Students Support Men in Blue

Police Appreciation Day saw a crowd of Lakelanders wrap themselves in blue, heading toward the steps of the Lakeland Police Department to show their support. 

It was a welcome sight for Kaitlin Hearthstone-Leroux. 

"I look at the career I want to go into and I see people supporting my future," she said. "And so, for me, that feels really good." 

Hearthstone-Leroux is a member of Florida Southern College's Criminology Club. Like some of the other members of the club, she hopes to become a police officer after graduating. Specifically, she wants to work at the LPD. 

However, the past year has not been the best time to be a police officer. Police departments across the nation faced accusations of police racism and brutality after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, was shot and killed by a white police officer. 

Rioting and protests broke out in Ferguson, Mo. when grand juries failed to convict Officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death. More protests followed soon after a grand jury also failed to convict officers in the death of New Yorker Eric Garner. 

While most protests were peaceful after the decisions, two police officers were shot and killed in New York. The attacker had targeted the two because of their uniforms. 

As a result of the past year's events, some have questioned Hearthstone-Leroux's decision to pursue a career in law enforcement. Despite this, her decision to enter the force after college remains unchanged. 

So does that of fellow club member and sophomore Destiny Zunic. Like many of the men and women chanting and waving signs, Zunic sported her own blue sweatshirt. 

"After I graduate I'm going right into the Academy, and so I figured, especially after everything that's been going on, police need support to show that what they're doing isn't all just for nothing," Zunic said. 

Zunic and other members of the club shared a small blue sign shaped like a badge that read, "I support LPD." Many of those present had similar signs, but some were homemade with phrases like “blue lives matter.” 

During a group photo with Lakeland Chief Larry Giddens, Dr. Lisa Carter, the club's advisor, also held the sign. Behind the camera was Jack Gillen, an adjunct for FSC's criminology department. 

Gillen used to work at the LPD as a public information officer. From the top of the LPD's steps, he pointed out officers in the crowd that he had worked with during his time at the department. 

"This is an excellent police department and the showing of people really is only a very small percentage of the people in the community who support this police department," Gillen said. 

For students like Hearthstone-Leroux and Zunic, the display crowd at the LPD was more than just an acknowledgement of support for law enforcement. It also served as an affirmation that continuing in their chosen career path would not be a lonesome venture.