‘Police Officers, Our Friends:’ Eddie Montgomery writes children’s book about police

BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A country music artist from central Kentucky has a new children’s book out that he hopes teaches children about trusting and supporting law enforcement.

Eddie Montgomery, from Montgomery Gentry, co-authored “Police Officers Our Friends!” It’s set in his hometown of Danville. The timing of this book comes as one Kentucky community is needing support.

It’s been nearly two weeks since the deadly ambush in Floyd County killed three officers and a K-9. We saw so much support in that area last week during the funerals for these officers. Montgomery said he hopes this book teaches children about the value officers have for communities.

“Our guys man, and girls man, are our American heroes, and they’re getting a bad rap. I just got tired and sick of it myself. We thought, you know what, it’s time,” Montgomery said.

The book is co-written by Randy Graham and illustrated by Michael Southerland. It explains the roles police have in communities, and encourages children to support and respect them.

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• Honoring fallen heroes: Funeral for Officer Jacob Chaffins held Thursday
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“You know, because when they come up to a stop light and they don’t know if it’s going to be a friend that pulls up beside them or a foe that’s going to be shooting at them or something,” Montgomery said.

On Monday, Floyd County Attorney Keith Bartley called on support to continue for the community as the departments grieve their losses.

“It’s absolutely amazing... From my perspective the support that these families and these police agencies have had,” Bartley said. “I saw people from almost every state in America come to these funerals. And that’s great. But to me, it’s the support that they get once all of that is over.”

Bartley said he worries about the lasting impacts the shooting will have on the departments, as officers leave the force, and fewer come in to replace them.

“I believe you will have somewhat of an exodus of people leaving the police community. I believe that you will struggle to find people to step up to do those jobs in this area. And therefore, I think the impact may be forever. Certainly, long term,” Bartley said.

It’s a concerning shift that Montgomery hopes his book turns the page on.

Co-author Graham said they want communities and police officers to have a sense of ownership with the book, and use it for community policing, and building relationships between families and their local departments.

You can order “Police Officers, Our Friends” online by clicking this link.

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