Where Are the Condolences?

'Massive Loss for us all!' - Samuel L. Jackson

'Today is the worst day ever' – Boy George

'Im sooooo very sad right now... PRINCE can't die.' - Ice T

'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him.' -

Barack Hussein Obama

'For real though, shouldn't everyone go home from work and school? It's Prince. Its like hearing the Grand Canyon died.' - writer/director Adam McKay

This is just a small sampling of celebrity and public figure remarks on social media forums concerning the death of singer/musician Prince, who collapsed in an elevator in his home and was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

I wonder however, if you asked these five people, if they would know the names of Steven M. Smith, Chad Dermyer, Carl Koontz or Alan Jacobs?

These four men weren't celebrities. Their names didn't receive massive, days-long media coverage worldwide. When they died, large buildings and bridges weren't illuminated to honor their passing. There were no rumors of drug overdose, either.

They died almost within the last month. Shot to death doing their jobs.

They were police officers.

Steven Smith was a 54-year-old member of Columbus (Oh) PD's SWAT team, shot while serving a search warrant. Alan Jacobs was a 4-year member of the Greenville (SC) Police Department, shot and killed while chasing a known gang member. 27-year-old Deputy Carl Koontz of the Howard County (In) Sheriff's Office was shot and mortally wounded during the service of a drug-related search warrant. Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer was shot and killed by a deranged man in a bus station.

The families of these men didn't didn't receive calls from the Office of the President; apparently, neither did their passing deserve an entry on Twitter from the aforementioned 'celebrities'.

Prince Rogers Nelson was a music entertainment icon, without doubt. To those who were followers of his craft he was a giant, in spite of his five-foot-two stature. To his surviving family I express my deepest condolences. Death, however, will come for us all, regardless of fame or fortune.

To those of us who have worn or are now wearing a badge, the four men whose lives were violently taken from them stand infinitely taller. They didn't make hundreds of millions of dollars through singing, playing an instrument or writing songs. They didn't rub elbows with the entertainment elite or perform in sold-out venues.

They were just cops, doing a thankless job few in the public would want to do if they knew intimately the hazards that we know, had witnessed the tragedies we have, saw the things we've seen.

They were just cops. Every law-abiding citizen in these United States should grieve but they won't. Only the officers' families, friends and those of us who were brothers and sisters to them will.

After all...they were just cops.