The way our society is nowadays, with cops increasingly in the crosshairs of maniacs brazenly launching cold-blooded killings, laying hands on law enforcement officers, and persistently praying over their lives is always paramount.
In the small space of a few days, several heinous murders of uniformed police officers have shaken us to the core…
In the out-of-control Windy City, Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca just finished his tour of duty and was headed home in his POV (personally owned vehicle) when he was assailed at almost 3 in the morning, shot, and left for dead.
Along with his vehicle, Officer Huesca’s police badge and firearm are taken as souvenirs by the cold-hearted devilish one who makes the frigid North Pole look like a bonfire.
(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Police Department.)
I am writing this on what would have been Officer Huesca’s 31st Birthday.
“The officer was the victim of the type of crime that he was working against to keep people safe in this city,” police Superintendent Larry Snelling said. “Another sad day for the Chicago Police Department.”
Officer Huesca was found in the street, mortally wounded by multiple gunshots.
Shot Spotter technology deployed around Chicago alerted city cops of an activation (gunfire detected). Each Shot Spotter unit is engineered to provide a location after activation, directing responding officers to an area for investigation. This is how they discovered the bullet-riddled body of Officer Huesca.
“We are deeply mourning the death of Officer Luis M. Huesca of the 5th District/Priority Response Team following an act of unconscionable gun violence in our city. No family or community should ever have to suffer such pain,” Chicago’s mayor stated.
This is the same mayor who continued the city’s downslide, declaring ridding the always violent metropolis of Shot Spotter technology.
This, even though Shot Spotters are real-time systems that alert the police before 9-1-1 calls are even received/recorded.
There is a brief video circulating police pages on social media. It depicts Officer Huesca in Chicago Police uniform, pointing to his star (badge), narrating about someone else who swore to lay down his life for others —like every other law enforcement officer vows, officially hallmarking a career of serving and protecting citizens— orating from a pained heart.
That someone was Officer Huesca’s friend who was a Chicago police officer…also killed in the line of duty.
That footage is applicably in black-and-white: There is no gray area when it comes to the courageous men and women who say Yes! to the call for cops despite the stark streets and metropolis minefields rife with murderous roamers.
It is bewildering to listen to Officer Huesca’s poignant description of life as a police officer, paradoxically about one who was one of the fallen in the line of duty. Now, we hear his words and hold him dearly as…yet another fallen officer who just completed doing right, confronted by someone who was up to all wrong.
Nestled in the middle of a Chicago newscast echoing the killing season on cops and how dangerous the profession has become, a YouTube depiction of Officer Huesca portrays him honoring and praising his police cohort who was added to the annals of the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) about 13 months prior:
I came across 13 police-oriented sites (zero legacy media outlets, other than the YouTube video above) whose posts about the macabre slayings of cops are replete with comments using any of the personally chosen words “praying” and “prayers” and “so sorry…prayers up.”
One can easily imagine Officer Huesca had fine folks laying hands on him, gratified for the persona of this forward-stepping policeman.
The battles of good against evil persist…
On the heels of the despicable and cowardly attack on Officer Huesca is another one, involving a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) veteran deputy who, while garnering advanced training to serve others optimally, was shot in the back by an assailant.
The gist of what happened is in a LASD bulletin:
“On the evening of Monday, April 22, 2024, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Aispuro was shot near the intersection of Barranca Street and North Garvey Avenue in the city of West Covina. At the time of the incident, Deputy Aispuro was in full uniform, stopped at a red light, while on a Sheriff’s Department motorcycle. He was in the area attending department training.”
The LASD deputy survived due to his protective vest and, despite the impactful encounter, was able to broadcast a suspect vehicle description.
Stopped at a Red light. Shot in the back for what? His uniform? No matter the questions surrounding this cold-hearted horror, prayers are up for Deputy Aispuro’s recovery (physical and emotional imperatives).
Among the litany of comments on the pages of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sites, the consensus is this: “Sending prayers for a speedy recovery.” Whether laying hands or raising hands, the legions of prayer warriors embrace law enforcement officers.
The Christian radio station I listen to hourly prays for “America’s first responders,” spelling it out as “police, fire, EMS, and military” for “always putting themselves on the line.”
Amid these recent law enforcement calamities stemming from the glaringly gory War on Cops, I sat through a freshly published recording of new faces in new places, all of whom shared a denominator: New Sarasota, Florida, police officers.
With many law enforcement agencies, the swearing-in ceremonies are usually opened by a clergy person praying over the event’s purpose and the courageous new cops who worked hard to arrive at the frontlines.
I watched this swearing-in event from the rear of the room (main camera); I’m glad a City of Sarasota photog caught poignant moments, such as the following depicting the convocation prayer…
(Photo courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department.)
Most of this group of new Sarasota officers are laterals from other states, the jurisdictions of which have become notoriously known for lawlessness and politicization. (Some may think those last two concepts are the same.)
Besides the opening prayer by a man of the cloth, the guest speakers and Honorables in attendance —Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Sarasota mayor (blue nails), Sarasota councilmembers, and others— all infused the agency’s values in family and being treated as such. The authenticity was brimming. Faith was flowing.
Both Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche and Honorable Moody heralded a gold nugget: The intrinsic nature of citizens supporting their police professionals whose fight is on behalf of those in the community, all cemented by treating first responders with respect and funding them for success. Everyone benefits!
It was Ms. Moody who spoke certain words that underscore today’s topic. She said: “It takes a very special person to answer the call to serve. I think you would all agree. I am mindful of that every time I put my arm around a police officer for a picture and I feel the vest.” The room became silent for a moment…
She closed, “And may God bless you as you protect and serve!”
The under-60 minutes of footage recorded at the Sarasota PD ceremony can be viewed via YouTube.
Indeed, most law enforcement agencies have structured chaplaincies whose members grasp police life well, enabling an endless supply of prayers for infinite interactions cops encounter on the beat, providing protection against those that are adversarial/violent.
(Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Police Department.)
Some agencies share chaplains. Smaller departments with modest sworn strength enlist a local church’s ministering.
Especially since the pandemic, though, many police force personnel gather organically, consisting of a mere few or an entire squad forming a circle in the Police HQ parking lot and praying before they go in-service via the radio.
Whether physically laying hands on cops and praying over them or privately jutting outstretched arms offering virtual blessings, we honor and shroud them as they go out to conquer evildoers while also implementing the inherent virtues of peacekeeping.
We close with pastoral words I heard this morning: There is “peace in prayer.”