Very few professions ask community members to risk their life for the greater community good.\nFor local police officers and firefighters, risking life and limb is part of their job description and their daily sacrifice is often unnoticed until the community is asked to mourn the loss of a peace officer's life. \n"All police officers and firefighters are trained to have in mind: 'At any time you could lose your life trying to save someone else or their property,'" said Indiana University Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger. "Even when that does happen there is a large portion of the population that assumes an officer or firefighter knew their job was tough. No one deserves to lose their life or become injured in the line of duty."\nMinger said peace officer personalities run the gamut and not every officer is the model officer at all times, but all police officers and firefighters depend on community member understanding and trust to better serve and protect the \ncommunity.
PEACE OFFICER MEMORIAL\nFour City of Bloomington peace officers, memorialized on a limestone slab in front of City Hall, who were killed in the line of duty were honored May 15 as part of National Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremonies held across the nation. They include local police officer Ralph W. Pogue who died in 1928; former-Fraternal Order of Police President and Bloomington Police Department officer Dale W. Mishler who died in 1955; BPD Captain Donald E. Owens who died in 1975; and Bloomington Fire Department officer Clarence C. Strain who died in 1925.\n"Every day law enforcement officers stand watch over our citizens, selflessly risking their lives to protect individuals, families, neighborhoods and property against crime," Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan said in a 2004 NPOMD Proclamation calling on community members, local businesses and local government offices to display the U.S. flag at half-staff every May 15 from that year into infinity. "Law enforcement officers choose their profession and take oaths knowing that theirs is a dangerous job. They accept these risks, answering the call of duty and demonstrating a willingness to serve that reflects the best of America." \nU.S. President John F. Kennedy designated the first Peace Officer Memorial Day in 1962, and both the local FOP 88 Don Owens Memorial Lodge and the BPD have honored local officers who were killed in the line of duty since 1995. \nBFD Chief Jeff Barlow said local firefighter Charlie Lavender, who died in 1998 after participating in training exercises and who is listed on the Indianapolis Peace Officer Memorial, should have his name appear on the Bloomington memorial soon. He said the biggest danger peace officers face on a daily basis is the \n"unknown."\n"We should pay a lot of respect to fallen police officers and fire fighters in the community who came to work that morning at the start of their shift and never made it home," Barlow said. "Families are left without husbands or fathers, wives and mothers, and the departments are left with a void of a public servant that didn't come to work the next day."\nA NATION OF HEROES\nBPD Capt. Joe Qualters said all peace officers are dedicated individuals whose life work is committed to making their communities safer for everyone. He said no one enters law enforcement or fire fighting to attain hero status, and instead officers simply want to do what they are paid to do: serve and protect the community.\n"We have families that expect us to come home at the end of our shift. In reality, our officers are one vehicle stop, one domestic disturbance, one bank robbery away that may result in serious bodily injury or death," Qualters said. "For many of us, that's what makes the job intriguing because it's not routine. But at the same token, we have to be mindful of our personal safety for ourselves, other citizens and our families."\nOne law enforcement officer was killed in the line of duty about every two days during 2005, according to The Officer Down Memorial Page. More than 18,100 American law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty between 1791 and 2005, including 346 Indiana officers.\nEven though the job of a police officer prescribes different duties than that of battling smoke and flames, firefighters also face daily dangers that threaten their personal safety. \nThree thousand and fifty-five firefighters were killed in the line of duty between 1981 and 2005, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, including 57 Hoosiers.\nBFD Chief Barlow said all peace officers are trained to think on their feet considering they rely on experience and good instinct when they confront community challenges like immediate medical emergencies, such as heart attacks and burning buildings. \nHe said some community members might consider firefighters "crazy" because they chase flames and smoke while others flee, but the fire trucks that people see each day are as much theirs as the person the firefighters are going to rescue.\n"When the 911 call comes in you are dealing with limited information. We have to gather information at the scene and make good decisions to bring about a successful conclusion," Barlow said. "It's the things you don't know that will bite you the hardest. Peace officers are human, and we see some of the darkest hours of our community and some of the brightest."
A DAY IN THE LIFE\nPolice officers and firefighters are often called to make the peace around town, whether it is confronting criminal elements within the community or responding to emergency situations, but a fraction of a millisecond is all the time they are often given to make life or death decisions.\nQualters said his department, similar to all peace officers throughout town, are on constant patrol and available when community members call for their services. \nHe said policing is often a difficult profession for some community members to respect because each time officers respond to a call they have a 50-50 chance of making someone happy or angry depending on which side of the law a person is standing. \n"We like to think our work is responsible at least partially for the community we live in. I believe we have a safe community," Qualters said. "We can contribute that to the people who have chosen to live here but also to the peace officers who contribute a sense of security."\nQualters also said mutual respect between peace officers and community members is critical for the continuation Bloomington's self-identity as a safe and civil city. \nHe said most peace officers enjoy interacting with everyday folks and a job well done is often reflected in the best decisions made for the community at-large.\nOther peace officers patrolling the community streets include the Monroe County Sheriff Department, Indiana State Police and Indiana Excise Police, among other state and federal agencies. \nMinger said peace officers deal with the community good, bad and ugly every day, and he encouraged any community member to contact police or the fire department if questions arise about a peace officer's conduct. \nHe said police officers and firefighters are motivated not by heroic overtures, but by the intrinsic rewards of serving and protecting the community every day. \n"I can't speak for all peace officers, but personally, something like that of hero status, in my mind every one of them are," Minger said. "How could you not be a role model for everyone when you come to work everyday with the prospect in mind of helping people in one way or another"
