‘One of the good guys’: Michael Smith had been a Dallas police officer for 25 years

[MH1]

Source: Washington Post

Michael Smith was the one always standing guard by the tree fort in the vast lobby of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, where he worked as a uniformed security officer in recent years, greeting parents and kids and ushering them on to their Sunday programs. On the church’s Facebook page Friday, members recalled him handing out Dallas police department stickers to their kids, or running after them down the hallway, or showing them his police cruiser.

“He was outgoing but also very tender and unassuming,” said Wes Butler, the director of family and children’s ministries at Watermark. “He was just there, you know? People naturally engaged with him. He was one of the good guys, the one you’d hope your kids would go to if they ran into trouble.”

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Smith, 55, was a former Army Ranger who joined the police force in 1989, according to Texas television station KDFM, which spoke with his sister. He had two daughters, ages 14 and 10, with his wife of 17 years, Heidi.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/one-of-the-good-guys-michael-smith-had-been-a-dallas-police-officer-for-25-years/2016/07/08/0c51604e-4562-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html

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Two young girls will never see their father again.

[Skittles]

1. they were all good guys

that asshole essentially killed his own

[fbc]

4. Were they?

I know when the cops kill a citizen, they immediately release that person's criminal history in an attempt to sway public opinion against the victim. But it doesn't work the other way around. It would be a stretch to believe that none of the 11 shooting victims had ever been disciplined or had a complaint against them. And we have not heard a single report of that. This kind of information will probably not be released, researched, or reported on.

So while I certainly do not support violence against anyone, and I don't think anyone benefits from the release of information that passes blame onto victims, I don't think we know that they were all good guys.

[GulfCoast66]

5. Man

That is just wrong.

DPD is seen as one of the best in the nation as far as race relations are concerned. Can't you give the murder victims the benefit of the doubt till you know better? I have been watching people who were at the protest praising the actions of the police on TV tonight. Including the pastors who organized it.

Perhaps we just come at this from a different place?

Have a nice evening.

[Skittles]

6. you know NOTHING

[MH1]

8. You don't know, but do you think their families deserve to lose them like this?

Just like the families of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner ... and on and on ... didn't deserve to lose their loved ones either.

We do not know that these guys were perfect, but we don't at this time have any reason to assume the worst, or even that they were in the same mold as those who have abused their power as police officers.

What we do know is that they were killed indiscriminately.

[geomon666]

2. We're tearing ourselves apart. n/t

[bhikkhu]

3. Like Philando Castile, by all accounts two good people

who would greet anyone with a smile and acceptance. No other connection than that both were randomly killed for no good reason. Fear and hate lead to nothing but good people dying pointlessly at the hands of strangers.

[MH1]

7. Exactly.

Fear and hate lead to nothing but good people dying pointlessly at the hands of strangers.

[MH1]

9. A little more about each of the victims:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/franciswhittaker/dallas-police-victims

[Skittles]

10. that racist gun humping piece of shit killed veterans like himself

gawd