Blue Ribbons For Cops



It happened in quick succession—the knock on the door, the ride in the squad car, the averted glances and silence from the cops escorting her. She’d been told about an altercation. Her husband of ten years, and a cop for nine of them, had been taken to a hospital on the east side. 

A woman cop stayed with their two kids sleeping in a bedroom down the hall. The trip across the city took longer than her knotted stomach could take. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed.






Arriving at the emergency entrance, a plainclothes cop gently guided her into a side room. The hospital chaplain was sitting nearby.  Looking into their eyes she knew her husband was dead.





Before every shift they’d hug and pray, but beyond that, she knew little about his routine. Did they ever talk about his getting hurt? Sometimes, but he was more than a cop, he was her husband and a father too. They had a life together. 





It would take months to realize that life would never be the same. No, that’s not right. It would never be the same.

Amanda Swain Photography



Just a few weeks ago in a story that made a few news outlets, a young girl was able to go to her father-daughter dance, thanks to the cops who once worked with her dad—a cop killed on duty. They escorted her to the dance and for one night they filled the shoes of her precious father. But we know that one night will never make up for a lifetime.






Maybe you’ve seen the social media campaign for Police Blue Ribbon Day on September 30.  Whether or not you wear blue that day or feature a blue ribbon as your profile picture, we all can honor the police that serve our communities. 




Cops willingly take on crime, drug traffickers, speeding cars, and purposely place themselves in harm’s way to protect us. They deserve our respect. But respect for authority doesn’t begin on the streets; it begins in our homes. 

It’s time to do more, because while cops lives matter, the lives of their families do too.

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