Like many others in Kern County, l was greatly saddened to learn of the loss of a Kern County Sherriff's deputy in Wasco last week. He was a lawman, but he was also a husband, a father, a friend. He was someone's son. He was someone's brother. And, every day he put on his uniform and badge and went out to, if needed, put his life on the line for strangers. For you, for me. For people he never knew. Every day.

We all have heard the stories about law enforcement officers who cross the line. Get out of hand. Commit crimes of violence and death. It is easy to judge when one is looking in from afar. We cannot let the transgressions of a few color our outlook or opinion of all the rest who put on a badge every morning and don't know if they will come home that night.