By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Wakefield is a town that supports its police and soon you’ll be seeing visual evidence of that support.
Police Chief Rick Smith appeared before the Board of Selectmen last night to ask for their support of the nationwide “Blue Ribbon Campaign” to show support for police.
“The blue ribbon represents support for law enforcement across the country,” Smith said, “and not just local law enforcement but state, tribal, collegiate and federal.”
Smith said that the Blue Ribbon Campaign has taken off recently in light of the events of the last 18 months. He said that the Massachusetts State Police spouses put together a campaign where they put blue ribbons around trees and utility poles so that people would recognize the job that law enforcement does.
Smith said that Wakefield Police Lt. Scott Reboulet and some of the spouses of Wakefield Police officers very much want to participate in the program and put the blue ribbons around town, especially in the downtown area, to show support for the work that law enforcement does. Smith said that he had also talked to his nephew, who is a Massachusetts State Trooper, about a coordinated effort with State Police.
Smith pointed out that 92 police officers have been killed nationwide so far this year, 40 of them from gun violence, 12 of those by ambush – a 48 percent increase in police deaths by gunfire.
“There is no question that this is one of the most hazardous jobs in the world,” Smith said, “and it’s a very hostile world that we are working in today.”
Smith, who is also vice president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, blamed ill-informed political figures speaking without knowing the facts and the 24-hour news cycle for creating an anti-police environment. He said that police across the country “are being challenged and baited every night on the screen.”
Smith noted that the Wakefield Police Department practices the tenets of 21st century policing, “and I think we do a good job of it.”
“But while we’re working with the community,” Smith said, “we have to protect ourselves from that person who wants his five minutes of fame on CNN by either assaulting us or killing us.”
Smith cited a recent example where a Wakefield Police officer came “within footsteps” of being gunned down on a motor vehicle stop related to a number of armed robberies of convenience stores in the metro-north area.
“So I come to you as leaders of the community to show the people who live and work here,” Smith said, “that you support what we do, that the community supports what we do, one tree, one light pole at a time.”
That support needs to come from more than words, Smith said.
“This would be an action item,” Smith said. “We don’t need words. We need action.”
Smith said that people don’t thank police officers nearly enough.
“We’re in a business where we don’t get thanked for what we do,” Smith said. He added that he hoped that if the selectmen approved allowing the police spouses to place the blue ribbons around town, it would cause people to reflect on what the ribbons mean.
He talked about the dangerous positions that municipal and state police officers who work in this area find themselves in every day.
“This isn’t a TV show. This isn’t a video game,” Smith said. “This is real. It’s vital that this board supports us by displaying the ribbons. And I challenge the people of Wakefield to place them on their homes.”
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Patrick Glynn said that he hoped that Smith felt the support that the board has always shown toward the Wakefield Police Department.
“We understand that,” Smith said, “We want to get the message out to the community and I think the best way to do that is to bring it to your board.”
Selectman Phyllis Hull said that she was fully in support of the Blue Ribbon Campaign but wanted to make sure that the Greenwood area was included.
Smith pledged that Greenwood would be very much be part of the effort.
Selectman Ann Santos said that as the spouse of a police officer she agreed that it was a good idea for the town to show its support for police. Selectman Paul DiNocco also voiced his support.
Smith said that the blue ribbon placement would be concentrated in high traffic areas in the hope that when people come through Wakefield they will see that it is a community that supports its police.
The board’s vote to support the local Blue Ribbon Campaign was unanimous.
