POLICE OFFICERS

You may love us, or hate us, but here is the simple truth.

Police officers sacrifice their very lives and life styles, to protect your constitutional rights.

A police officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle his uniform. He has to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day. He has to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black coffee and half-eaten meals.

They can tell you the elements of a hundred crimes, recite the Miranda warnings in their sleep; detain, investigate, search and arrest a suspect on the street in less time than it takes five judges to debate the legality of the stop...and still he keeps his sense of humor.

Officers also have phenomenal personal control. He can deal with crime scenes painted in Hell, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how law enforcement "Isn't Sensitive To The Rights of Criminal Suspects."

And to those of you who hate me because of my job, only have this to say, "When you call for help, I will be there, to help you with whatever problem you have...I will protect your right to hate me."