Major media outlets have been quick to jump on stories involving white police officers versus black suspects, evidenced by the in-depth reporting of the Baltimore anti-police riots last month and Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

Lost on the editing floor are the numerous police cases where officers put their lives on the line every day. The public needs to understand that every call, from a traffic stop to a domestic violence, is potentially life-threatening for an officer.Over the weekend, two Hattiesburg, Mississippi, police officers were shot to death during routine traffic stop gone awry. Four people were arrested, including two who were charged with capital murder. Just a week ago, Brian Moore, a 25-year-old New York City police officer, died after undergoing brain surgery, the result of a gunshot in the head while attempting to stop a man suspected of carrying a handgun. He was the third New York City officer slain on duty in five months.Pennsylvania has lost three in law enforcement this year and two have come in the past week. Eric Eslary, a 17-year veteran with the Ligonier Township Police Department, was killed when his patrol SUV was struck head-on by a van driving the wrong way on the divided highway in Westmoreland County. Also, Detective Paul Koropal suffered a fatal heart attack while serving search warrants in Fayette County.Two months ago, officer Robert Wilson III of the Philadelphia Police Department was shot and killed when he and his partner interrupted a robbery at a video game store. During a wild gunbattle, Wilson was hit three times while drawing fire away from customers and employees.Then there are the idiotic demonstrators who shamed themselves and our nation in the eyes of the world last December during a march in New York City, chanting "What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now." To his discredit, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to denounce that lunacy in his city.Actor Kurt Russell summed up the anti-police fervor with a question of his own. "Society questions the police and their methods," he said, "and the police say, 'Do you want the criminals off the street or not?'"Thankfully, there are Americans who recognize the importance of law enforcement. Residents of one neighborhood not far from Chicago silently declared their support for law enforcement by placing blue ribbons on trees and fence posts.In a recent survey of 2,000 Americans by Accenture, a business that provides technology solutions for everything from crime reporting to community policing programs, 85 percent of those polled were "satisfied with their local police services" and 91 percent felt safe in their neighborhoods.The survey also showed a strong desire among citizens to play a greater role in law enforcement with more than half (52 percent) saying they would participate in a community policing program such as neighborhood watch.This being National Police Week, we are thankful to the police for keeping our communities safe and the fact that the Thin Blue Line protects us from being a nation in anarchy.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com