GEORGE CHAIX: Police officers deserve respect of presidential candidates

There is political posturing from both parties and candidates, and I have never been as offended as I was during the Feb. 11 debate when I heard Sanders state, "I would hope that we could all agree that we are sick and tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often African Americans, shot by police officers." In Clinton's response to his statement, she agreed.

Policing is one of the noblest professions that exists. Police officers realize that many we serve do not like us, but we still hope to make a positive difference in our communities. While these presidential candidates were villainizing our profession, they failed to learn that from Feb. 5 through the day of the debate on Feb. 11, seven officers were killed in the line of duty.

The father of modern policing, August Vollmer, said "The citizen expects police officers to have the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job, the leadership of Moses, the kindness of the Good Samaritan, the strategical training of Alexander, the faith of Daniel, the diplomacy of Lincoln, the tolerance of the Carpenter of Nazareth and, finally, an intimate knowledge of every branch of the natural, biological and social sciences."

The police have one of the most difficult jobs in America and as such, the police officer has become one of the most important individuals in America today. As presidential candidates, you should not divide our country, but bring it together for the betterment of all our citizens.

I am proud to serve alongside my brother and sister police officers in the service of our country, and while we do not need recognition, we have earned the respect of presidential candidates.

GEORGE CHAIX

Biloxi

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 6:53 PM with the headline "GEORGE CHAIX: Police officers deserve respect of presidential candidates ."