A Gap In The Thin Blue Line

When I was hired as a medic in The Big City, one of the first things the veterans told you was that we had an incredibly close relationship with the WPD.
Solidified over decades working side-by-side with Worcester's thin blue line, one of the biggest responsibilities we new guys had, outside of patient care, was to NOT screw that relationship up.
WPD officers were to be treated as our own, and if, God forbid, one of them were to be hurt on our watch, we were expected to move Heaven and Earth to care for them.
It didn't take long on those city streets to understand why.
Simply put, the men and women of the WPD are the best cops around.
They watched our backs and were a big reason working in The Big City was once one of the best paramedic jobs anywhere.
Officer Mark Bisnette was among the best officers on a department full of great officers.
A brother Marine, Biz was one of those officers who always seemed to have a smile on his face and a little time to shoot the breeze with the ambulance crews.
In a city chock full of people who get off on antagonizing the police, I never saw Biz have a bad word for anybody.
I've always been amazed by the way WPD officers defuse potentially violent situations on a daily basis without resorting to violence.
To me, that's got to be on the list of things that differentiates great cops from average ones.
WPD officers always know the players on their routes, always seem to have a great feel for street-level human psychology and motivations, and clearly know how to put this knowledge to use keeping the city safe.
I think this combination of attributes explains why officer-involved shootings in Worcester are incredibly rare.
People who possess this ability are equally rare, and Biz definitely had it in spades.
It's just one of the many reasons he will be missed.
Worcester Police Officer Mark Bisnette, 38, was off-duty early Saturday morning when he was killed in a single-car accident in a nearby suburb.
He leaves a wife and four children.
RIP Biz. You are one of the best.