The local Fraternal Order of Police hosted their annual Police Memorial Service on Thursday evening to remember those who died over the last year while on duty. Guest speaker Russell Coleman, Kentucky’s Attorney General, said he learned the importance of police officers as a child in Thruston when he met his first state trooper who lived down the street.
“Law enforcement is a calling. It’s not just a job; you could certainly earn a better paycheck with a lot less heartache. And there’s a lot easier ways to put the food on the table,” Coleman said.
From a young age, Coleman said, he looked up to those who wore a badge and protected the cities he grew up in. However, his biggest realization with law enforcement came after being given his FBI Special Agent badge.
“You will forever go to the sound of gunfire. You’ll forever not flee the threat, seek cover and concealment. You’ll go to the threat and attempt to mitigate it. I say this because that was new to me. It’s not new to you,” Coleman said.
Coleman noted that law enforcement workers must balance familial or community roles while recovering from their previous shifts.
As Attorney General, he urges people to break the cycles associated with the “long-respected stoic model” of law enforcement, saying there should be work toward better supporting the mental and physical health of officers.
“We in the public, we in elected office, we as your family members need to come to you,” he said. “You rush to the threat. We come to you. Your mental health and your physical health need to be a priority to the public and needs to be the priority of those that have long benefited from the protections that you have provided us.”
