Police mistreated by media

Dear Editor,

There are very few people in Green River that have a feeling of apprehension when their husband, wife, or child goes to work. Each police officer’s family feels this every day. Not just their husband, wife or child, but their parents and siblings have this uneasy feeling. When we hear a siren, it is always frightening.

Most people think Green River is a small town and not much happens here. None of you really know what goes on in this town because you don’t hear it on the radio or read it in the newspaper.

Green River has many crimes that happen each day. This is spousal abuse, child abuse, drunk drivers, people have guns that threaten others, drug abusers and many others. There are also deaths and suicides. The police officers are the ones that have to deal with every crime. They are also the first ones on the scene when there is a death or suicide.

All police officers have extensive training. They have to go through the program at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas. There are often follow-up classes there. They learn from their fellow officer and they become trainers, too. There are meetings where they learn. They have Fit Force training to make sure they are fit for the job. There are regular training classes that they go to. They also have shooting training. They have to qualify to be a police officer. They have training using different scenarios so that they are always prepared. They also have to learn to be alert because their lives are always on the line.

Many of the Green River police officers are part of the Sweetwater County SWAT team. Do you know how many times the SWAT team has been called out to an incident? They also provide assistance to incidents in other counties.

They go to these incidents to keep the rest of us safe.

They don’t feel they need this publicity. But, let them make one mistake and it certainly makes the front page news. How fair is that?

They owned up to the mistake, but the media had to make it worse.

This country has become anti-police because of the media. Every job has a bad egg in it, but that doesn’t make the rest of the people look bad. With the police it is a different story. Every police officer is looked at critically. This isn’t fair. Ninety nine percent of the police officers in this country take their job very seriously and are protecting the town or city where they live.

But, they are all judged by the 1 percent that do something that gets the attention of the media. It’s a good thing not all jobs are judged this way.

Who do you call when you have a problem at your home? Who do you call when you lock your keys in your car? Who do you call when your child runs away? Who do you call when your husband is hitting you? Who do you call when your car is hit by a car that leaves the scene or is stolen? Who do you call when you are having a conflict with your neighbor? There are a lot more questions that I could ask, but I think my point is made.

It takes a special person to become a police officer. It is not a vocation that they take lightly. They know that there is always danger. They know that it puts a strain on their families, but it is something they want to do because they care about the town or city they live in and want to protect the people that live there.

How many of you have sat down with a police officer to find out why they are doing this job? How many of you have publically thanked them? In the last many years, there has only been one letter thanking a police officer. This gentleman had been picked up and given a citation, but he appreciated how he was treated by the officer, so he wrote a letter to the editor. It would be nice to see more letters to the editor thanking the police officers in Green River. They would like to feel appreciated too.

Wilma Sturlaugson

Green River