“I never imagined something like that happening,” Geis said about his injuries.
Geis, 93, and his partner, Roger Reese, were seriously injured when they responded to a domestic dispute and a man attacked them with a shotgun.
Today’s tensions between police and communities nationwide is a world that Geis said is very different from when first donned a police uniform in 1949.
“Police have a terrible job today because nobody has respect for them anymore,” Geis said.
He reads about incidents involving officers and the community across the country and said he is able to see the situation from both sides.
“There are things I don’t agree with some officers have done recently,” he said. “But you’ve got to be in that position to understand what they’re going through.”
Geis was honored by the Springfield Police Division at their annual commendation awards ceremony Friday as part of Law Day. Several current officers were also given awards for their service to the community.
Training to allow officers to effectively communicate with the community they serve is an important part of keeping officers safe, Police Chief Stephen Moody said.
“The main thing we think about every day is every man and woman that crosses the threshold leaves to go home at the end of the shift the same way they came in,” Moody said.
Police, members of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol and Springfield Fire/Rescue Division also gathered downtown to remember the men and women who have died in the line of duty in the county.
The last officer killed in the line of duty locally was Clark County Deputy Suzanne Hopper, who was killed by gunfire after she responded to shots fired at Enon Beach in January 2011.
The dangers of the job are a burden that officers carry every day, Moody said.
“You don’t want to dwell on that but it’s certainly a tragic aspect as our job,” he said.
Tensions across the nation between law enforcement and communities has heightened recently, the chief added.
“It seems insurmountable at times because of what we do see — across the nation this year especially,” Moody said.
About the Author