Last week, Covington Police Department Officer Matt Cooper was critically wounded while on the job to protect the citizens in Covington/Newton County.

Since then, the community has come together like never before to not only show support for this officer, but for law enforcement in general. The Cooper family and CPD have been wrapped in the arms of Covington and it has been truly beautiful.

That being said, Officer Cooper is still fighting. This community cannot stop now.

We can almost guarantee that last week’s incident has not left the minds of any of our local law enforcement officers or the Cooper family in the 12 days that have passed since then.

For 12 days, Officer Matt Cooper has been fighting for his life. For 288 hours, CPD has continued to protect us while battling the reminder of their brother in blue. For 17,280 minutes, a local family has worked to continue to make life normal for its children while Daddy isn’t home. For 1,036,800 seconds, the community has united together in support.

As time goes on, we’re all going to get back to our normal lives. It’s already happening. Those big news trucks from Atlanta have left town and the stories have become less frequent. The daily fundraisers and community gatherings have slowed.

Let us not forget.

In last week’s edition of The Covington News, more than 10 pages of space were dedicated of Officer Cooper. The News will continue to cover the story of Officer Cooper as he continues to recover. You probably noticed his story is still draped across the front page this week. Expect that to be somewhat of a staple.

Officer Cooper’s story of recovery is the story of this community. A couple weeks ago we were writing stories of this community arguing, disagreeing or challenging each other. Now, we are writing stories of this community coming together and we will continue to follow that process.

Our Thoughts is the opinion of The Covington News’ editorial board. For more information, please email news@covnews.com.