A Breach of the Thin Blue Line: Honor, Sacrifice, and Laying In State in Topeka, Kansas

I've worked with cops for 15 years, and I've always enjoyed it. It's probably part of what made me comfortable in my role as a prosecutor, but I've always liked the confident but measured swagger of a good cop; the plucky air of moral superiority. The best ones know they're "the good guys" and have fun with it while at the same time doing the job right.And it's a damn tough job to do right.I have high expectations for cops and very little tolerance for bad ones. Unfair, maybe, given the stress and demands associated with the job, but it's because I've been blessed, in two jurisdictions and a host of training environments over the years, with very decent ones who deal with the pressure and the misery and don't succumb to hatred or a temptation to cut corners.The deaths by ambush-style gunfire of David Gogian, 50 (a long-serving officer) and Jeff Atherly, 29 (a relative rookie) while attending to a simple vehicle investigation this past Sunday was overshadowed by the nightmarish events in Newtown, Connecticut. But they are nevertheless renewed and dark reminders to every man or woman in law enforcement who puts on a uniform each day: "You started this shift on your feet. God, luck, reflexes and circumstance will determine whether you end it on your feet."Indeed. The alternative is a hospital bed or a medical examiner's slab. For Gogian and Atherly, death gave chase and would not be thwarted. The perverse instincts and poisoned decisions of some miserable killer with the right tool made all the difference, not only in the lives of Gogian and Atherly, but in the lives of their families, loved ones and colleagues. This holiday season will be as dark and empty as a tomb for those who loved and depended on these men.My silent prayer is that the two rest in the arms of angels, and that their families find comfort in knowing how much they valued the community they died for.