TOLEDO, Ohio — Law enforcement officers around the region are mourning the loss of Bluffton Officer Dominic Francis.
Francis, who was killed in the line of duty March 31, was laid to rest in a funeral attended by thousands of first responders Friday.
They know all too well the dangers they face every day they leave home.
Frank Stiles, a retired detective with the Toledo Police Department, said he almost lost his life when a suspect tried to shoot him.
And a few things go through his mind as he reflects on the life of Officer Francis.
"People don't realize, they realize it to some extent but not to a full extent what police officers go through. I mean every day they leave home, you don't know if they're coming back," Stiles said.
After decades of working almost all positions within the department, Stiles knows what officers face daily.
And he too has felt the pain of losing a fellow officer.
"These people we're talking about, they never went home and they never will. And their family will never have them. Their children will never have them. So it's a tough situation," Stiles said.
Stiles believes those situations have become worse since his time on the force.
"The situation today is there's not as much respect for police officers and that's been created by certain individuals and groups, some politicians," Stiles said.
He's grateful at least now law enforcement has more tools to quickly catch suspects.
And as the community in Bluffton starts to heal, he asked that the community back up the officers who risk their lives for our safety.
"They are heroic officers. They don't think about the consequences of injury when they do these things. We're trained to react," he said.
Stiles has written a book about police officers who have faced near-death situations or died in the line of duty.
It's called "City Soldiers," and it's dedicated to all police officers.
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