Father remembers fallen son

I admire Peter's family so much, and the way they've carried on his legacy and memory is amazing.

But I also disagree (a little) with the idea of thanking an officer or waving or being friendly and social with them. I have 2 cousins that work for LMPD and a couple guys I knew highschool as well. Even before having that personal connection to law enforcement, I've been pro-police my entire adult life and used to believe more people should thank cops every chance they got. But recently, a few 8th division officers responded to a situation at my neighbor's home and when I passively said "hey thanks for what you do" as they left, 3 of the 5 snidely laughed at me and continued to snicker and whisper something to each other as they walked away. I don't judge a whole group by a few bad apples, now, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. To an extent, I feel like non-police just can't win with some cops. If we disagree with or dislike you, we're idiot sheep citizens that are anti-police. If we like you or thank you, we're something to be laughed at? The officers I dealt with were all much younger than me and young in general (I'd say under 25) and I really feel like a lot of these young newer officers are consumed by ego and don't understand what Peter Grignon's sacrifice meant, or what Mr. Grignon is requesting of the people of our city and why, when it's genuine, it is both necessary and appreciated for police officers to hear. That is a sad reality to think about. On the whole though, I still think we have far more good than bad on our city's police department.

...that's because the 'cops' in that division wouldn't know how to do real police work if their life depended on it. Tqake a look at the Thornton's and Starbucks parking lots- that's where you'll find the platoon, instead of patrolling our neighborhoods to deter burglaries and car break-ins.

For them- a uniform with a badge and a gun are what it's all about!!

On behalf of the majority of LMPD, I am sorry for your negative experience. Thank you for your support. Please remember, as you said it best, the majority of police officers are good folks like you who just want to make a difference in their community and support their family at the same time. I also agree with the comments about young officers and their egos, it often takes a few years to realize why we truly do what we do. Thanks