On a recent evening, I took down our two American flags — one with a blue stripe and one with red.
The time of mourning for three brave, dead first responders had ended, but in taking the flags down it struck me that remembering those lives should never be finished.
Last month, the state showed heart-aching grief. Tears were shed at the deaths of three brave heroes. By their deaths, the lives of eight others — including seven children — were saved. Let this solidarity in support of our public safety ranks carry over as tears dry and the memories of two police officers and a firefighter-paramedic grow fainter.
Photos of Burnsville police officers, from left, Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth are displayed during a community vigil Feb. 20, 2024, at the Burnsville Police Department/City Hall. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)
During the past 10 years increasing criticism of law enforcement has reached a point where a small minority of opinion-makers seems to have taken the position that the public fears our uniformed protectors — that the presence of peace officers in our schools and on our streets presents a danger to innocent citizens.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
From our peace-keeping citizen soldiers to our police officers and sheriff’s deputies, to our safety inspectors and radio dispatchers, to our firefighters and paramedics, we in Minnesota need to hold them all close to our hearts and support them and their families. We need to show our public support every day for the men and women who willingly stand between us and the actions of those with evil intent.
A wave of public support should overwhelm the bumper-sticker bleating of apologists and supporters of the criminals who in fact make us fear the shadier corners of our streets. While continuing insistence on fair and just enforcement must always be present, this blanket criticism of law enforcement is wrong-headed and is simply an insult to the memories of our fallen heroes.
While I served on the City Council here in St. Paul I attended too many funerals for officers, I also spoke with officers and firefighters wounded or injured in the line of duty. I could see the pain on their faces and the injuries on their bodies that they willingly endured to protect the public. At funerals I saw the agony on the faces of friends, spouses and parents who asked why but to a person were proud that their loved one had served.
Now that I’ve replaced my flags of mourning with an American and rainbow flag, I would call on my friends and fellow St. Paulites to challenge the critics of public servants and the vilification of our police and soldiers. If not for them. who would we call? If not for them, who would stand between us, our families, and our children in times of danger?
Remember the fallen, and remember their colleagues who went back to work when the funerals came to an end.
Dave Thune of St. Paul retired from the St. Paul City Council in 2016.
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