Officer Rod Bradway

     IMPD comes in for a lot of criticism from me, mostly over the steady trickle of policemen running afoul of Demon Rum.  However, it's a big police department and most of 'em are decent people.

     A good many of them rise well above that and we lost one of IMPD's best recently, shot by an aggressor hiding behind a door when Officer Rod Bradway responded to reports of a woman and child being held at gunpoint.  He saved them, but at the cost of his own life.

     Previously a firefighter, he spent some of his off-duty time officiating at High School sporting events and working with a dog-rescue program.  From media interviews and speakers at his funeral service yesterday, it is clear that he was a good man, with a mischievous sense of humor and a strong sense of community.  He was married and had two children.

     One of the good guys -- and I do hope some of the more blinkered culture warriors among us had a look at the line of people who passed by his patrol car, an impromptu memorial, leaving cards, flowers, stuffed animals or just a sad look and a nod: it was a broad cross-section of the city.

     People from every walk of life recognize a fair man, a good man, a policeman who takes his responsibilities to heart.  He will be missed.