Letter to Gov. Kasich
by Sara Haughn Winfield
Dear Gov. Kasich,
I was so saddened and offended to see the video of your speech where you called a police officer that gave you a traffic citation an idiot. I am saddened because good leadership and opinions start at the top. I guess I held hope that our leaders would have more respect for our law enforcement officers in general. Knowing that for the next 4 years I must reside in a state where our leader calls our protectors idiots in a public forum is disheartening to say the least. In putting this opinion out there for the public you have created an attitude for others to mimic. No statement of your respect for law enforcement can now take back what you have made clear.
I am offended because my husband was a deputy sheriff in Marion County. Being called an idiot in public is unfortunately something our family became used to on a regular basis. There were people in our community that hated my husband because they were raised to hate cops. There were others that hated him because they were on the wrong side of the law and it was his job to enforce those laws. It wasn't uncommon to hear people's opinions of "pig" or "jerk" in the grocery store while shopping with our children. My husband just ignored it because he knew that acknowledging those people was a waste of his time. He was a better person and above their hatred. What was more common was to have people he arrested come up and talk to him at the grocery store. Thank him for being kind to them, ask him for advice, or just want to say hello. People that realized he had a job to do and it wasn't a personal attack on them. This to me said volumes about my husband's character and respect for others. I was even more proud when people came to me and told me how he saved their lives or offered them a sense of protection when they were scared and alone.
Unfortunately it was one of those people that had a hatred for police officers in general and no respect for the law that shot my husband in the back of the head on a dark, lonely road one night. Leaving me alone to raise our two sons and a widow at the age of 27. The man that killed my husband said in his confession that he was drunk and didn't like cops. My husband didn't even arrest him. He could have because he was walking along the road drunk in the middle of the night. Instead my husband, being a nice guy and like he often did, offered him a ride home. In return he got a bullet to the back of the head. Calling a police officer an idiot in a public forum is perpetuating this attitude that got my husband killed. It is encouraging a lack of respect for police officers that are often doing a thankless job and being called names for simply doing their jobs.
Perhaps leave your thoughts for this mother of two whose husband was killed in the line of duty. Thank you Sara Winfield for sharing your story. It does put the Governor's thoughless words into perspective . . . Best wishes for a bright future for you and your children . . . a grateful public thanks your husband for his service to his community and to Ohio.
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