SHAME ON YOU WRC CHANNEL 4 IN WASHINGTON, DC

     Each day when I wake up I have developed the habit of turning my t.v. on to WRC channel 4 in Washington, D.C., an NBC affiliate. I do this to catch up on the news of the day as I get ready for work. This past Monday while I was in the midst of my routine the anchor began telling of the candlelight vigil that took place at the Law Enforcement memorial the night before to honor officers who had died in the line of duty. I was happy to see the media recognizing such an important and meaningful event. That is until I realized that mentioning the vigil was merely an introduction to an "exclusive report" into police cars that have been illegally parked during police week activities. The "exclusive" report by WRC seemed to take great pride in breaking this story and trying to get a negative reaction from Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier. The reporter seemed to have the same sense of achievement in his voice as you might have expected Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to have had when they uncovered the Watergate break in.

     We in law enforcement have come to expect scrutiny from the media and for members of the media to constantly try to feast on any negative story they can find related to police officers. Police scandals and misconduct make for great stories. What they fail to realize is that so do the innumerable acts of heroism and sacrifice that officers exhibit everyday that far outnumber our misdeeds. Especially when those acts of heroism involve the ultimate sacrifice of giving ones life to protect the community for which they serve. Might the viewers of WRC have been more intrigued by some of the stories of officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in 2012? The thousands of Law Enforcement Officers who descended on the nations capitol this week were there to pay respect to the 120 officers killed in the line of duty in 2012. WRC seemed to take great pride in counting the number of cruisers parked illegally during the ceremonies surrounding police week. Perhaps they would have been better suited counting the number of children (225) who lost a parent to a line of duty death last year. Or the thousands of others before them. Surely, no one from WRC took the time to walk through the memorial and get a feel for the magnitude of loss felt by so many loved ones of fallen officers, or maybe they would have seen the value in reporting a positive law enforcement story during their most sacred week of the year. The loss I describe is so evident in photos like these:

     There are 120 stories that would have been exponentially more compelling that WRC could have reported, but they missed the boat. They could have done an "exclusive" story on Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, who was shot to death by a fleeing suspect in Mount Rainier National Park on New Year's Day 2012. Maybe the story could have focused on how Ranger Anderson was working on a major holiday and sacrificing time with her family while most of the rest of the country was spending time with theirs. Perhaps the story could have recognized, as National Park Service Director, Jon Jarvis did, that Ranger Anderson selflessly "made deliberate, tactical decisions to protect the visitors at the park....she gave her life to keep the visitors safe." Finally, maybe the story could recognize how by committing this selfless act, Ranger Anderson left behind a husband and two of the 225 children mentioned above; now ages 5 and 3. She will not be there for their first day of school or their high school graduations. She will not be there to see them marry or hold her grandchildren. How unfortunate that the day after Mothers Day WRC missed an opportunity to recognize this special mother and the children her selfless act left behind. Instead, they chose the low road by seeking a story of scandal rather than heroism. Perhaps WRC could have honored Ranger Anderson with a story like this one. Or, they could have honored any one of the other 119 officers who made a similar sacrifice in 2012. Shame on you WRC. But thank you for inspiring me to make a donation to the Ranger Margaret Anderson Fund which was established to support her two small children. You may join me in donating to this great cause here.

Ranger Margaret Anderson