To the police force, thank you

In recent years, the media has often portrayed negatives about the police force, and there are some police officers who might deserve this attention,  but, overall, this constant highlighting of the few who are not doing their jobs eclipses the work of the police officers who go into work every day, prepared to fight any crime for the people in their community.

Military veteran and current police officer for the Frederick Police Department, Kevin Long, said, “I’ve responded to many calls for service, where people are at their absolute worst and desperately need help. In those instances, when I [am] able to protect innocent, defenseless people, I [am] able to walk away knowing that I truly helped someone who needed help, and that is incredibly rewarding.”

Every call to 911 is a priority.

Emergency operators are trained individuals who are able to keep the caller calm enough to get information about what is going on, provide life-saving medical information, and dispatch the proper emergency personnel.

Within the police force there are many different job assignments: all are crucial to a functioning community.  Officer Long has recently been appointed the position of an explosive detection K9 handler for the city of Frederick. It is a title that “comes with a lot of added pressure on top of normal duties as a police officer,” he said.

This position comes with extensive training. While Long and his K9 partner, Odin, have completed K9 school, they must train daily to in order to stay sharp as a team.

Odin is trained to perform several different tasks such as explosive detection, tracking and aggression control.

Officer Long has always wanted to become a police officer. Seeing his father, Scott Long, in the same role inspired him to follow the career path. Mr. Scott Long said he is “very proud of [Kevin’s] military and police service.”

As an 18 year-old Walkersville High School graduate, Long enlisted in the military and then served as military police; this provided him with law enforcement experience that helped throughout his transition to becoming a civilian police officer.

Being in the police force has impacted Long’s life in many ways. Every day before he goes into work, he says goodbye to his daughter and his wife and tells them he loves them. “Whatever stresses or thoughts I have going on in my personal life are put on hold so I can focus entirely on what I’m dealing with in the moment at work,” he said.

We have humble heroes around us every day, keeping us safe.

Police officers, detectives, 911 operators and other units assist civilians every day, whether it be in small ways or big. To all police officers, Kevin Long and all 911 operators and units, thank you for everything you do and have done to protect our communities. We appreciate you. May all of the fallen heroes rest in peace.