On Friday afternoon, hundreds of police and law enforcement vehicles from departments and offices across the state, lined up for Alex Thalmann’s funeral procession. The procession started at Thalmann’s memorial service in New Bern and ended at his burial at Oakdale Cemetary in Washington. Thalmann had been a police officer for only seven months. However, that did not lessen his death’s impact on the law enforcement community. The procession as well as the outpouring of support to the New Bern Police Department and Thalmann’s family was evidence that law enforcement individuals stick together. It really is a brotherhood. This is because these individuals risk their lives each and every day, in the line of duty, to protect and serve. Law enforcement officers everywhere are affected when one of their own is hurt or killed. What these individuals do for a living affects the balance of safety in our communities. The job they carry out on a daily basis — whether it is to slow someone down on the road for speeding that could put other drivers or pedestrians at risk, or investigating something suspicious, or even a drug bust to help keep drugs off the street — is not only honorable, but it ensures the safety of innocent individuals. Capt. Russell Davenport made it clear in his statements about Thalmann’s death, “All law enforcement is saddened about this tragic event. It is bad for something like this to happen, but this can happen any day. We put our lives on the line every day, and it is hard to be reminded when this actually happens — it is a bad way to be reminded.”