Professionalism & good nature of Laconia police is apparent

To The Daily Sun,

I recently attended the annual 10-week Citizens Police Academy session. There were 13 interested Laconia citizens in the class.

As I reflect back on the class, what strikes me the most was the value of meeting and interacting closely with the men and women in blue of the Laconia PD. It hits me that most of us have an opinion of the cops that may be skewed a bit in a negative manner if we have ever been stopped for a vehicle infraction or some other reason.

After interfacing with the police directly in this class, it hits me like a ton of bricks that these special people in blue are just like you and me. They have families that they simply want to go home to at the end of their shift. They are aware of what they signed up for, just like our military personnel. At any moment they can be faced with a life-or-death situation, and all they want to do is get through that incident in a safe manner for both them and the criminal, and get home to their kids.

They will tell you that they never ever want to discharge a firearm and hurt another human being no matter the reason.

The professionalism and genuine good nature jumps out at you when you talk directly to them.

These police officers are human beings with the same aspirations as you and me. I think we often tend to overlook their humanity.

A few class members, who recently came to this country, certainly had their hearts and minds comforted I am sure after sitting through this class, as they came from other countries where the “police” were the criminals and life was a living hell day to day.

During a ride-along with the officers it became obvious that they try to just be decent and kind to the citizenry that they have to deal with even though you and I probably have no patience for the criminal element out there. We want all the crime and drug use/sales to just end! They are the first line of defense between you and me day to day trying to make that happen. They deserve all the respect and admiration that the community can pour upon them every single day of the year.

I would like to send out a special thank you to Lt. Rich Simmons who conducted the session. He is a very fine and decent gentleman.

The state of the Laconia Police Department apparently is under very good direction with Chief Canfield at the helm.

So I encourage everyone to look into the 2018 class and take the time to sign up and get a chance to really get up-close and personal with this fine group of men and women.

Blue lives really, really do matter to all of us!

"Porky" Sarsfield

Laconia