EDITORIAL — Let’s not forget that

A policeman lost his life responding to an alarm in Danao City last Friday.

According to a report in this newspaper, before the shooting Argie Catipay, 24, of Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, grabbed and then ran off with the gun of a security guard assigned to a pawnshop in Barangay Poblacion.

Bystanders alerted patrolling policemen who were joined by personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in responding to the alarm.

After they encountered the suspect, Catipay fired and hit Patrolman Mark Gomer Ornopia, 27, of the Danao City Police Station and a resident of Barangay Ilihan, Tabogon Town, in the eye. Catipay in turn was shot dead by the BJMP personnel.

Ornopia didn’t make it alive to the hospital.

“We salute the bravery of our personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the safety of Danao residents. His dedication and courage exemplify the highest ideals of the Philippine National Police. We honor his heroism and assure his family that his sacrifice will never be forgotten,” read a Facebook post dedicated to the fallen policeman from the Police Regional Office-7.

While stories about corrupt cops abound and even more scandalous incidents about them surface every now and then, we should still not forget that it’s the policemen who protect society from its ills. It’s them who keep us safe.

It’s them who constantly combat crime at great personal risk to themselves, considering how sophisticated and violent some crime syndicates have become and how easy it has now become for miscreants to get their hands on guns.

But this is real life, not the movies or TV. Policemen aren’t immortal, they can’t dodge bullets, and sometimes the good guys don’t get to go home.

They know the risks. They know every time they leave the house they may not come back. They know that every time they kiss their partners and kids goodbye it might be the last time. But they still do this job anyway because it’s their duty.

Yes, there are other professions that entail dealing with danger, but no other profession is more daily fraught with risk than policing. Let’s not forget that.