In that misty haze between

stupor and alertness that sometimes occurs in the middle of the night,

I tried to determine why the man in my dream would say such a thing.

I have never

been accused of being anti-law enforcement, although some who have read

my columns have written me to argue that I am too pro-police. At a recent

law enforcement Christmas dinner, at which I was to offer the obligatory

prayer and blessing, the chief of police introduced me and said during

his remarks, "In his heart, Father Epps is a cop." He paid me

a great compliment.

Actually, I

am a cop. In 1989, a local pastor introduced me to the world of law enforcement

chaplaincy and, in 1992, I attended and graduated from the police academy

in Fulton County. In January 1993, I was sworn in as a reserve deputy

sheriff and was later sworn as a reserve police officer in a certain town.

As a result, I received state certification as a peace officer in Georgia.

I love cops.

I have two sons who have served as police officers and have another son

who serves in the military. To me, cops are the peacetime domestic warriors

who stand between the average citizen and anarchy. I have been on patrol

with cops since 1989 and have come to a vivid personal awareness that

the job they do is dangerous, thankless, and unappreciated. Both of my

two older sons have been injured on the job and the eldest required four

surgeries for injuries sustained during an arrest.

only a police officer can get by with calling another police officer a

"cop." Don't use this term when you are pulled over for a traffic

violation.

The average

citizen sees police officers as a necessity to deal with "those other

people," whomever they may be. But these same people do not want

to encounter a police officer unless someone is breaking down their door

or assaulting their daughter. Firemen are the post 9/11 heroes, as they

should be. There's something dramatic and heroic about firefighters rushing

into a building risking life and limb to rescue people. Over 300 firefighters

died Sept. 11, 2001. They were true heroes. But 72 police officers also

died rushing into those same buildings. In fact, every year, of the 470,000

men and women serving as cops of one kind or another, 61,000 police officers

are assaulted and 19,000 are injured. Every single year, in America, a

police officer is killed in the line of duty every 53 hours. For every

officer killed, 400 more are assaulted and 145 are injured.

Did you know

that, in 1998, felons sentenced to state prison received an average sentence

of five years but were out on the streets again in less than two and a

half years? Did you know that almost one third of convicted felons are

released on probation without serving any prison time at all? And did

you know that, in one recent ten-year period, 163 cop killers were out

on parole or probation at the time they murdered a police officer? Ninety-nine

of those cop killers were under the age of eighteen.

So, yes, I

am pro-cop. Police officers face the unknown every day for little pay.

In fact, most cops have to take second jobs to make ends meet. They deal,

on a daily basis, with contentious, argumentative citizens who are not

at all shy about telling the cop that he should be out arresting drug

dealers and child rapists instead of handing out tickets for going 25

miles an hour over the speed limit.

Why do they

do it? Why do they become police officers? One FBI agent told me that

a study revealed that law enforcement officers and minister, priests,

and rabbis had almost the same exact personality traits. One difference

was that the cops tended to lean toward justice while the ministers leaned

in the direction of mercy. The short answer is that men and women become

police officers to make a positive difference, to affect their community

and nation. They see themselves as serving the good and standing in the

gap against the evil. They believe in such a thing as right and wrong

and they believe in such concepts as valor, and courage, and honor. And

that is why I love cops and respect them, for who they are and what they

do. It is also why I cry when one dies in the line of duty. One cop said,

"We face what other fear," and that is so very correct.

A spokesperson

for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund wrote, "There

is no challenge too difficult, no danger too great for our nation's law

enforcement officers. If you need help, they will come." How could

anyone not be pro-cop? Unless, of course, you are a criminal.

[Father David

Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which

meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at 4881 E. Hwy 34. He may be contacted at 770-252-2428,

at [email protected] or at www.ctkcec.org.]