There was a time when if we needed a police officer we could find them and their cars easily with just a glance. They were there to protect and serve and stood out proudly against every background. Every kid looked up to them, and adults respected them.

My, how times have changed. Now, we have a hard time to spot one. Gone are the cars that we could easily distinguish from any other car. We can hardly see the police logos on the cars — if they even have them at all. It seems that now they are more concerned about going unnoticed and lurking in the shadows, just like the criminals they used to warn us about.

If we start looking, we will find most of our local police hiding behind bushes or blind corners waiting for us to violate a traffic law, mostly in unmarked cars. I’ve meet a lot officers — as people, most of them are great — but actions like these make people fear and loath them regardless of what kind of person they are.

I’m not sure of the reason or what misguided officials changed the look and character of our police officers, but I miss the times when we thought of our local police as friends and someone we could talk to and trust. I do have a lot of respect for the men and women in law enforcement. But with these tactics of trying to be invisible, hiding and lurking in the shadows, I lose a little bit of it each day.

Mike Whitten

Augusta

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