LMPD :: Louisville Metro Police Department
IMAGE
39 Comments

A Message from my Brother

Comment Key:

Comment posted within last hourComment posted within last hour
Comment posted within 3 hoursComment posted within last 3 hours
Comment posted within 6 hoursComment posted within last 6 hours
Comment posted within 12 hoursComment posted within last 12 hours
Comment posted within 24 hoursComment posted within last 24 hours
Image attached to comment Image attached to comment
YouTube video attached to comment YouTube video attached to comment

A Message from my Brother

November 9th, 2005 @ 9:35PM (18 years ago)

I don't know the author of this story, but when it was sent to me it captivated me from the very beginning. So many of the thoughts are ones that I have felt. So many things happen throughout the day that we never talk about, but we never forget either. Sometimes my wife picks up on the really bad ones and makes me talk about it to her. I wish more people had somebody like my wife that puts up with my moods and tries to help me work through them.

I also wish that I could make people in general understand what it is that we as Police Officers deal with every day. If I arrested you for DUI it wasn't because I wanted to ruin your life, it was because I wanted to save it and probably someone else's too. If I wrote you a speeding ticket it was because I have made too many fatal accidents over my career and seen too many people dead because they were going too fast.

I don't want to use my gun, but I carry one every day along with 26 pounds of other gear because It may help someone down the line.

Smile at me, please. It really does make my whole day brighter.

P. Schweizer

A Message from my Brother

November 9th, 2005 @ 11:06PM (18 years ago)

Beautiful

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 5:22AM (18 years ago)

sing sister sing, let no one stop you , from speaking what it is that a police officer goes thru every second of every day of their career!

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 9:03AM (18 years ago)

things that the public sector (and some officers) need to hear once in a while. We do have our job to do but it does come with a price as we are just human also. Thanks for telling just a little from our days.

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 9:26AM (18 years ago)

I wish I was that eliquint. Very well written. In a job with nothing but negativity, it's sometimes hard to find the words to express the way officers may feel.

Police are not called when a new family has a child. Police are not invited to a home to watch the big game on television, or celebrate someones birthday party. Or on Christmas when officers are on the street and families are at home opening presents with their loved ones.

I love being a police officer. Although sometimes, it is really hard to put away all of the bad things we often have to endure. It's not as easy as one may think, to just put all that negativity away in a closet like a coat, and forget about what had happened the night before. But for mine and my families sake, I do just that.

I wish everyone in this fine city could read what you have written, in may make some think.

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 10:24AM (18 years ago)

Thank You!!!......War Wagon

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 10:32AM (18 years ago)

Sometimes we forget to "refresh" after an incident. For that, I know I am sorry for any negative vibrations I send out to the Cosmos. But you can never forget the images that are burned into your brain. Some are good, they are the relatively "normal" ones where nobody died or was crippled. Some of the others are more grim and that is the weight we carry. That is why I love Jill and Paul and all of my other brothers and sisters that also carry that weight. With all of the burden, I still cannot picture myself doing anything else. Bless you all. Keep the faith and "Charlie Mike".

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 12:07PM (18 years ago)

Perfectly written . . . Thank you for the reminder for those of us married to the blue and not wearing it. We sometimes forget, or have no clue what you endure on a daily basis. We assume that you do not want to talk about your day, when in reality you are protecting us from the images burned into your memory. God bless you and keep you safe and THANK YOU for wearing the blue.

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 12:09PM (18 years ago)

I recently discovered this board, as my husband and I are considering relocating to Louisville to be closer to family. I'm a former cop and my husband is currently a Detective for a medium sized Dept. in the midwest. Your article evoked an emotion in me that I haven't felt since the day I made the decision to turn in my badge to be a mom. My husband and I were "night fighters" together and nothing made me more proud than to battle the ills of my city with my fellow "warriors". Unfortunatley, that pride comes a with price the general public can never understand. They will never understand... Thank you so much for this article.

By Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

Extracted from On Combat, By Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, with Loren Christensen...Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?

Be safe

MAustin

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 5:00PM (18 years ago)

Very well said! -Fish

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 6:19PM (18 years ago)

This is off topic for this blog, but I have a question. Is this is a police website? I do not believe I have ever seen anything quite like this. I am a police officer from from California and was exploring different law enforcement sites on the net when I came across this one. Dont get me wrong I love it, it's just a little different from other police sites.

A Message from my Brother

November 10th, 2005 @ 6:34PM (18 years ago)

As a police officer I feel compelled to state that after reading all this dribble I will now officially call it. The majority of these posts are from nuts. Most of us knew what we were getting into. Go to work do your job deal with it and thank God you are not in Iraq or Afghanistan having to deal with serious emotional problems.

A Message from my Brother

November 11th, 2005 @ 10:56AM (18 years ago)

It always amazes me that when a cop displays their true personal feelings that another cop, who thinks he is 10' tall and bulletproof emotionally, is so quick to criticize. No matter how much you THINK you know what you sign up for, you don't. You can't be prepared for seeing a 4 yr. old child stabbed 40 times or watch a man blow his brains out in front of you. In the deep corners of your heart you know this officer touched a nerve. If not, then you must not have a heart at all.

A Message from my Brother

November 11th, 2005 @ 11:15AM (18 years ago)

I am a police officers wife and I feel for him everyday (you could not pay me to do your alls job) it takes a very patient person one who can tolerate the ignorance of the ill informed society. If here one more Oh man you got it made or you are ok but most cops are #$@!. No one knows until they walk in your shoes that is for sure. You have to be the mediator, the consoler ,the healer, the fixer, the doctor, the lawyer the jester the niceperson (EVERYDAY) and who can honestly say they are in a good mood everyday at their job??? I would like to see what other professional has to wear so many hats on a given day... so my that is why my hat is off to each and everyone of you good days bad days happy or sad days. God Bless and stay safe.

A Message from my Brother

November 11th, 2005 @ 11:15AM (18 years ago)

Very well written and a lot of truth. This should hit home to every citizen in this community. When you see an officer doing his job maybe he's not just a taxpayers burden as some feel. Yes we have a thankless job, BUT WE CHOSE IT, to try and make a difference. We thank GOD everyday we can go home knowing we did our job and nobody got hurt or died. A word of thought, I had a woman walk up to me at Walmart the other day and say " You talked me out of a relationship I was in that probably would have gotten me killed. Thank you so much." Yes it brought a tear to my eye and we are human just like everyone else. REvans

A Message from my Brother

November 13th, 2005 @ 7:17PM (18 years ago)

I would like to thank the folks that posted this. It really does show the human being behind the badge. People expect us to be thick skinned and not show emotion. For someone to say some of the things we see doesn't bother them, then I say they haven't done much Police work. I have seen so many horrible things, but I balance it by focusing on my job and trying to do my best. Despite an ungrateful Mayor that doesn't back us, despite an administration too scared to back us, despite a commonwealth attorney that indicted one of our own, I still do my job because I do it for me and I do it for my family and I do it for my community because without the Police society would fold in a heartbeat. People depend on us and put their faith in us.

One of the first COs that I worked for , Sgt. Frank Lavender, told me something that has stuck with me my whole career. He told me that over the course of my career I will see human beings commit the most horrible atrocities to other human beings that you can imagine, I will see things that I will never be able to forget. Frank told me not to concentrate on them, because they will eat you up inside. He said instead to concentrate on the good things that happen. He gave me some advice. Whenever something really funny or really good happens out there to write it down. He said in 20 years you will have a whole book of funny things to be able to look back and see that the good times are what is worth remembering.

A Message from my Brother

November 14th, 2005 @ 7:01AM (18 years ago)

You know I am totally for a persons right to free speech but some of the replies to this message are stepping over the line. If you read a post and dont agree with it keep it to yourself. If you are indeed a cop then you would not reply in a negative way to a post like this one. If you are not a cop then stay on your scumbag website and stay off ours!

A Message from my Brother

November 16th, 2005 @ 8:28PM (18 years ago)

Sounds like Jill has gone overboard with self-pity. Don't make excuses about how your bad day made you speed, not do your job, neglect your family, or do stupid things like not changing out of a uniform with blood on it. Policing can be a thankless, high stress, dangerous job, but then so can many others, some of which they don't make dozens of TV shows about. Try running into burning buildings, patrolling in Iraq, or working in a pediatric burn unit for a few years and compare that with the "high stress" some people have while working in the suburbs. But first I'd consider a different career, because it sounds like you can't handle the stress and expect people to thank you for doing your job. It would be a better world if everyone were that nice to other people. But tell me honestly, how often do you thank anyone else like that?

A Message from my Brother

May 8th, 2007 @ 2:36PM (17 years ago)

This has been all over the internet since being written for a police publication in the year 2000. I know the woman who wrote it and she is rarely given credit for her work when people send this around. Her name is Jill Wragg. She is a retired (disabled) police officer in Massachusetts. Comments can be sent to her at JKWragg@yahoo.com. Thanks