A Dispatcher's Promise

By Paula Ann Gomes

  Another morning has approached

as I think of my officer again.

One of the many officers that swore

to serve and to protect,

and gave up his life in the very end.

That fateful day is something that

I am not allowed to forget.

It is that memory that reappears

each time I put on my headset.

And when I sit in front of the radio

and dispatch my officers to a priority call,

I silently hope and pray

that I hear them clear,

instead of hearing them take the fall.

You see, I have always read their voices

and sent back up when I sensed tension or fear.

But now, more than ever, it is their voice

I want to continue to hear.

Taking for granted that you will hear

an officer do another traffic stop,

just should not be done.

For it does not matter how routine

the stop or call may be,

it only takes one.

When one of our brothers or sisters

is lost in the field,

the briefing room will then be left

with an empty space.

And in our hearts it is perceived,

that this brother or sister will

never be replaced.

It is my solemn vow to all of my officers

to give my very best,

and to be the voice they want to hear

in their worst times of distress.

It is for my officers that

my loyalty is firmly planted,

And it is their voices

that I will never again,

take for granted.

Author Unknown

Thank You To All

Law Enforcement Officers