This past Monday was National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day — a time for us to salute our outstanding law enforcement officers for their hard work to keep our communities safe.
It was great to see all the expressions of support and appreciation on social media and in our communities — from the posting of stories online about positive experiences with local police officers to wearing blue or displaying blue lights.
However, saying thanks to our dedicated law enforcement officers is a worthy endeavor every day of the year.
The brave men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to safeguard our families and communities. Sadly, some never return home.
We place our sacred trust in our law enforcement officers, and the overwhelming majority of them meet or exceed our high expectations. Police play a vital role in an orderly, civil society. In fact, they are the very symbol of order in a civil society, and an attack on one of them is really an attack on all of us.
Unfortunately, last year our southwest Michigan community was shocked by the murder of two local heroes: Joseph Zangaro and Ron Kienzle. Zangaro was a retired first lieutenant of the Michigan State Police who had served at the Berrien County Courthouse as chief bailiff for 13 years. Kienzle was a U.S. Army veteran and a retired sergeant of the Benton Township Police Department who had worked as a Berrien County bailiff for 10 years.
At the time of the incident, I was just a block away at my constituent service office. I was saddened for my community, but when I looked out my window, I was proud to see the professionalism and outright heroism of our law enforcement officers — who rushed toward the courthouse without regard for their personal safety.
We are blessed to have amazing and selfless officers like these who serve and protect us. I encourage all southwest Michigan residents to thank our law enforcement officers for all they do to keep us safe.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents southwest Michigan.