PAX Centurion - Fall 2016

Page 40 • PAX CENTURION • Fall 2016 617-989-BPPA (2772) D uring a #BlackLivesMatter protest on July 7, 2016, Micah Johnson, who stated he wanted to “kill white people especially white police officers” opened fire on the crowd. Four Dallas Officers, and one from DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) were killed, nine other Officers were wounded along with two civilians. The shooter was eventually cornered, and dispatched by an explosive device delivered via robot, after it was determined assaulting his position could cause injury or death to the Officers undertaking that mission. (That is LEADERSHIP, not management right there kids!) About a dozen members of the Boston Police Department and Honor Guard joined thousands of other Officers from around the world to pay our respects. The ceremonies we attended were solemn but filled with hope and humor mixed in with the sadness. Dallas Chief David Brown was inspiring to say the least! During one of the services, the celebrant looked out at the SRO crowd, filled with cops, and noted that among this crowd through all our years of service we had done many good things, touched lives in a positive manner, but those incidents would seldom be reported Boston Police honors Dallas’ fallen By P.O. Jay Moccia in the media, only in death or disgrace do Officers make the headlines, but that should not stop us from helping and caring, and that would be the legacy from this tragedy. We visited the impromptu memorial that sprung up at Dallas PD Headquarters. It was moving by itself, but more moving was the people we spoke to, there for the same purpose. Residents of Dallas’ toughest, poorest neighborhoods, who openly wept, telling us THIS is not Dallas, that in these neighborhoods, they welcomed the Police, and even if there were disagreements over issues, that there was and always had been open dialogue, and a desire to work together to resolve problems. Basically Community Policing as it’s supposed to be. We also spoke to cops from all over, and found we all pretty much have the same experiences, complaints, and remarked that we (Law Enforcement) never manage to celebrate joyous occasions, and we only gather in sadness. We are all brothers and sisters in blue (or green or khaki, or even red or white) when it comes to our grief, but we need to remember this when we meet each other under other circumstances, and recall this camaraderie. Stay safe, and note, who really has your back are the people who stand at roll call next to you. P.O. Jay Moccia, P.O. Heather MacKenzie, P.O. Tim Donovan, P.O. SteveWallace, Braintree Police pose with members of the Tarrant County (TX) Police Department. (photo courtesy of P.O. Heather MacKenzie) Motorcycle escort for slain Dallas PD Officer.