WINCHESTER, Tenn. (WKRN) — An emotional video posted by a Tennessee police officer sheds light on the struggle many officers across the country are dealing with in today’s environment.
After 10 years of service, Officer Dustin Elliott is hanging up the uniform, saying the job is no longer what he signed up for.
“I just can’t take it anymore,” stated Elliott.
From the horrifying calls to the fear of retaliation, Elliott told News 2 he has had enough.
“It’s an eerie feeling that you go anywhere and you feel like there’s a person following you.”
The nightmares constantly haunt his mind.
“We get told all the time when you arrest somebody, wait ’till I get out of jail I’m going to kill you, I know where you live, I know who your family is. At some point you run across that one person that you feel like he means business,” explained Elliott.
Words and images that can’t be erased, instilling the concern of never returning home to his wife and kids.
“There’s a lot of sacrifices we have to make. There’s a lot of sacrifices our family has to make,” he teared up, “Being married to a cop is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world.”
Elliott pointed to the current environment as being a major part in his decision.
“To see my brothers and sisters being killed across the United States for merely putting on a uniform it’s overwhelming,” he said.
Elliott when to Facebook to share his decision to quit, posting an emotional telling video of the sacrifice officers make daily and the backlash that comes with it
“I thought long and hard about rather or not I should even make a video but I think we all need to understand where law enforcement stands and the crusade against us. That is weighing on every officer’s heart in America right now, but it’s devastating to be a police officer right now and to know what’s going on, and how people feel about you, and the things you do in this job, and the sacrifices you make that, there’s a lot that would rather see you dead just because of the uniform that you wear. There’s a bad day coming for us. It is if we don’t get ahold of this now.”
Elliott told News 2 that he hopes his family doesn’t deter new recruits, saying we need more good officers willing to protect their communities and serve justice.
He said his family has been praying for a new opportunity and that God opened the door. His last day with the Winchester Police Department will be at the end of the month.