Looking down at all those blue shirts at Friday's police promotions ceremony, Eleanor Thompson wished aloud that her son-in-law didn't have to wear a uniform.
"It used to be a symbol of respect," she said. "Now it's a target."
Lt. Rick Lanzetta was one of 178 officers getting new stars or stripes at what had to be one of the most emotionally draining celebrations in Philadelphia Police Department history, coming at the end of a week in which three officers were shot, one fatally.
"I think it's fair to say that all of you sitting in front of me would rather be anyplace but here," District Attorney Lynne Abraham hypothesized. Had she given the thumbs-up, every one of those officers would have ditched the dignitaries to join the manhunt.
As I type, the guy who executed Officer Chuck Cassidy in a West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts is still on the loose. If you're a heavy-set black fellow with a spider tattoo, a limp, and a fondness for hoodies, best to stay inside for a while.
Cassidy's work family is 6,600 strong, furious and focused. And Mayor Street just authorized unlimited overtime to find the creep who had the gall to steal a dying cop's weapon on his way out.
Working opposite shifts - the better to care for 7-year-old Jonah Jr. and 8-month-old Isabella - they allow "maybe 10 minutes a day" to vent about the job, Karen Conway said.
Last week, they broke the rule, waiting until after the kids were asleep to talk about the back-to-back attacks on Officer Sandra Van Hinkel (shot in a leg last Sunday outside a University City nightclub), Officer Mariano Santiago (shot in a shoulder Tuesday by a gunman who had just fired on three people in a car in Center City), and Cassidy (felled by a bullet to the brain after he surprised the doughnut-shop robber Wednesday).
"Try to be happy with what you have" was what the couple agreed to do to keep sane. "Try not to dwell."
That's easier said than done on a police force where there is often only one degree of separation from tragedy.
