Recently, several callers to Newstalk 1010 angrily complained about the large public funerals and media attention given police funerals.  One particular listener, who identified himself as a construction worker, bitterly complained that almost 400 construction workers were killed last year, and none of them received public funerals or attention from the media.  This caller also called the police attendance at the funeral of Constable Ryan Russell was "a show of force", rather than a demonstration of condolence and mourning.
 
Firstly, the deaths of the construction workers who fell from a collapsed scaffolding in December 2009 did receive a lot of media attention.  The media are pretty good at picking out and covering stories that are in the public interest.
 
Secondly, while any death is tragic, the death of a police officer cannot realistically be compared to deaths in most other professions, which are usually accidental deaths due to inattention or failure to comply with safety standards (by either the employee or the employer). 
 
While some police officers have died under accidental circumstances, many others have been specifically targeted because they were police or peace officers.  Quite simply, it is a job where some people purposly try to kill you or at least cause serious bodily harm.
 
In 1980, Toronto Police Constable Michael Sweet was shot, held hostage and allowed to blead to death because he was a police officer.  He was also in the bistro where he was shot because he was a police officer.  He wasn't a paying customer who happened to be in the shop having a cup of coffee.  He was a polcie officer responding to a robbery.
 
In 1997, OPP Constable Thomas Coffin was shot in the back of the head, while off-duty and enjoying a beer at the Commodore Hotel in Penetanguishene, by a man who specifically targeted him because Coffin had charged him with impaired driving. Constable Coffin died instantly.
 
In 2006, Windsor Police Constable John Atkinson was killed after he went to investigate a drug deal outside a local convenience store.  Does anyone believe his convicted murderer would have paid much attention to Atkinson if he was just an "ordiary citizen"?
  
While the youth charged in the death of York Regional Constable Garrett Styles may not have intentionally tried to kill him, (it is alleged that) Constable Styles died as a direct result of the youth's attempt to get away from a police officer in the lawful execution of his duties.
 
I'll sum things up by saying that the vast majority of police, peace officers & emergency services workers who attend police funerals are doing it on their own time and at their own expense.  If construction workers or any other profession wants to arrange a public funeral for one of their fallen members, they are free to do so.  I'm sure the media would be more than happy to cover the funeral, especially if there are over 10,000 construction workers lining a major street in Toronto.