Cape's police deserve support for all they do

To the editor:

Rather than criticizing Cape Girardeau's leadership and begrudging the officers of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, outspoken opponents of the raises awarded to the city's most important public servants should consider themselves lucky. Citizens fail to appreciate the level of excellence exhibited by the police department despite a lack of resources, sufficient manpower and competitive salaries.

Having participated in a civilian ride-along as a member of the Leadership Cape program, I was able to experience the difficult and dangerous job that the police do on a daily basis. Rarely do they receive public praise for their efforts or thanks from those they protect.

While it would be difficult to pay the officers a salary commensurate to the work they do, competitive wages are a necessity if the city hopes to attract and retain quality professional officers. Citizens expect a premium level of service and security from the police department, which Cape's officers definitely provide. Rewarding the department with a modest salary increase is the least the community can do. I can scarcely imagine a better expenditure of public funds or recipients more deserving.

Officers willingly place themselves in harm's way every minute they are working, and it's time the community began recognizing and rewarding them for the excellent job they do.

TRAE MITTEN

Cape Girardeau