Some days in this business are normal and follow the plans we set out the day before.

Thursday was not one of those days.

I received a call from my editor shortly be 7 a.m. — long before my alarm was set to go off — saying that a major law enforcement operation was underway here in town.

Seven minutes later he and I were back on the phone as he was relaying the latest information he had received from members of the public as to where exactly the police activity was taking place.

Arriving at the first scene just in time, I watched seven or eight unmarked cars and SUV’s surround an apartment complex and an untold number of heavily armed law enforcement officers prepare to, and then charge toward an apartment complex.

One group of officers — donning Kevlar and camouflage — got in line behind a riot shield and sprinted around the building and slipped inside, unnoticed.

Moments later they emerged — no smiles, no high-fives, no cheers — bringing with them three men for whom warrants had been issued.

There was no time for celebration, as the raid I witnessed was the first of many that took place on Thursday.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officers worked together in a number of highly coordinated raids throughout Selma to serve arrest warrants and search warrants in an effort to battle the ongoing drug problem around the city.

While the weaponry and armor that is unfortunately necessary for their line of work are certainly impressive, the thing that struck me — and many other onlookers, as well — most about the raid, was the speed of it all.

During this first raid the officers pulled up, lined up, ran in, made the arrests, loaded up and were off to the next raid before many of the neighbors knew they were there.

The planning and communication necessary for one such raid is incredible, but to pull of a number of them in one day without a single shot being fired or a single officer or suspect being injured or worse is simply staggering.

I have been on police raids before with law enforcement agencies in Ohio and Louisiana, and while some might think that such an assignment would be a rush, they are also sobering.

Unfortunately, crime and drug use are as pervasive in American culture now as they have ever been.

It is always sad to see families and communities torn apart — not by the police making the arrests — but by the drug use and criminal activity.

This wasn’t the first such raid that has cleaned up the streets of Selma, and it won’t be the last.

Criminal activity and drug use certainly do leave their mark on a city, but they don’t define it.

This is especially true when the defenders of the city — federal, state and local law enforcement officials — work together to defend not only that city, but the laws meant to protect the people living there.

Thursday was no ordinary day in Selma, but my hope is that it can be the start of something better.