Submitted By: Chief Dan Flynn, Marietta PD
As we mourn the recent death of Gwinnett P.D. Officer Antwan Toney, I am reminded of the place in
society where he toiled to make our community a safer place.
When you look at the notion of “community” in terms of public safety through the eyes of a police officer,
you see two distinct groups. The first is the vast majority of people; 95% or more, who are for the most
part honest, law abiding normal people. Their main goal is to conduct their daily lives without drama and
without fear for their safety or the safety of their loved ones. They want to go to work, school, church
shopping, recreational activities or whatever without having their personal worlds invaded or menaced in
any way.
The second group is the criminal element; the hard-core criminal element which is comprised of thieves
and the violent people of society. They are the home-invaders, robbers, carjackers, sexual predators,
child molesters, human traffickers, gang members and mobsters of all description. As the dangerous
parasites of society, their main goal is to injure, kill, take advantage of, and steal from the law-abiding
majority of people.
The line that stands between the law-abiding public and the criminal element is a very thin line. It is
comprised of a relatively small, but dedicated group of people like Officer Toney. They are the police
officers, deputy sheriffs and prosecutors who knowingly and willingly put themselves in harms way to
protect the general public from societies monsters. They comprise the “thin blue line” in our society and
without them, society would plunge in chaos. In a very short time, daily life as most people know it would
cease to exist in a sea of anarchy.
An interesting thing about those who occupy the thin blue line that all society could benefit from, is that
there is little or no division between the members. There is no black vs. white, male vs. female, LGBT vs.
others; there is nothing but brothers and sisters who commit themselves to work together to, above all,
protect the public from the criminal element.
When an officer, like Officer Toney, falls in the line of duty, the often-silent majority loses a protector,
defender and guardian of America’s way of life.
Published 10/22/18
www.gachiefs.com • Page 6 • 1st Quarter Newsletter