The year 2021 was one of the deadliest years for law enforcement.
Between January and September of 2021, 59 police officers were killed in the line of duty, according to the FBI. That represented a 51 percent increase in the same span in the previous year. And the number of assaults on police officers, according to the FBI, also continued to rise.
The circumstances of the killings ranged - from responding to domestic assaults to vehicle crashes to motor vehicle stops. Some of the circumstances the average person would call "routine." But there are no routine calls in law enforcement.
Those on the front lines deal with the traumatized, the beaten and bruised, the angry, the saddened. They deal with the under medicated and the over medicated. They deal with those struggling with addiction and fight to keep those working to keep the pipeline of drugs pumping off the street. Some days there are wins. Most days there are not.
There are stories behind each law enforcement life lost. It is the story of a person, of a family, of dreams.
I am grateful to all who allowed me to share the story of Saxonburg (PA) Police Chief Greg Adams who was killed in 1980 during a traffic stop. He was remembered as a good man who worked hard and loved his family. Remember Chief Adams and those like him each day.
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