“Evil Found Them”

Over the weekend two Va. Beach police officers pulled over a blue Hyundai for having expired plates. The driver at first refused to exit the vehicle when asked. He finally complied only to end up in a tussle with one of the officers. Then he pulled a handgun out of his jacket and shot them both. As they lay dying on the ground,  he calmly walked up to each and shot them point blank in the head. The killer, a convicted felon, was later found dead of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound. The details of the story come from the cameras worn by the slain officers.

I first learned of this tragedy when the pastor of my church announced it Sunday morning. Apparently one of the officers killed had family members who attend our church.

How many jobs are there where part of the calculus every morning is This is the day I might get killed? The starting salary for police officers in Va. Beach is around $47,000 a year. Not horrible, but ask yourself this question: If you were applying for a job which paid $47,000, asked you to work late at night and on weekends, and oh by the way, there’s a pretty decent chance that at some point you’re going to get shot. Would you take that job? I wouldn’t—for any amount of money.

Thank God for men like Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reece, who were willing to take on that risk and have now paid the ultimate price.