Law Enforcement Dedication 2016

 Law Enforcement Dedication 2016

 Thanks to all who have answered the call to Law Enforcement!

In memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

 2016 Line of Duty Deaths: 133

(As of 12/3/2016)

9/11 related illness: 2

Aircraft accident: 1

Animal related: 1

Assault: 2

Automobile accident: 21

Drowned: 2

Duty related illness: 1

Fall: 1

Gunfire: 60

Gunfire (Accidental): 2

Heart attack: 6

Motorcycle accident: 7

Stabbed: 1

Struck by train: 1

Struck by vehicle: 9

Vehicle pursuit: 4

Vehicular assault: 12

By Gender

Male: 128

Female: 5

(Way too many, no matter how you break it down.)

Average age: 41

Average tour of duty: 13 years, 6 months

Officer Down Memorial Page

“Remembering All of Law Enforcement’s Heroes.”

http://www.odmp.org/

Dedicated to my Dad

Leroy D Brown

Cochise County Sheriff’s Department, AZ

EOW: 12/6/1969

http://www.odmp.org/officer/2355-deputy-sheriff-leroy-dale-brown 

 This year has been interesting in that my schedule has again allowed me to visit law enforcement memorials and attend events for those killed in the line of duty.  We were at both the COPS Walk SW and Harpers Ferry.  We also attended National Police Week in May. What a blessing it has been! I am including some images from places visited this year and in the past.  I also provided links to organizations that assist law enforcement and their families or have other connections. Enjoy the images from over the years and please check out the various organizations that support Law Enforcement.

 Arizona Concerns of Police Survivors

Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. provides resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty as determined by Federal criteria. Furthermore, C.O.P.S. provides training to law enforcement agencies on survivor victimization issues and educates the public of the need to support the law enforcement profession and its survivors.

http://www.arizonacops.org/

 Concerns of Police Survivors

Each year, between 140 and 160 officers are killed in the line of duty, and their families and co-workers are left to cope with the tragic loss.  C.O.P.S. provides resources to help them rebuild their shattered lives.  There is no membership fee to join C.O.P.S., for the price paid is already too high.

 C.O.P.S. was organized in 1984 with 110 individual members.  Today C.O.P.S. membership is over 37,000 survivors.  Survivors include spouses, children, parents, siblings, significant others, and affected co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty according to Federal government criteria.  C.O.P.S. is governed by a National Board of law enforcement survivors.  All programs and services are administered by the National Office in Camdenton, Missouri.  C.O.P.S. has over 50 Chapters nationwide that work with survivors at the grass-roots level.

http://www.nationalcops.org/

 Here are links to some of my other Law Enforcement themed blogs:

https://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2016/10/cops-walk-harpers-ferry-2016.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2016/02/cops-walk-sw-2016.html

https://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2016/05/memories-from-national-police-week-2016.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2015/02/cops-walk-sw-2015.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2014/02/cops-walk-southwest-2014.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2014/03/10th-annual-arizona-fallen-officer.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2013/11/cops-and-rodders-2013.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2013/03/9th-annual-run-to-remember-phoenix-az.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2013/02/cops-walk-southwest-2013.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2012/12/law-enforcement-dedication-2012.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2012/06/law-enforcement-memorial-2012.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2010/11/cops-and-rodders-2010.html

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/2009/01/law-enforcement-dedication.html

You can go here to see the complete list of my blog entries:

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

 Project Blue Light

“We were all reminded that officers face evil and save lives every day, indifferent to location and size of catastrophe. Please consider lighting a blue light this week to honor all those in law enforcement that sacrifice their lives to protect the innocent and their survivors they leave behind in order to hold ‘the thin blue line’.”

http://copsarizona.org/site-page/project-blue-light

 "In valor there is hope."

—Tacitus

"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived."

—Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor

 "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion."

—Proverbs 28:1

 National Law Enforcement Memorial – Washington, D.C.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is centered in the 400 block of E Street, NW, Washington, DC and is the nation’s monument to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Dedicated on October 15, 1991, the Memorial honors federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of our nation and its people.

http://www.nleomf.org/memorial/

 Visiting memorials is therapeutic and intense for me.  It is a time to reflect, remember, regret, and revere.  Of course it hits me personally due to my own losses.  My Dad, agency co-workers, and others who take up the call understand things a bit differently than the rest of the people, who in turn give the ultimate sacrifice.  I also feel for those who have been left behind to grieve and sort out the meaning of it all.  The lives lost and experiences affect all that are touched by the loss.  No one expects to not return from work, but all in this line of work know it is a possibility. I have met a great number of incredible survivors, officers, and others, whom care greatly.

Thank you to all who choose this profession to protect and serve!

 Video Link

http://www.king5.com/news/local/support-groups-help-families-of-fallen-officers-find-comfort/361814172

 Fraternal Order of Police

https://www.fop.net

 Desert Waters Correctional Outreach

“Desert Waters Correctional Outreach (DWCO) is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with the mission to promote the occupational, personal and family well-being of the public safety workforce through the provision of support, resources and customized data-driven solutions. While serving all branches of public safety, Desert Waters specializes in the wellness of corrections agencies and corrections staff of all disciplines.”

“Research shows that public safety personnel are negatively affected by their routine exposure to occupational stressors. The toll of such repeated exposure includes impaired job performance, high sick leave use, professional misconduct, high turnover, physical illnesses, mental health conditions, and suicide. These negative consequences inevitably translate into multi-faceted high costs to individuals, families, and organizations. Data-driven strategies to counter the toll of occupational stressors and to promote staff resilience are both a moral imperative and a means to reduce individual and agency costs and liability.”

http://desertwaters.com 

"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."

—President George H.W. Bush 

Thanks to all who made it through to the end. Feel free to comment and share. Prayers for all in Law Enforcement!