"You Be Safe Out There"

“May the weight of your sacrifice sit gently upon their shoulders.” I wrote that line in my posting yesterday, “Ofc. Michael F. Clark Remembered Today.” Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the murder of Simi Valley Police Officer Michael Clark. It was a day wherein the Simi Valley Police Department began each Patrol briefing with a message of reflection by one of the police department’s chaplains.

Maybe the 10th anniversary of the death of a local police officer is not important enough to the main stream media to warrant a news article. That’s what I thought yesterday when I could not find any articles in the three main newspapers in the Ventura County area: Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles Daily News; and the Ventura County Star. Not the case, today the Ventura County Star ran an article.

Clearly the sacrifice made by Jenifer Clark and son, Bayley, does weigh heavily on their shoulders. Bayley, who was five months old when his father was murdered, is now asking questions about his dad. Referencing the man who murdered her husband, Jenifer stated, “Because of this man, I've had to teach my son how much his father loved him.”

Now Bayley fears that his mother will die.

“Last September, Jenifer received a diagnosis of breast cancer. She underwent surgery and radiation.”

“When he asks about that, she kids him by saying, "Heaven doesn't want me, and hell is afraid I'll take over."

“She is one take-charge woman. On Thursday -- the anniversary of the slaying --Jenifer walked up to a cop eating lunch at a fast-food joint.”

“She told him her husband was a police officer and he had been killed on duty 10 years ago that very day”. Jenifer left the officer with a statement common among the police community, "You be safe out there."