A Love/Hate Relationship

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There seems to be a love/hate relationship when it comes to the Lumberton Police Department. This weekend was a prime example of this odd relationship between the citizens of Lumberton and the officers that patrol our streets. If the officers don't patrol when we're having a family gathering/party, then we love the officers. When a police officer flash their lights when we're speeding instead of pulling us over and writing a ticket, we love the officers. But when we're ticketed for driving without a seat belt, without our child in a car seat or for speeding, we're back to the hate part of our relationship. I know there are some that think I don't like the police department, but that's not true. I don't like officers that abuse their authority. This weekend, there were several things going on, but there wasn't any big disturbances, that is, until Abbott and Costello got into an argument about the sale of a DVD player. The police department was out and about,patrolling and clearing the corners and, for the most part, everything was in order. Now, let us fast forward to Sunday night. Mallard and Martin were on duty and when they were about to leave a particular area, a group of people suffering EWS (Empty Wagon Syndrome) decided they would start chanting: "F--- the police!, F--- the police!" over and over again, which led Martin and Mallard to abandon their cars and start a foot patrol. Why are there so many people that are so eager to show their asses every time they have an audience? If you're not doing anything illegal, why is there a need to draw attention to yourself and if you're doing something illegal, why are you drawing attention to yourself? I think one of the participants said something like "they're tired of paying for the gas that's going into Lumberton's police cars" and someone said "they're not worried because they always keep their lawyer on retainer." Now, I don't know that many law-abiding individuals that have a lawyer on retainer and generally, those that have a lawyer on retainer are doing something that's either unlawful or unethical. . .just saying. Regardless of your feelings towards any police officer, is it really necessary to taunt an officer that's actually doing their job? I think Lumberton is on its way to building up the department that was broken apart by the petty politics of this current board, but we must be willing to give them a chance. I think Elsie, Mallard, Martin, Pack and Parker are working hard to re-establish the honesty, trust and compassion that was once synonymous with the Lumberton Police Department, but we must be respectful, especially if the officers are being respectful. Now I must admit, they might fit the demographics of the officers in the movie 21 Jump-street, but we must start somewhere. This department has a few seasoned officers that should stay on board and who knows, they may even get the opportunity to become the Leader of the Pack, but we also realize that we have some young officers on board. We all know that the Lumberton Police Department is either a good place to start your career in law enforcement or end your career in law enforcement and I don't see officers like Mallard and Martin sticking around, especially if they have the desire to advance in their chosen career path. But while we have them in our midst, I think we should welcome the fact that there are officers working here to make a difference and not just here to collect a paycheck.

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