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SALT LAKE CITY — With events happening in Ferguson, Missouri, and while also considering other police shootings countrywide, scrutiny of police officers is high right now.
Healthy levels of criticism are good to an extent. However, in the currrent climate, police officers want to remind people about the good officers do while serving the community and keeping people safe.
Instead of complaining about the negative press, Danny Driggs, a sergeant with the Weber County Sheriff's office, started a Facebook page called Good Cop Stories to highlight the positive stories of law enforcement officers.
Driggs, who has been a police officer for the past 15 years, made his first post this past October. Wednesday, the page had more than 5,000 followers.
The page started because of a highly negative Facebook page, which Driggs came across, that was directed at police officers, he said. In fact, the page wasn’t just moderately negative, but highly disturbing — even celebrating those individuals who had killed officers in the line of duty.
Soon thereafter, Driggs got on his computer and did the exact opposite.
"I don't think people realize how tough the job can be," Driggs said.
Driggs loves his job, even though he has noticed it has become unpopular of late.
"I don't know if it's access to social media more, the instantaneous news, the cell phones, everything is on video. Everything is out there and put out there before information is put out there about it," Driggs said.
I don't know if its access to social media more, the instantaneous news, the cell phones, everything is on video. Everything is out there and put out there before information is put out there about it.
–Sgt. Danny Driggs
Social media and video can be a good thing, but mass feeds also fuel a lot of opinions — especially when it involves police officers.
"I got tired of seeing all the negative stories, mainly in my news feed,” Driggs said. "There are people out there that want to hear and want to support the police and want to hear the good stories."
For example, consider the officer in Buffalo, New York, who drove in the snow to pick up medication for a disabled girl.
Driggs knows some people will bash officers no matter the circumstance, but he said his page isn't political, or a page trying to justify police shootings. Rather it's to celebrate the good officers do — something that's easy to forget these days.
"The more we can get out there, the better," Driggs said.
If you hear a good story, please pass it along.
Contributing: Sara Jarman
