THE BLUE MAGAZINE FINAL ISSUE 2027
/THE BLUE MAGAZINE
SEVENTEEN YEARS INSIDE THE PROFESSION
By Daniel Del Valle
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Seventeen years later, there is a question I have been asked many times. Why did you start The Blue Magazine?
The answer begins before there was a Blue Magazine.
When I started what was then NJ Corrections Now, the idea was simple. I believed law enforcement needed a place where we could communicate with one another, share information, tell our own stories and build a stronger network. I wanted officers and departments to contribute. I wanted people from different parts of the profession to share what they knew and learn from one another. There were stories that weren’t being told, issues affecting law enforcement that deserved attention and people doing important work who rarely received recognition.
More than anything, I believed bringing those voices together could make the profession stronger not through politics or sensational headlines, but through conversation, trust and journalism. The magazine began as NJ Corrections Now because that was the profession I knew. It did not take long for people to help us grow beyond it.
SHERIFF EDWIN ENGLEHARDT
Long before I became a publisher, Sheriff Edwin Englehardt had already changed the direction of my life. I was young and reporting for jury duty in Passaic County. The room was crowded, with most people sitting and talking. I wasn’t sitting. I was standing near the doorway reading a newspaper. I would read, watch the room and stop reading whenever someone was speaking.
Sheriff Englehardt noticed me.
Years later, he told me he had watched me standing there and wondered what I was doing whether I was there observing someone or monitoring something. He came over and started talking to me. At some point, he asked me a question:
“Do you want to be a cop?”
I said yes.
That encounter eventually helped lead me to the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department.
[CHRIS — EARLY PHOTO OF SHERIFF EDWIN ENGLEHARDT HERE. IF WE HAVE AN EARLY PHOTO OF DANNY WITH HIM, USE IT.]
I could not have known then what Sheriff Englehardt would eventually mean to me. He became one of my mentors.
Years later, when I built The Blue Magazine, he became one of my top advisors. Bernard Kerik would serve as our chief advisor, but Sheriff Englehardt was one of the people I personally turned to for perspective about law enforcement, leadership and life.
What I respected most about him was his willingness to lead. He understood that leadership was not about making everybody happy. There were times when a sheriff, chief or supervisor had to decide what he believed was right, stand behind the people entrusted to him and accept responsibility for the decision. I watched that in him and I learned from it.
Sheriff Englehardt also opened my eyes to a much larger world of law enforcement and government. His experience and relationships extended far beyond Passaic County, and through him I gained an understanding of agencies, people and institutions that I otherwise might never have encountered. Some of those lessons and relationships stayed with me throughout my career and eventually became part of the foundation that helped The Blue Magazine operate on a national level.
He taught me that access means nothing without trust and that trust has to be earned, protected and respected. I carried that lesson with me for seventeen years. Our relationship eventually became personal. He knew my family. My children knew him. They were welcomed into his home.
[CHRIS — PHOTO OF SHERIFF ENGLEHARDT WITH THE CHILDREN/FAMILY HERE.]
His death was a difficult loss for me there will never be another Sheriff Englehardt in my life. Years after he had first given me an opportunity in law enforcement, The Blue Magazine had an opportunity to put him on the cover.
The cover said:
OLD VALUES. NEW TIMES. THE BLUEPRINT.
In that interview, I wanted more than his résumé. I wanted to know how he led, how he dealt with political leaders, how he secured resources for his officers, how he commanded respect and what lessons from his generation still applied to law enforcement. His answer was consistent with the man I had known.
Leaders were supposed to lead.
When I gave Sheriff Englehardt the finished magazine, he became emotional. He told me it was one of the greatest gifts he had ever received. That cover meant a great deal to me because it closed a circle. Years earlier, he had given me an opportunity.
Now I had one to preserve his voice.
[CHRIS — INSERT SHERIFF ENGLEHARDT “OLD VALUES. NEW TIMES. THE BLUEPRINT.” COVER HERE.
TONY WILLIAMS
One of the first people I needed to meet when NJ Corrections Now began was Tony Williams, State Delegate for New Jersey State PBA Local 105.
Local 105 represented state correctional officers, and earning its support would mean something for a publication that was just getting started that support wasn’t automatic. I remember going before the membership at a union meeting. There were probably 400 law enforcement officers in the room. I was young and the magazine was new. I stood at the microphone and explained what I was trying to build and why I was asking Local 105 to support it. Tony Williams stood up and told the membership they should support what I was doing and support the magazine.
That mattered.
Local 105 became one of the first major organizations to put its support behind NJ Corrections Now. Law enforcement officers began contributing articles, and the union supported us through advertising. More importantly, having Local 105 behind the publication gave us credibility when we were still trying to establish ourselves. Tony put his name behind something new and unproven.
I have never forgotten it.
I have tremendous respect for Tony Williams, Local 105 and the New Jersey State PBA. Their support became an important part of the magazine’s foundation.
[CHRIS — INSERT TONY WILLIAMS / LOCAL 105 PHOTO HERE. IF WE HAVE THE EARLY NJ CORRECTIONS NOW COVER OR MATERIAL FROM THAT PERIOD, PLACE IT WITH THIS SECTION.]
STEVE OLIMPIO
Another person who changed the direction of the magazine was Steve Olimpio. At the time, Steve was president of Paterson PBA Local 1, the first PBA local in New Jersey. I had begun trying to expand NJ Corrections Now, and someone told me that if I was serious about getting more of law enforcement involved, I needed to go see Steve. I didn’t have an appointment. I walked into the PBA office, introduced myself and told him what I was trying to build.
Steve was direct and down to earth. He respected the fact that I had walked through the door and asked to see him, and he saw that I was serious. He began helping bring Paterson officers into the magazine and assisting with articles and advertising. What he did next had an even greater impact. I went with Steve to the New Jersey State PBA Convention in Atlantic City. As we walked through the convention, he introduced me to PBA leaders from throughout the state.
These weren’t casual introductions. He would tell them, in his own way:
“This is my friend Danny. He started a magazine. I want your department involved. If he calls you, treat it like I’m calling you.” After that, when I contacted those people, I was no longer calling as a stranger. Steve had put his credibility behind me. People who had never met me gave me their time because they respected him, and some of the relationships that began through those introductions still exist today.
Steve didn’t hand me a list of names. He gave me an opportunity to build my own relationships.
[CHRIS — INSERT STEVE OLIMPIO EARLY BLUE/PBA PHOTO HERE.]
In 2010, Steve decided to run for Morris County Sheriff, challenging longtime Sheriff Edward Rochford in the Republican primary. We put Steve on the cover. For a young publication, following that campaign was another first. We were behind the scenes as a law enforcement officer and union leader campaigned for sheriff, and the magazine circulated throughout Morris County. Steve did not win the election, but the campaign was never the most important part of his story to me.
He became one of my closest friends and one of my most important mentors, and his role in the foundation of this magazine continued long after that campaign ended.
[CHRIS — INSERT STEVE OLIMPIO SHERIFF CAMPAIGN BLUE COVER HERE.]
Steve would continue opening doors for BLUE for years. Some of the most important relationships in this entire story began because Steve believed two people needed to meet.
TOMMY PANZARINO AND THE HONOR LEGION
One of those early relationships was Tommy Panzarino. When I first knew Tommy, he was with the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department. He had significant experience in gang investigations and was one of those law enforcement officers whose knowledge immediately stood out. Tommy took an interest in what I was trying to build. He also introduced me to Jim Durkin, who was closely connected to the New Jersey Police Honor Legion and would later serve as its president. That introduction became another important branch in BLUE’s network.
Years later, Tommy himself would become president of the New Jersey Police Honor Legion. His commitment to law enforcement did not end when his career ended. He remained involved with the Honor Legion, Moment of Silence, Santa Comes to Paterson and charitable projects involving children. Tommy became a brother to me but his importance to this story starts much earlier. He was one more law enforcement officer who saw something in the magazine early and connected us to someone we needed to know.
[CHRIS — INSERT TOMMY PANZARINO PHOTO / NJ POLICE HONOR LEGION PHOTO HERE.]
JIM DURKIN
Around that same period, I became friendly with Jim Durkin, a Paterson police officer who served as president of the New Jersey Police Honor Legion. Jim supported what we were doing. I remember sitting with him at a diner one day when he pulled out his phone and began making calls to New York, Connecticut and people he knew throughout law enforcement. He told them he was sitting with his friend Danny, that I had started a magazine, that he liked what we were doing and that he wanted them to help us.
Steve Olimpio had helped introduce me throughout New Jersey. Jim was now helping extend those relationships beyond the state. As NJ Corrections Now expanded and more parts of law enforcement became involved, Jim suggested that I consider using the word “Blue” in the name, I liked the idea. A few issues later, NJ Corrections Now became NJ Blue Now. The new name allowed us to continue what we had started while representing the broader law-enforcement community that was becoming part of the publication.
Not long afterward, we put Jim on the cover and highlighted the work he was doing with the New Jersey Police Honor Legion.
[CHRIS — INSERT JIM DURKIN / NJ POLICE HONOR LEGION BLUE COVER HERE.]
Jim was one of several people in those early years who opened his contacts to us and helped the magazine grow. Those early relationships established a pattern that would follow The Blue Magazine throughout its history people opened doors and made introductions. What happened afterward depended on whether we could earn the relationship ourselves.
JOHN “JOHNNY” WELSH
Then there was John “Johnny” Welsh.
I met Johnny during the early stages of the magazine while he was on the job with the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department. We had different personalities, I was more introverted. Johnny was outgoing, sharp, comfortable talking to people and willing to walk into a room and introduce himself, he was also a go-getter. At that point, I was trying to do everything. We needed articles, interviews and departments willing to participate.
We also needed businesses willing to advertise and sponsor the magazine without financial support, there wasn’t going to be a publication. I asked Johnny to help. There were nights when I would drive past the office at two or three in the morning and see the lights still on. Johnny would be inside at the computer researching businesses and looking for people we could introduce to the magazine. He helped bring businesses and sponsors into what we were building, developed relationships and helped create the advertising support that allowed us to continue producing the publication.
Seventeen years later, I can say that without Johnny Welsh, I don’t know whether The Blue Magazine would have survived.
He remains one of my closest friends.
I consider him family, a brother, and his contribution belongs in the history of this magazine.
[CHRIS — INSERT JOHNNY WELSH PHOTOS HERE: NIGHT TO UNITE / BLUE APPAREL / EARLY OFFICE OR TEAM PHOTO.]
Some of Johnny’s introductions would continue paying dividends years later. One brought us Katrina and Dr. Alex another brought us Sandy Amin.
That is how much of this story developed. One relationship led to another.
JOHN SEIRCHIO
Steve Olimpio introduced me early on to John Seirchio, a retired Bloomfield law-enforcement officer who became one of the most knowledgeable people in the New Jersey State PBA on pensions. That knowledge mattered, pensions, benefits and contracts affect law-enforcement officers and their families long after a career ends.
John knew that system. I learned from him. He also supported BLUE and our charitable work throughout the years. John represented something I always respected: if you’re going to advocate for law enforcement, know what you’re talking about.
[CHRIS — JOHN SEIRCHIO PHOTO.]
TOM BROCK
Through the New Jersey Police Honor Legion came Tom Brock.
Tom’s law-enforcement career had been permanently changed after he was struck by a vehicle in the line of duty. His injuries forced him into early retirement and continued affecting his health our relationship began through his son. Tom’s son wanted to pursue military aviation, but his vision was an obstacle. LASIK was expensive at the time. Through relationships surrounding BLUE, we were able to get the procedure sponsored.
Years later, his son became a military aviator flying fighter aircraft for the United States Navy.
[CHRIS — TOM BROCK AND, IF AVAILABLE, PHOTO OF HIS SON IN MILITARY AVIATION.]
Tom became an advisor and a close friend despite his physical limitations, he traveled from Arizona to New York and New Jersey to support law enforcement and BLUE. We walked together in the Father Mychal Judge 9/11 Walk of Remembrance. Through that world, I would come to know Detective Steven McDonald. Tom could have spent the rest of his life angry about what happened to him, he didn’t.
His faith remained strong, and so did his commitment to law enforcement.
CHRIS MEGNA
Chris Megna was a Sussex County sheriff’s officer when he came to one of our early events and introduced himself. Eventually, our families became close one of my favorite photographs from those years is Chris teaching my son to ride a small motorcycle when my son was about eight years old.
[CHRIS — PHOTO OF CHRIS MEGNA TEACHING MY SON TO RIDE.]
Chris later retired after a line-of-duty injury and became deeply involved with Moment of Silence. He has helped officers in distress, assisted with fundraising and sponsorships and remained involved in the work. Chris has also been willing to discuss subjects law enforcement has historically been uncomfortable discussing, including alcohol use and his views regarding legal marijuana as an alternative for some adults.
Those are his views.
BLUE gave people in law enforcement room to have those conversations without requiring everybody to agree.
THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED KEEP BLUE ALIVE
Journalism costs money, printing, photography, design, travel and events. You can have the best idea in the world, but an independent magazine doesn’t survive seventeen years without advertisers willing to support it. One of our earliest major supporters was Dr. Maz.
Dr. Maz wanted to become involved with law enforcement, and BLUE helped introduce him to that community.
He advertised early I still remember receiving one of our first substantial advertising checks from him. At that stage, it wasn’t simply revenue. It told me somebody believed this thing might actually work. Dr. Maz also treated law-enforcement officers through his chiropractic practice and became involved with organizations throughout the community.
[CHRIS — EARLY DR. MAZ BLUE AD/PHOTO. VERIFY FULL PROFESSIONAL NAME AND PRACTICE BEFORE PUBLICATION.]
Johnny Welsh also introduced me to Dr. Alex and Katrina Martirosyan that introduction became one of the longest sponsorship relationships in BLUE’s history. They treated more law-enforcement officers than almost anyone I encountered through the magazine. They supported BLUE.
They supported Moment of Silence and they were there from the early years. Katrina became someone I could call during difficult periods, I’ve called her my angel.
Dr. Alex and Katrina became family to me they belong in this history because BLUE needed supporters like them to make seventeen years possible.
Their work continues through Evergreen Medical.
[CHRIS — EARLY KATRINA/DR. ALEX BLUE PHOTO + ONE LATER PHOTO.]
GEORGE BECK
The journalism changed when George Beck became deeply involved with BLUE. George was serving in law enforcement in Palisades Park. He was also a writer, educator and student of criminal justice and history. He would earn his Ph.D., become an author and eventually rise to Chief of Police. But when he came to BLUE, none of that gave him a free pass, he worked.
George raised our editorial standard and he wasn’t afraid to tell me when something wasn’t good enough that included my own ideas. As publisher, I didn’t always agree with my Editor-in-Chief. We argued about stories, covers, questions, direction that was healthy. I didn’t need an Editor-in-Chief who agreed with me I needed one who made the magazine better.
[CHRIS — EARLY GEORGE BECK/BLUE PHOTOS.]
George also worked with law-enforcement officers who had something to say but weren’t professional writers. He helped them write some became regular contributors. As BLUE’s access grew, that editorial foundation became critical. When we eventually sat across from governors, mayors, sheriffs, commissioners and a President of the United States, we had an editorial operation capable of handling those interviews seriously. George grew at the same time.
I watched him rise through the Palisades Park Police Department until he became Chief. He also became one of my closest friends, a brother and faith became part of that relationship. Before major BLUE events, George and I prayed hundreds of people could be arriving. Something could be going wrong behind the scenes. Everybody could be looking for us.
We still prayed.
[CHRIS — IF WE HAVE AN ACTUAL PHOTO OF US PRAYING BEFORE AN EVENT, USE IT.]
THE VOICES
BLUE was never supposed to have one voice. Hundreds of people wrote for us during seventeen years. One was retired Clifton law-enforcement officer Pat Ciser. Pat had done serious law-enforcement work, including narcotics investigations. He wasn’t afraid to write what he believed.
Pat was direct about law enforcement, patriotism and the country sometimes people agreed. Sometimes they didn’t, good. We didn’t build an independent magazine so every contributor could sound the same.
[CHRIS — PAT CISER PHOTO + EXAMPLES OF HIS BLUE COLUMNS.]
Another was J. Martinez, a retired Perth Amboy law-enforcement officer and military veteran. Jay believed preparation made you a better officer physical fitness, firearms, tactics and training. He understood that preparation wasn’t only about protecting yourself. If something went wrong, your partner might be depending on you. After retirement, Jay continued around training and public safety and remained an advisor to BLUE.
Pat and Jay are two examples. There were hundreds.
DARI AND DAN
Readers saw a finished issue they didn’t see what it took to build one. Dari Izhaky Bulriss became our Chief Design Editor. Articles came in, photographs came in, advertisements came in, corrections came in then all of it had to become a magazine. Dari put those pieces together issue after issue. Dan Larco helped define what BLUE looked like. As Creative Design Director, he was behind many of the covers that became part of our identity.
Dan understood something simple:
A cover has seconds to make somebody stop, typography, photography, placement, and branding. He obsessed over those details and it showed.
[CHRIS — DAN LARCO COVER SPREAD. USE THE ACTUAL COVERS. DON’T ADD A LOT OF COPY.]
When people remember some of the strongest BLUE covers, they’re looking at Dan’s work.
THE BLUE CALENDAR
The BLUE law-enforcement calendar brought our photography and creative work together in another way. We wanted to photograph law-enforcement officers differently—not like departmental ID photographs, but at the level of a professional national publication. Barry Morgenstein made that possible. Barry was already an accomplished professional photographer who had photographed nationally known entertainers, personalities and public figures.
He brought that experience to BLUE. Dan Larco handled the creative direction and design.
[CHRIS — BLUE CALENDAR SPREAD. STRONGEST ORIGINAL IMAGES. BARRY MORGENSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY / DAN LARCO CREATIVE. DON’T OVERWRITE IT.]
The calendar didn’t need some deeper explanation, It looked great. It represented law enforcement professionally and it became another part of BLUE.
DOCUMENTING BLUE
Barry’s work went far beyond the calendar. He photographed covers, assignments, events and many of the people whose stories appeared in these pages. He also helped create relationships for us, including our connection with Chris “Tonto” Paronto. Joshua Oliveri was another photographer whose work appeared in BLUE. Joshua later became part of another important chapter through Michael Burke, Brothers Before Others and Night to Unite 2019.
That story belongs later.
[CHRIS — JOSHUA OLIVERI. SPELLING: O-L-I-V-E-R-I. CREDIT HIS ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY WHERE USED. JOSHUA IS PART OF NIGHT TO UNITE, NOT BLUE UNITY.]
After seventeen years, those photographs are part of the historical record of BLUE.
JOE LEMIRE
Then there was Joe Lemire at one point, BLUE faced a serious digital problem. We believed years of online material might be gone. For a publication that had spent years documenting law enforcement, losing that archive would have been devastating. Joe recovered the old website and material. He helped save years of BLUE history that’s why he’s in this story.
THE TEAM
No one person built The Blue Magazine. George Beck, Joe Gordon, Holly Finley, Dari Izhaky Bulriss, Dan Larco, Barry Morgenstein, Joshua Oliveri, Juan Salcido, Alberto Palacios, Eddie Yegan, Jacob Hamilton, Rick Vanderklok, Shai Carr and Chris Bonilla.
And many more editors, writers, photographers, designers, video, production, events, advertising. People behind the scenes doing work readers never saw. Some have their own stories in this article others don’t need a paragraph manufactured around them but they were part of BLUE.
[CHRIS — TEAM PHOTOS FROM DIFFERENT YEARS. NOT A CORPORATE STAFF PAGE.]
If this article makes it look like I did this alone, then the article is wrong.
HOLLY FINLEY
Holly Finley became an important part of BLUE during its later years. She worked on stories, interviews and the constant coordination happening behind the scenes. She also became closely involved with Moment of Silence. That’s why Holly gets more than her name in a team list, she did the work.
[CHRIS — HOLLY WORKING A BLUE ASSIGNMENT/EVENT IF WE HAVE IT.]
WHEN THE QUESTIONS GOT HARDER
As BLUE grew, so did the interviews. We interviewed Judge Jeanine Pirro at Fox News headquarters in New York. The interview was going well but there was a controversial prosecution from her years as a district attorney that some members of law enforcement still had strong feelings about. The interview was nearly over and the question hadn’t been asked.
So I asked it.
“That’s a stupid question,” she told me.
She said it more than once I explained why I asked. Law-enforcement officers cared about it. If BLUE was going to sit across from Jeanine Pirro and avoid something our readers wanted answered because it might make the interview uncomfortable, then what were we doing there? She answered.
Afterward, we spoke privately the tension disappeared. We discussed it further, and she apologized.
I respected that.
[CHRIS — JEANINE PIRRO BLUE COVER + FOX INTERVIEW PHOTO.]
The lesson stayed with me:
Getting the interview isn’t the job asking the question is.
MICHAEL DOWD
We tested that principle differently when we put former NYPD officer Michael Dowd on the cover. Michael had been corrupt, he committed serious crimes. He was convicted and went to federal prison. Some law-enforcement officers were furious that BLUE would put him on a cover.
I understood why.
We weren’t honoring what he did. We wanted officers to hear where those decisions led. Michael talked about the corruption, the mistakes, prison, the consequences. His warning was essentially:
Don’t do what I did.
[CHRIS — MICHAEL DOWD BLUE COVER.]
Over time, I saw officers going through difficult periods connect with Michael because he knew what it was like to destroy parts of your own life and then have to live afterward. Today, Michael and I are friends that doesn’t erase what he did. It means I believe a person can use his worst mistakes to keep somebody else from making them.
BERNARD KERIK
In 2014, Steve Olimpio told me I needed to meet Bernard Kerik. We were still NJ Blue Now, Steve knew both of us and believed we should sit down. I went to Commissioner Kerik’s home in Franklin Lakes. What I expected to be a meeting turned into hours. We spent close to three hours talking in his office and then continued over lunch. He told me his story Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, New York City, corrections, NYPD, police Commissioner, September 11 then the other side. Investigations, charges, mistakes, federal prison.
I wanted to hear all of it not just the résumé.
[CHRIS — FIRST KERIK BLUE COVER.]
There were people in law enforcement who wanted nothing to do with him after his conviction, I understood that. But sitting across from him, I also saw one of the most knowledgeable law-enforcement people I had ever met. He wasn’t asking me to erase what happened. He wanted to tell the story including what went wrong.
I believed our readers should hear it, we put him on the cover. Some people hated it others wanted to hear him. That was their decision to make what none of us knew was that the interview would change BLUE. Commissioner Kerik became an advisor and eventually Chief Advisor to The Blue Magazine.
To me, he became Comish.
[CHRIS — PUT COMISH’S APPROXIMATELY ONE-MINUTE AUDIO HERE: HIS OWN WORDS ABOUT “THE BLUE MAGAZINE, THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.” AUDIO PLAYER OR QR CODE. THIS CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN.]
Comish advised me privately, he served as Master of Ceremonies at our events. He challenged me and his experience exposed BLUE to another level of law enforcement, government and national security. Through Comish came relationships with people including Rudy Giuliani and Tom Homan. Eventually, one of those paths would help lead us to Donald Trump but Comish’s importance to me was never about a contact list.
I could call him ask him a question get his perspective and sometimes hear something I didn’t want to hear.
That’s a mentor.
[CHRIS — KERIK PHOTOS THROUGHOUT. DON’T PUT EVERYTHING INTO ONE COLLAGE.]
Years earlier, Tony Williams had put his credibility behind me in front of his union membership. Steve Olimpio introduced me throughout the PBA world, Jim Durkin made calls from a diner. Johnny Welsh opened relationships then Steve introduced me to Comish. Each relationship changed what became possible. When Bernard Kerik died, I didn’t lose a former New York City Police Commissioner. I lost Comish, my Chief Advisor, my mentor, my friend.
Some of the biggest moments in BLUE’s history would never have happened without him.
[CHRIS — END THIS SECTION WITH THE LAST PHOTO OF COMISH I TOLD YOU ABO
CHICAGO
By 2017, BLUE had grown beyond New Jersey. One assignment took us to Chicago at a time when the city was receiving national attention for its violence and homicide rate. We went there because I didn’t want to write about Chicago from New Jersey. We wanted to hear from the people living it, law-enforcement officers, residents, business owners, People inside the neighborhoods.
One subject kept coming back:
Gangs.
Rival gangs, shootings, innocent people caught between them. Communities living with violence as part of everyday life. During that trip, a homicide occurred while we were there. It made the story real in a way statistics never could.
[CHRIS — CHICAGO FIELD PHOTOGRAPHY. USE OUR ORIGINAL IMAGES.]
That trip reinforced something BLUE carried into future assignments:
Go there.
Talk to the people living it then tell the story.
DETECTIVE STEVEN McDONALD
Some of the most important people BLUE featured were not politicians or celebrities. They were law-enforcement officers whose lives represented the profession. Detective Steven McDonald was one of them.
In 1986, Steven was shot three times while working as an NYPD officer in Central Park. He survived but was left paralyzed. Then he did something that became part of his legacy. He forgave the young man who shot him. For the next three decades, Steven spoke about faith, forgiveness and peace while remaining one of the most respected figures in law enforcement. I came to know Steven through the Father Mychal Judge 9/11 Walk of Remembrance in Manhattan.
Tom Brock was part of that connection for me. Eventually, we had the privilege of putting Steven McDonald on the cover of The Blue Magazine.
[CHRIS — STEVEN McDONALD BLUE COVER + WALK OF REMEMBRANCE PHOTOS.]
One of the last times I spent with Steven was at a dinner in New York where we helped honor him, Steven died in 2017. His son, Conor, followed his father into the NYPD. I remain grateful that BLUE had the opportunity to recognize Steven while he was here. His sacrifice didn’t end on the day he was shot. He lived with it for the rest of his life.
SEPTEMBER 11 — NEVER FORGET
September 11, 2001, is now twenty-five years behind us. For all seventeen years of The Blue Magazine, we remembered it. We covered it, we honored the people we lost and we never forgot what first responders did that morning. While thousands of people were trying to escape danger, police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel and other first responders moved toward it.
They entered buildings while people were coming out. They climbed while others were coming down.
They helped people they had never met. Many never came home.
[CHRIS — 9/11 SPREAD. USE OUR OWN 9/11 COVERAGE, WALK OF REMEMBRANCE, STEVEN McDONALD AND FIRST-RESPONDER MATERIAL. NO GENERIC STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY.]
If someone asked me what a first responder is, I could show them September 11. That’s the answer. The country was broken that morning then Americans watched strangers help strangers and communities begin pulling together. Our connection to that history was personal. Our Chief Advisor, Bernard Kerik, had been New York City Police Commissioner during the attacks and their aftermath. Through Comish, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Steven McDonald and others who lived that history, we heard perspectives that went far beyond what could be learned from a television documentary.
The Father Mychal Judge Walk of Remembrance kept us connected to that history year after year. There are law-enforcement officers serving today who weren’t alive on September 11, 2001, They need to know. And if this country were confronted tomorrow with another catastrophe of that magnitude, I believe first responders would do exactly what they did that morning.
They would go in.
That is why September 11 can never become just another anniversary post, never forget.
FROM MAGAZINE TO MOVEMENT
BLUE was also becoming something beyond the pages. Beginning in 2011, we held major law-enforcement events in New Jersey. We recognized officers who survived line-of-duty shootings, acts of courage, military veterans, law-enforcement leaders, and families. People who had earned the recognition. National figures began coming:
Chris “Tonto” Paronto, Brian Mast, Sheriff David Clarke, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Bernard Kerik and Tom Homan. Different years. Different events. Different stories. The events also became a way to support charitable work and bring people in law enforcement together face-to-face. There were hurricane-relief efforts and other projects where the network around BLUE could be used to actually help.
[CHRIS — INSERT VERIFIED HURRICANE-RELIEF MATERIAL HERE. USE OUR ARCHIVE FOR THE EXACT PROJECT, YEAR AND LOCATION. DO NOT GUESS.]
By 2019, that idea reached another level.
NIGHT TO UNITE — 2019
Night to Unite was a joint effort. Three organizations came together: The Blue Magazine, Steve Olimpio representing Moment of Silence and Michael Burke representing Brothers Before Others. Michael and the Brothers Before Others team brought their organization and relationships. Steve represented Moment of Silence and its mission. BLUE brought the network we had spent years building. Joshua Oliveri was also part of the Brothers Before Others side and contributed to that event. On November 21, 2019, more than 900 people gathered at The Venetian in Garfield, New Jersey. PBAs, FOPs, law-enforcement officers, families, supporters and organizations that did not normally sit in the same room came together.
That was the point.
[CHRIS — NIGHT TO UNITE PHOTO SPREAD. STEVE OLIMPIO, MICHAEL BURKE, JOSHUA OLIVERI, COMISH, HOMAN, CLARKE, ARPAIO, HONOREES, OFFICERS AND BALLROOM.]
Commissioner Bernard Kerik served as Master of Ceremonies, Tom Homan received the Man of the Year Award, Michelle Malkin was recognized as Woman of the Year. Genevieve “Ginger” Jones received the Brothers Before Others Member of the Year Award. Megan O’Grady, founder of Blue Line Bears, received the Humanitarian Award. NYPD PBA President Pat Lynch received the Steven McDonald Lifetime Achievement Award. Steven’s widow, Patti Ann McDonald, and his son, Conor McDonald, were there.
Sheriff David Clarke was there, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was there. John Feal and Jon Stewart were there in connection with their fight for September 11 first responders. Jonny Castro represented another side of Brothers Before Others through his portraits honoring American heroes and fallen law-enforcement officers. Artist Scott LoBaido contributed his work in support of the organizations. Officers who had demonstrated extraordinary courage were recognized.
Moment of Silence also addressed something that was becoming impossible for law enforcement to ignore:
Suicide.
Steve Olimpio spoke about the issue. Passaic County Sheriff’s Officer Erika Vicente shared her experience. This wasn’t entertainment inserted between awards, it was part of why Moment of Silence existed.
[CHRIS — USE THE STRONGEST MOMENT OF SILENCE MATERIAL FROM THAT NIGHT AROUND THIS PORTION.]
Michael Burke and Brothers Before Others were an important part of making Night to Unite happen. So was Joshua Oliveri. They deserve respect for what we accomplished together. More than 900 people came into one room under one name:
Night to Unite.
COVID
A few months later, everything changed. COVID-19 changed the country. It changed law enforcement, It changed BLUE. While much of America stayed home, law-enforcement officers continued reporting for duty.
They entered homes.
Responded to medical calls.
Worked emergency scenes.
Dealt with frightened families.
Then went home wondering whether they were carrying the virus back to their own families.
Officers sent BLUE photographs, videos and stories from their communities.
The country was afraid.
Law enforcement was afraid too.
They still went to work.
Then came the mandates.
Vaccine requirements forced law-enforcement officers and military personnel into decisions involving their health and careers.
Some took the vaccine because they believed it was the right decision.
Others took it because they believed their careers depended on it.
Some refused and challenged the mandates.
I knew law-enforcement officers whose careers were damaged or ended during those disputes.
Families suffered.
Some experienced financial hardship.
Others struggled emotionally.
BLUE never needed to make another person’s medical decision.
But people had the right to ask questions.
Talk to qualified medical professionals.
Speak with attorneys when employment rights were involved.
And lawfully challenge government policy when they believed it was wrong.
COVID also changed how I looked at the media.
I watched legitimate questions dismissed too quickly because they challenged the prevailing narrative.
That bothered me.
Independent journalism is supposed to question power.
Government.
Politicians.
Law enforcement.
The media.
And ourselves.
COVID also hurt BLUE as a business.
Advertising changed.
Events stopped.
Businesses struggled.
The magazine became harder to operate.
The years after 2020 were different.
That’s part of the history.
⸻
RICK VANDERKLOK
During those later years, Rick Vanderklok became one of the most important people beside me.
Rick had retired after a long career with the Wayne Police Department.
Law enforcement was part of his family.
His father had served with the New Jersey State Police.
Rick lost his father during the COVID period.
[CHRIS — RICK WITH HIS FATHER / MEMORIAL PHOTO. VERIFY HIS FATHER’S FULL NAME, RANK AND SERVICE INFORMATION BEFORE PUBLICATION.]
Rick became one of my closest friends and one of my strongest partners during the later years of BLUE.
When something needed to get done, Rick was there.
Interviews.
Relationships.
Assignments.
New Jersey State Police coverage.
Moment of Silence.
He became my front-line partner.
Then Rick asked me one question that would eventually lead to the biggest interview in BLUE’s history.
I told him:
If Donald Trump becomes President again, I want to interview him.
Rick answered:
“Why don’t we interview him now?”
I called Comish.
That story comes later.
But before Trump, there was another assignment that meant something personally to Rick.
⸻
COLONEL PATRICK J. CALLAHAN
Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, led the agency through some extraordinary periods.
COVID.
Civil unrest.
A changing political environment.
But when BLUE interviewed Callahan, we didn’t want only the Superintendent.
We wanted the person.
And I wanted Rick Vanderklok to conduct the interview.
There was a reason.
Rick’s father had worn the New Jersey State Police uniform.
Now his son was sitting across from the man leading that agency.
[CHRIS — RICK VANDERKLOK INTERVIEWING COLONEL CALLAHAN. THIS PHOTO IS IMPORTANT.]
They talked about leadership.
Family.
Faith.
Mental health.
Peer support.
Callahan’s own father.
Growing up around the State Police.
It became personal.
A short clip from the interview reached more than 200,000 views according to our own metrics.
[CHRIS — VERIFY THE FINAL VIEW COUNT. QR CODE TO THE CALLAHAN CLIP.]
People responded because they were seeing something beyond a rank and uniform.
Callahan also supported Santa Comes to Paterson.
Through the New Jersey State Police, one of the most memorable sights of that project became possible:
A State Police helicopter bringing Santa over Paterson.
To an agency, it’s a helicopter.
To a child looking into the sky, it’s something else entirely.
[CHRIS — NJSP HELICOPTER / SANTA COMES TO PATERSON IMAGE IF IT DOESN’T CREATE REPETITION WITH THE LATER MOS SECTION.]
⸻
BLUE UNITY — 2022
Three years after Night to Unite, we came together again.
But this was not Night to Unite.
It was a separate event.
A separate chapter.
Blue Unity Night.
On September 30, 2022, nearly 400 people gathered at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida.
The mission had become even more focused:
Law-enforcement mental health.
Suicide prevention.
Unity.
[CHRIS — BLUE UNITY OPENING SPREAD. SIGNATURE GRAND / CROWD / STAGE.]
Commissioner Bernard Kerik served as Master of Ceremonies.
The Police Pipe and Drum of Florida and the Davie Police Department Honor Guard opened the night.
My daughter, Alyssa Del Valle, who was 15 at the time, sang the National Anthem.
That was a proud moment for me.
[CHRIS — ALYSSA SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.]
Valor Awards were presented to:
Claudia Apolinar — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Emmanuel Perez-Perez — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Jacob Albarado — U.S. Border Patrol
Raffaello Cervera — Doral Police Department
Johnny Beautelus — Doral Police Department
Daniel Vilarchao — Doral Police Department
We also recognized:
Chief Gustavo Medina.
Pastor Paul Beresford.
Joseph Occhipinti.
Frank Voce.
Chief Joel Gordon.
BLUE columnist Kirk Lawless received the Senior Journalist Award.
[CHRIS — VALOR RECIPIENTS + PASTOR PAUL/CHIEF MEDINA + KIRK LAWLESS.]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was selected for a Lifetime Achievement Award but could not attend because Hurricane Ian required him to direct emergency operations in Florida.
Tom Homan spoke.
Sheriff David Clarke spoke.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio spoke.
[CHRIS — HOMAN / CLARKE / ARPAIO. DON’T REPEAT THEIR BIOGRAPHIES. THEY GET THEIR own treatment elsewhere.]
Marco Catania was instrumental in helping us put Blue Unity together in Florida.
He helped build the relationships on the ground and became an important part of making that event happen.
[CHRIS — MARCO CATANIA PHOTO.]
Steve Olimpio remained central to Moment of Silence and its mission.
Our Florida relationships, the BLUE team and the people supporting Moment of Silence brought the rest together.
One relationship Marco introduced to me was Dr. N. Bill Aydin.
Dr. Aydin became a friend and supporter of BLUE, Moment of Silence and law enforcement.
When we approached him about helping an officer, a child or a law-enforcement charitable initiative, he helped.
That’s why he belongs here.
[CHRIS — DR. AYDIN PHOTO/AWARD PHOTO. KEEP IT EDITORIAL. THIS IS NOT AN AD.]
Dr. Steven Waldman became another important supporter.
His work in pain management put him in contact with injured law-enforcement officers.
When an officer needed to be seen and I called, Dr. Waldman made room.
He supported BLUE.
He supported Moment of Silence.
And he helped officers we sent to him.
[CHRIS — DR. WALDMAN PHOTO IF THE LAYOUT NEEDS IT. DON’T OVERDO THIS.]
Blue Unity came after law enforcement had been through COVID, mandates, civil unrest, political division and another difficult period involving officer suicide.
We wanted people in one room again.
But the message was no longer simply unity.
It was survival.
Take care of each other.
Talk about mental health.
Don’t wait until an officer is dead to decide the conversation matters.
That became the message Moment of Silence would continue carrying forward:
Never give up. Stay in the fight.
[CHRIS — END PART THREE WITH A STRONG BLUE UNITY/MOMENT OF SILENCE IMAGE. THEN TURN THE PAGE.]
