Medford, Ore. — Police officers across the nation are on high alert after a violent weekend in which three officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge. The attack comes less than two weeks after an ambush on officers in Dallas killed five.
Despite the shadow of violence the men and women who serve our communities have to put on their uniforms and carry out their jobs every day. Medford Police Corporal Josh Schilder said although there are risks he wouldn’t want to do anything else.
Corporal Schilder has been with the Medford Police Department for 12 years. He spends most of his time patrolling the downtown area, and said putting on his blue uniform means putting others before himself.
“Treat people with humility and treat them how you want to be treated,” he said. “We’re seeing them on their worst days we’re not always seeing them on their best days.”
Schilder said he has to worry more about the dangers of the job now than when he started.
“The threat of something truly dangerous the threat to you, or to your partners, or to your friends it seems more real,” he said.
Schilder said he’s much more aware of his surroundings. He has to think about where he’s going to park his car when responding to a call, where he’s going to eat lunch, and where he’s going to write reports if he’s out on patrol. And the risk that comes with each call makes information they get before responding much more valuable.
“I’m really listening to the radio and I’m really reading on my screen ‘what are the possible threats?'”
Despite recent police ambushes Schilder said he still loves his job, but these days he admits to hugging his kids a little tighter.
“I may be even a little excessive in how much I tell them I love them and how proud of them I am because you never know,” he said.
Schilder said people often come up to him, shake his hand, and tell him thank you. But he wants people to know he’s just as thankful for them and their support as they are for the work that he does.
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