WEEK PAYS TRIBUTE TO POLICE OFFICERS

In every city of this country beneath the waving flag

There is a special group committed to their call,

And they stand for truth and justice in a nation under God

No matter what the cost they will uphold the law.

Those lyrics from the song "Beneath the Badge," written in recognition of the 12th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Day Service in Washington D.C. Saturday, embody the spirit of National Police Week.

This week, law enforcement officials across the country are being recognized for their contributions to the communities in which they live and work.

In Cape Girardeau, city and university police tied blue ribbons to the antenna or rear-view mirrors of their personal and patrol cars, to recognize those who have died in the line of duty, and those who risk their lives daily to protect the lives and property of others.

"We have an excellent group of well-trained, well educated, dedicated officers that want to serve the community," said Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. "They are there to solve problems; the individual citizen should be able to approach any officer for help in any situation.

"Police officers are problems solvers; they are there to help people," he said. "Officers do a lot more for the community than just arrest people."

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is made up of 44 patrolmen, nine sergeants and six administrative officers. The average tenure of officers with the department is 10 years. Boyd said that the education of each officer far exceeds the minimum training standards put forth by the state.

"Police work is not an eight-hour a day job," Boyd said. "It totally consumes an officer's life. Personal commitments and time with the family often play second fiddle to court appearances and long hours of investigative work."

Doug Richards, director of Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety, has worked with his department seven years.

"I feel very fortunate in having the caliber of police officers we staff," Richards said. "We have a group that is well educated in the field of policing, who are extremely dedicated to the profession."

The university police force consists of 15 full-time commissioned officers and 10 part-time officers.

"They work round the clock, seven days a week," Richards said. "When other people are on vacation or have days off, we are here working. It takes dedication; you have to want to do this kind of work, or you'll end up finding something else."

Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), a national organization, urged police agencies across the country to tie a blue ribbon on their vehicle antennas during this week, as a memorial to the nearly 13,000 men and women of law enforcement who have died in the line of duty.

Five city officers have been killed in the line of duty in Cape Girardeau. No officer has died since the shooting deaths of Patrolman Donald H. Crittendon and Auxiliary Sergeant Herbert L. Goss, March 10, 1961. Crittendon, 25, and Goss, 67, were shot with a 9 mm handgun following a car stop. Goss died within a few minutes of the shooting; Crittendon died 11 days later.

The Cape Girardeau Regional Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #33 is currently raising money for a memorial monument to be placed in Cape County Park North, near the war memorial. The Fraternal Order of Police had hoped to have the monument ready for dedication Saturday, but unexpected costs set completion of the project back into the summer.

The monument will honor those officers who have died in the line of duty locally and local officers who have died in departments elsewhere.

"There are other, little monuments to the officers around, but we felt that they just weren't sufficient," said Cape Girardeau Police Officer William Bohnert. "We wanted something special, something which would adequately commemorate all of the officers who have been killed in the line of duty."

The Cape Girardeau County Commission has agreed to allow the FOP to erect the monument in the county park, as soon as funds are available for its completion.

"We need about $1,500, which is a lot more than we expected it would cost," Bohnert said. "But during the planning stages, things got bigger and better - and more expensive."

To offset the final cost of the memorial, area businesses and professionals have donated their services to certain aspects of the project.

Donations to the law enforcement memorial can be mailed to the Cape Girardeau Regional Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 33, P.O. Box 2011, Cape Girardeau, 63702.