Rest in Peace

I had a couple of cute, fun topics I was considering for a blog post today and was looking forward to getting off work and doing some silly, just-for-the-heck-of-it writing.

I woke up this morning with a “got up on the wrong side of the bed” attitude, mixed in with a little bit of the blues. I figured penning — keyboarding? — a light-hearted blog post after work might be just what the doctor ordered.

And then, a little after 2 p.m., word filtered into the newsroom that a Baltimore County police officer was shot while responding to a call in the Perry Hall community.

The news sucked the air out of the newsroom and as subsequent bits and pieces of information became available, those in the know and familiar with the protocol in situations like this one knew the outcome wasn’t going to be good. Rather than being flown to the University of Maryland's Shock Trauma Center, the fallen officer was instead taken to nearby Franklin Square, and BCPD Chief Sheridan was at the hospital soon after the news spread.

According to multiple news outlets, the officer, whose identity had not been disclosed as of early Tuesday morning, was declared dead at about 2:50 p.m. My heart collapsed.

It’s not clear what caused the officer’s death; there are reports she was run over by a vehicle driven by the suspects she was called to investigate. For this report, the cause of death matters not; the fact remains that a first responder lost her life while performing her duty to protect Baltimore County citizens.

I’m still trying to come to grips with the sudden death of Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, who died of cardiac arrest May 10. It just doesn’t seem real that a man who was seemingly healthy and vibrant died so suddenly, and my heart still skips a beat every time I see a reference to the “late” county executive.

And here we are, less than two weeks later, and the Baltimore County government family is again rocked with the loss of a member, this time at the hands of violence on the streets of a fairly well-to-do suburban neighborhood.

A woman went to work as usual Monday morning and did not return home that afternoon. We lose sight of the fact that our first responders do indeed put their lives on the line every time they report for duty. A death in the line of duty such as this one reminds us that danger is a very real part of the day-to-day job these special people accept as a routine part of their calling.

My heart breaks for this officer’s blood family, her blue family and all of her friends and acquaintances.

And my heart breaks for our broken society. The violence just never seems to end and, as childish as this may sound, I’m just sick of it.