Thanks...

"Great. Now you've ruined my life. I hope you're proud of yourself."

*SIGH*

You people honestly don't know how many times I've heard this. The variants show up on all sorts of arrests, but by far the winner is on DUI's - by a margin of 10 to 1 at least, this is the refrain you get when you tell someone those words as you put the cuffs on.

I've ruined their life.

I've cost them their job, their kids, their home.

I'm the one who made them pay the legal fees, the insurance rates, and the lawyer's bill when it's all said and done.

Can you tell I'm tired of this one? Because I had to play that same song yet again tonight - another person who had no business driving. Hell, he TOLD me he had no business driving, was only doing it to take this girl home and be a nice guy... But because I'm out their doing my job & I catch him, and I take him to jail then I've got some personal vendetta to ruin his life and I should be ashamed of myself.

Folks - I'm not a hypocrite. I enjoy my good beer as my wife and anyone else will tell you - and 90% of the time these days it's at home... Because I've figured out I'd rather drink alone and not be social than risk the chance of having "just one more" and making a bad choice.

I'm even honest enough to admit that in my younger, stupider days there were times I probably shouldn't have driven home either. I can say I was blessed or lucky enough I never hurt or killed anyone before I learned better.

And after a few years on this job, I'm tired of it. The accidents. The innocent people hurt or killed. Hell just the people inconvenienced because some drunk smashes into their car. The rampant stupidity of it all.

When you pull a child the same age as your own firstborn out from under the dash of a car; you're hopeful because she's still alive and you pray for every bit of help you can get to keep her hanging on to the hospital... only to be told when you follow up later with the doctor that the child would have been better off dying then the way it will be forced to live a few short years (Spare me your moral judgments on this one - their are times it's cruel to force life to stay) - it changes your perspective. Especially when you see her mother, so drunk she can't walk, get away with barely a scratch because she didn't want to sleep on a friend's couch that night.

I don't make you go out and drink.

I don't put the car keys in your hand.

I don't tell you it's ok to drive home, that once again you're going to beat the odds.

You made those decisions on your own.

And when I catch you doing it, and I take you to jail, I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about doing my job.

I'm going to be glad I did it before someone else paid for your stupidity.