Bob Sirott: One More Thing About the Police Officers Shot and Killed

Chicago - One more thing about the three Chicago police officers who have been shot and killed since May.

As the stories came out about these outstanding officers -- Thomas Worthham, a passionate neighborhood volunteer who served two tours in Iraq; Thor Soderberg, who helped a blind friend train for triathlons; Michael Bailey, who was active in his block club and determined to protect his neighborhood -- it struck me that there are thousands of similar stories about the men and women of the Chicago Polic Department that normally never get on the news.

News by definition is something out of the ordinary, and so what you hear about most are the bad cops--the few bad apples that are in any group.

Occasionally a spectacular act of heroism by a police officer will make the news, but every day Chicagoans like officers Soderberg, Wortham, and Bailey are doing hundreds of little things helping people in every way imaginable with little or no recognition at all.

"It's just part of the job," they'll tell you.

When millions of people show up downtown to see the Blackhawks, and the crowds and traffic are handled expertly and without incident--we take for granted all that hard work the police do to prepare and pull off an event like that.

Talk to the cops on the street and they'll tell you it's worse than ever out there, and as more officers retire, not enough young men and women want to replace them.

There isn't one solution to the lack of respect for human life we've been experiencing lately in our city, but maybe if those of us who work in newsrooms make a greater effort to report on, and celebrate all the wonderful work most of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department do all the time, it would be a positive influence in our neighborhoods.

Maybe it would change some minds.

It may not help.

But it sure can't hurt.