Lately I've been thinking about what motivates us to be cops. My first thought was that money or lack thereof does not enter into the decision process.

Those of us who become cops rarely do it for the financial reward. That's obvious. And, if we did, how much would a person's life be worth?

I think often of Jason "Tye" Pratt. Tye was an officer in Omaha, Nebraska who was assassinated at the age of 30. He left behind a wife and two daughters ages three and eight months. Tye was a cop's cop. He had achieved what the rest of us strive to become. How much money would it take to remove the loss, the pain, and the suffering caused by his horrible death? The answer is obvious – that much money does not exist.

But it's not just the lives lost. It's the lives given. We don't just spend our working hours as a cop – we are officers 24/7 no matter where you live or what agency you work for.

It's not a job even though you are paid. You've given your life to coppery and yet, there is not enough money to pay you what you are truly worth.

I'm a reserve cop. I don't receive a paycheck for my time in uniform, but I'm driven by the same desires as you – fighting the good fight, making things right when they're wrong, stepping up to challenges whenever and wherever they exist. I want to believe that I am making a difference for the better, no matter how small that difference may be. It is my contribution.

Most of us give back in some way. I do it in uniform. Some sing in the church choir, donate to a charity, or give something to someone.

Among my most important objectives when I put on that uniform is to be a credit to the badge, all who wear it, and do everything within my power to ensure that my brothers go home at the end of the shift. Though I do not receive a paycheck that I can cash at the bank, I am paid in thousands of other ways – just as you are. If, one night, I'm taken out by a bad guy, I know the brotherhood of cops will surround my wife extending their love and support.

She will know that I was doing something that I strongly believed in. My children will know that their Dad was committed to his country, his community, and his fellow officers. As is read at every police funeral from scripture: "No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for his friends." Amen.

Jim Donahue is a reserve officer with the Inkster Police Department in Michigan.

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