Remembering those who served and the price they paid, the Dallas Police Department recently paid homage to one of their own, Officer Johnny Sides, whose end of watch came tragically early. Posted on the department's social media, it's a stark reminder of the perils officers face, even during what may seem like routine traffic stops.

It was on January 22, 1951, that Sides and his partner decided to stop a car for merely running a red light. As both officers pulled up, and approached the vehicle, the men inside chose violence as their language, bullets as their exclamation points, striking both officers. Sides succumbed to his wounds a heartbreaking two weeks following the altercation, on February 7, 1951.

The swift hand of justice reached across state lines as the four suspects believed responsible for the gunfire were apprehended in Arkansas just two days later. Consequences were dire: two lives were claimed by the electric chair, and the others were cast into the abyss of life sentences; a grim tally for a moment at a red light.

Officer Sides' tenure was brief, just three months behind the badge, but the memory of his sacrifice lingers. He left behind his parents, a brother, and two sisters, a family constellation with a star abruptly dimmed. While he served only a short time, the legacy of those like Officer Sides endures in the shared narrative of law enforcement officers—men and women who walk the thin blue line where routine can turn perilous in a heartbeat, as "Roll Call of Honor" posts like this serve as memorials for their service and dedication.