Abortion; is it a necessary evil?

Abortion; is it a necessary evil?
By: Lt. Patrick J. Ciser (Ret.)

From America’s inception, abortion was illegal in all states, as a result of British common law. In 1821 Connecticut, the first U.S. law was written “officially” banning the practice. Each state would follow, confirming until 1973 that abortion was outlawed across the land. As time moved forward through women’s “suffrage,” (1848-1920) and later women’s “lib” (liberation) throughout the ‘60s and beyond, opinions changed. What was looked at for centuries that a baby was an individual with all of the rights of any human being, became today, part of a woman’s body; as “my body, my choice” became the mantra. In 1967, some sanity was injected into the abortion argument when the American Medical Association voted to change the body’s long-standing opposition to abortion, giving both sides some middle ground. With a new resolution, the AMA now condoned abortion for the life or health of the mother, for a baby’s ‘incapacitating’ physical deformity or mental deficiency, or for cases of rape or incest. Sounds prudent to me.

View fullsize

By 1970, New York, California, Washington State, and Hawaii, passed laws making abortion “ON-DEMAND” legal, at any stage! And it was that my friends that catapulted the “Pro-Choice” “Pro-Life” wars. In 1972, the Pro-Lifers were gaining steam, until Roe v. Wade in 1973 changed everything! The liberal-leaning U.S. Supreme Court wrongfully, in my opinion, decided abortion was a federal matter while misinterpreting the 14th Amendment and thereby forced conservative Pro-Life states to accept abortion regardless of that particular state’s views or religious beliefs. The problem is, and always was, however, that the U.S. Constitution does not address abortion specifically, leaving the decision up to the states. You see, the current court did not make abortion illegal, they simply sent it back to the states where it always belonged. Look up “Federalism” for more about states’ rights.

Note; Jane Roe was an alias in court documents for complainant, Norma McCorvey, and Henry Wade was Texas attorney general at the time.

So, enough with the history lesson and on to this humble writer’s opinion. I believe that the biggest problem related to abortion are the two groups’ extremes. In a poll, 70% of the American people today think that abortion should be legal with certain restrictions, including banning late-term abortions. BAM! There you have it! So, can’t we simply meet somewhere in the middle? “Some” Pro-Choice folks believe that a woman should be able to get an abortion right up until her due date, while “some” Pro-Lifers believe that there should be no provision in cases of rape or incest! Why would anyone with an ounce of compassion, consider either one of these extreme positions? Before I go on, I am conceding that a baby is either dead or alive, leaving no room for middle ground; but let’s get real. It is estimated that since Roe v. Wade was adopted in 1973, that approximately 63,459,781 abortions have been performed in America. According to the CDC, the percentage performed with chemical abortifacients, like mifepristone, rose from 9.6% in 2004, to 43.7% in 2019, and continue to rise.

Now, while over 63 million dead babies are shocking to many, let us be a little pragmatic for a moment. To many, the birth of a child is a blessing, but to others, it could be a curse. So, should the states allow abortion in the first trimester? I say yes! Ideally, I’d like to see the termination of the embryo, before it becomes a fetus; usually at 11 weeks. The 13-week “first trimester” idea might be better practicality-wise as some women don’t even know that they are pregnant until they’re into their fourth month when the baby first moves. From my point of view, if you miss two periods, and are sexually active, you might want to take a pregnancy test. However, I’m still looking for common ground and compromise. So, what would have happened to over 63 million babies that were aborted, where in most cases, no one would want them? Would they grow up feeling loved? Would they be left outside a hospital or police station? Would our orphanages explode across the country? Would they be “dragged up” by alcoholic, or drug-addicted parents? How many would be on government assistance, or turn to a life of crime? Considering their offspring, would the population of the United States be over 500 million today, rather than 330? If your young teenage daughter accidentally got pregnant, how would an untimely birth affect her, and the rest of the family? Should your daughter be tied to some asshole loser/drug addict or other, for the rest of her life? Absolutely NOT! Can the family even afford a baby with the projected costs?

“It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s representatives.”

~Justice Samuel Alito, 2022

Pat Ciser is a retired lieutenant from the Clifton Police Department, and a 7th Degree Black Belt. He was a member of 5 U.S. Karate Teams, winning gold medals in South America and Europe. He is the Author of BUDO and the BADGE; Exploits of a Jersey Cop (BN.com/Amazon), and is a guest writer for Official Karate Magazine.

UVALDE TRAGEDY: WHEN COPS MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

UVALDE TRAGEDY: WHEN COPS MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
By: Chris Amos

By now I suspect everyone has seen the disturbing video of police officers in Uvalde, Texas. A dozen or more are shown standing in a hallway, doing nothing. Meanwhile, on the other side of what would later be discovered to be an unlocked door, teachers and students had been indiscriminately shot and killed by a psychotic and/or demonically possessed killer. To make matters worse, it has been reported an officer had the gunman in his crosshairs, but rather than taking the shot he chose to ask a supervisor for permission first. Allegedly, the supervisor never responded. Another disturbing detail that came to light was that of a second officer who had a shot, but for fear of hitting a child, did not take it.

I, like many of my law enforcement peers across the country were quick to condemn the actions or lack thereof of these officers. We piled on these men and women, one of whose wife, a teacher, died in that classroom. We did the very thing we are so quick to condemn others of doing, playing the role of Monday morning quarterback. You know what I mean - a combination of what they should have done, with what we would have done… Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

As time passed, I began to look at things a little differently. In the political realm there is an often-used phrase, “Elections have consequences.” Could it be that demonizing, defunding, with the goal of dismantling law enforcement for two+ years has consequences?

About 160 miles from Uvalde, Texas is the states’ capital, Austin. In this law and order state, resides a district attorney by the name of Jose Garza, a George Soros-supported district attorney. Garza made a name for himself, among the progressive crowd. How? By indicting 21 Austin police officers for their actions during riots in 2020. The “crime” committed was the use of expired bean bags in department issued bean bag guns assigned to officers working the riots. I doubt anyone took the time to see if the rocks and bottles they were being pelted with were expired. Like planes waiting to take off at JFK airport, these officers have retained both criminal and civil attorneys as several are suing their employer, among others.

The message sent to law enforcement is loud and clear. “Beware, even while doing your job to the best of your ability, if you make an honest mistake, either by commission or omission, you may very well face possible prosecution.” This is a message not just being heard in Austin, but in law enforcement agencies across the country. We’ve seen video of officers using kid gloves and kind words to try to subdue uncooperative violent criminals. The most recent video involved NYPD officers with a violent teenage suspect. Incredulously, after his arrest, this suspect was seeking to file charges against the very officers he chose to fight rather than comply with their commands.

Law enforcement officers for decades were given the benefit of the doubt. Were there bad cops then? Certainly, but that was the exception, not the norm. Now, in many cities, that benefit of the doubt has been replaced by a warning – do not make a mistake. The effort to hold LEOs to such a high level of accountability is to invite if not encourage inaction. Or at the very least, the seeking of permission up the chain of command before taking action. This creates in the minds of officers, who are already at a disadvantage, as most must react to suspects’ actions, just enough hesitation to get him or her let alone members of the general public, seriously injured of killed.

When facing a very real and present risk of arrest, prosecution and incarceration for just doing the best you could with the information you have, can we really blame an officer for hesitating or choosing to take an abundance of caution. LEOs are not robots. They are men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They have mortgages to pay, families to feed and care for. They have many people for whom they are responsible. They have lives beyond the badges they wear. Lives that can be taken from them in the blink of an eye, simply for reacting to the threatening actions of another, only to realize it was a phone not a gun, or a flashlight not a knife.

Do the officers in that hallway bear blame for their inaction? Yes, and I suspect they will be haunted by their role that day for the rest of their lives, but so too does their leadership bear the blame. And perhaps even more so the progressive activists and their Soros-backed district and commonwealth attorneys who place an untenable burden on LEOs to perfection, to be 100% right, 100% of the time, a burden only Jesus could meet.

This is a Chaplain’s Corner, so let me leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-4:

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. He is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Friends, you are called of God to do what you do. Do not ever forget that. He knew before you were even conceived that you would be putting on your uniform, gun and badge. He knew what family you would be born into, who you would marry, where you would live and what agency you would work for. God knows everything about you and He loves you just the same. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins, the breaking of God’s laws not man’s. Friends, we are all guilty as charged and the sentence of guilt carries with it eternity in a literal hell. Accept what Jesus has done for you. Repent or turn from your sin and invite Him to be your Savior and Lord and you will also retain the greatest advocate and dare I say, defense attorney, that has ever, or will ever live. May God bless each and every one of you as you answer his call on your life.

Chris Amos is a retired officer and former spokesperson for the Norfolk Virginia Police Department. He is currently the pastor at Chr1st Fellowship Church in Norfolk. He is married for over 30 years and is the proud father of three children, two of whom are police officers. He serves as the volunteer Chaplain for Norfolk Police Dept. and Norfolk Sheriff’s Office.

In memory of New Jersey State Trooper Rick Vanderclock

DSFC. Rick Vanderclock #2761

New Jersey State Police

October 23, 1948 - April 13, 2020

_____________________________________________________________

Many great qualities were handed down to me by my father. Two of the most cherished being integrity and respect. My dad was a New Jersey State Trooper for 29 years retiring in 2000 at the rank of Detective Sergeant First Class.

I knew I wanted to be a police officer from a young age so it wasn’t a surprise when I followed in his footsteps. I watched my father dress for work and leave our home in his police car each day and I was mesmerized by the stories he would tell me when his shifts were over. He was a real-life hero.

I will retire this year from the Wayne Police Department after a 25 year career. My father held high standards for himself and was always a man of his word. His lesson of integrity and respect remained with me throughout m career.

My father, my hero, succumbed to COVID-19 and died on April 13, 2020.

CPL. Rick Vanderclock

Florida Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

Florida Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd
By The Blue Magazine Team
Catherine Angel, Shai Carr, Raytheon Martin

Blue Magazine recently traveled to Polk County, Florida to sit down with Sheriff Judd--a no-nonsense law enforcement leader whose directness and honesty is breath of fresh air during these troubling times. In this exclusive and uncensored interview, Sheriff Judd calls it as he sees it, and holds no punches as we discuss many of the controversial current topics affecting law enforcement. Blue Magazine thanks Sheriff Judd and the outstanding officers of the Polk County Sheriff's Department.

The BLUE Magazine: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

View fullsize

photo credit: polk county sheriff

Sheriff Grady Judd: Well, I can start out by saying I was born a long time ago. What you see is what you get. I'm the same on television as I am in the office, as I am at home. You see, I found out if you just tell the truth all the time, you don't have to remember lies. And I've also found out that the community loves transparency, and they love people that will stand up and just tell the truth. They may not always agree with me. Heck, I make policy and procedures that I don't even agree with. But after all, this is not about me. It's about the best interests of the community and how we can keep them safe and how we can help them. So, it's an honor to be the sheriff. It's a lifelong dream since I was a little bitty dude. All I ever wanted to do was work for the sheriff's office. I was the first deputy under the age of 21 and the youngest person to ever be sworn in as a deputy.

I married my wife when I was 18 and we raised two wonderful kids and I went to college nights and taught weekend--23 at both the University of South Florida and Florida Southern. And then my boss, Sheriff Crowe, retired and I ran for sheriff, and the people of this community were gracious enough to let me serve them.

In this current anti-police environment that we have now, have you seen any change with your recruitment with your officers?

Sure. I think it's important to point out why we've had an anti-police environment. I call it the hate on the police or the defund the police that you've seen all around the nation. None of that ever came to our community. And for those of you who aren't from here, our county's 2,000 square miles. And we have about 750,000 residents. And while we saw this being perpetrated upon us and upon all the people of this country--that wasn't this community--that wasn't most communities across this nation. So, at the end of the day, why we saw people that weren't peaceful, protesting, throwing rocks and bottles and burning and looting, the opposite occurred here.

View fullsize

If you were in a position up north, how would you handle the situation?

Well, here's the problem with the police chiefs. They're great men and women who have dedicated their lives to this career, but they're surrounded by a political environment. They are either appointed by a mayor who got elected, or they may be appointed by a city manager who works for an elected body. So, they are government employees hired to enforce the law or the rules, OK? They're hired. Follow what I say. So their government's answer to law enforcement in Florida, I'm elected by the people. I am the people's representative to enforce the law. I don't work for a county commission. I don't work for a mayor. I don't work for city commissioners.

But as a chief in that appointed position in those environments, I can stand up and talk until the mayor fires me. But I can't make any meaningful changes.

In some states, we are seeing a lot of officers lose their jobs due to the COVID-19 mandates, not complying. What are your thoughts? Would you fire an officer in your department if they don't comply?

I want to underscore COVID is real and it's dangerous and it's deadly. But a lot of this world's gone nuts over that. And here's what we did here at the sheriff's office and by and large, throughout Florida, while the world was all hunkered down behind masks and then double masks, and then staying home and drawing your kids out of school and all this craziness that occurred. We took a common-sense approach. I said, look, when the vaccine becomes available because I talked to my doctor and he said, take it, I've got a lot of friends that are physicians, and I ask every one of them, “What do you think?” Every one of them said unequivocally to take the vaccine. And I did and I took the next vaccine, and I took the booster. I recommend you take the COVID shot. But let me make one thing abundantly clear. That's your personal health decision, not mine. From day one, long before there was a COVID shot, I will never impose a requirement on you to take this shot. Never. We're not mandating. I encourage it. I educate. It's their decision. It's their life.

What is your message to law enforcement leaders today who are firing officers because of these mandates?

I would resign from office as the chief before I mandated people do things that were against my ethics, my morals and my values.

In the past, we have seen law enforcement leaders kneel to appease these special interest groups. Would you be one to kneel? 

No, I'm not kneeling. I kneel in front of the altar for my Jesus and my God. And that's the only person I kneel for. I am going to work for and with the communities and ensure that there's fairness and there's equality and there's opportunity and I'm going to do what's right. But you write this down in your little book. You won't see me kneeling for a social group.

photo credit: polk county sheriff

What is your biggest barrier or obstacle on fighting crime?

Well, I don't have a big barrier or obstacle for fighting crime. You know, I'll wake up every day. Well, I guess I do have one. There's only 24hours in a day, and that's the only thing that limits us. We certainly fight crime. Our crime rate here is at a 50-year low.

At the end of the day, if you have the right systems and processes in place and you're appropriately funded with the equipment, you can respond and should respond. And I'll go back to my board of county commissioners. They have never, never underscore, never refused us equipment or technology training. Resources. To find what we needed to protect this community.

So, what would you say to the defund the police people?

Well, I would first tell them, let's do some scientific study about defund the police. Then I would look at the defund the police people and say, you're nuts.

Some say your aggressiveness or proactive methods on crime may be unfair to minorities. Others say your direct no-nonsense approach is best suited to protect the citizens. What's your message to both arguments?

Yeah, I can tell you clearly and unequivocally that my African American community looks at me and says, we want more resources, sheriff. We don't want less. I can tell you I don't put up with anything other than treating people equitably and fairly. You know, we're all God's children and to allow children to kill children night after night in these big cities is shameful. But if the cops don't have the infrastructure in place to support them, what can they do?

We as active law enforcement look to our leaders for guidance and support many times throughout our career. In your words, how are you there for your officers?

I'm a street cop at heart. When you go into my office and you look behind my desk, you see a star in a shadow box. It's called First Badge. It says Deputy Sheriff Polk County. I'm a street cop. I recruit the best, I hire the best, and I trained the best. I hold them to the highest standards, and I got their back. Now if they run out here off the edge of the mountain, that's on them. But if they're following the rules and they're following the laws, it doesn't make any difference what other people think. I always have their back. I always support them. Now, if you go out here and get stupid, you know, I'm going to arrest you and put you in jail.

And I've done that. But the reality of it is if you don't support the men and women who do this job, you shouldn't be a police leader--you should get out, get out right now and let somebody if they'll appoint somebody that can defend the police officers, why they're doing their job the appropriate way. What fuels me every day is not sitting behind a desk, looking at spreadsheets. It's being out there with the people and the deputies. I love them. My mom and my dad passed. I got a sister that I loved to the ends of the earth. I got a wife who why she stays with me, I don't know. But there's nobody better in the world. I got two boys. I got 13 grandkids. And after that, after that handful, I love these deputies, like they're my own children. And I can say that at my age, I used to be the youngest guy here. I'm the oldest guy here, but I look at them through the lenses of when I was their age doing this dangerous job. How did I want to be treated? How did I want to be supported? And I wasn't all the time because some people were more concerned at different times of their politics instead of doing what's right. But it's easy for me because I love these people. They're my family. And when I go to a scene, I don't run to the supervisors. I can talk to them anytime I want to go see my deputies.

Your marriage has been pretty much parallel to your career, so how do you keep it going so long?

She gets all the credit. This, you know, I asked my oldest son, who I thought had a great personality and disposition to be in law enforcement, why he never wanted to be in law enforcement. Neither my children are in law enforcement. My son said he didn’t like that when he woke up in the morning, I was gone. And when he went to bed at night, I was gone a lot of days. And he never wanted a job like that. So, my wife is really the fiber of our family. She is a strong Christian woman. She is just wicked smart. I'm married way up and she is supportive of me. Why in the world she picked me or stayed with me? I don't know. But she's the best.

There's a serious issue with law enforcement today where some officers use prescription medication to manage pain. Because of this, many develop addiction to these drugs. How will your department handle this if one of your officers falls victim to addiction?

That depends. I'll give you two episodes. If we have a law enforcement officer that has an emotional issue or a health issue and that falls under health issue, we have infrastructure in place, everything from EAP to medicine to our medical systems, and we certainly look through all of that and work with that and help them. And it's all confidential. It doesn't even come to my attention. Let me give you another example,  about eight or 10 years ago, one of our deputies became hooked on OxyContin and we got a call here the admin office one day and a gentleman said, you know, I really don't mind your deputy coming by. And he comes back, you know, every two or three weeks to count my OxyContin, my pain management, he said. But could you ask him not to come by at 11 o'clock at night? What the heck? Well, it turns out he was stealing the guy's medicine. Well, we fired him and put him in jail, which is what we should have done. So, if someone needs help, we make sure that they get it and the infrastructure is in place if it becomes a work issue, if it becomes a criminal issue as opposed to a medical issue, then they're held accountable, and they can't work here any longer.

We lose more officers to suicide than line of duty deaths. There's an officer right now contemplating suicide. If you're talking to that officer, what would you say?

What I would say is there's always help and there's always tomorrow. And you're not in this by yourself. And we got your back and we're going to help you. And we're not going to let you commit suicide. Give us the opportunity because we know that you've been the leader in the community. We know those stressors have built up on you. We know you have personal stressors in addition to that, but there's ways for us to peel this onion back. To save your life, to save your family and save your career. But we can't help you if you don't let us. And if we hear about it, we'll do everything in our power. There are no resources we won't use to help you. Because you know what, you're worth it, you're doing God's work out here and why would you think you're alone. I'll promise you, you never are.

You've been through five elections. Do you have any intention of slowing down?

Oh no. When I die, you know, you'll know when I don't want to run for re-election anymore because the media will be gathered out watching them bring me out feet first in a pine box. And I tell folks, in all seriousness, as long as I have my health, my wife has her health, we can move the agency forward. I can look out for the men and women, and the people will re-elect me, that's a real important part.

When it's all said and done.

What do you want to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered that I was a cop. I was just a good cop, and I hope to obtain that status. And I love my family and I love my troops.

How has God helped you in your life?

View fullsize

photo credit: polk county sheriff

Well, we wouldn't have a life without God. I look around at nature and I wonder how can you look at the beautiful trees and the birds and the wild animals? How can you look at the grass that grows in the yards and not know there's a God? This stuff just didn't happen. And God is in the center of my life, and I can tell you this from a lifetime of experience, when you get your priorities right, when God's first in your life, your family second and your job’s third, everything will go fine. There's always going to be conflict in your personal life. There could be a lot of stress. I have people say, oh, what about the stress? To me, it's not stress, it’s opportunity. It's opportunity to help and to change and to modify and do good things. You read your Bible. We're all here because God put us in these positions. It makes it real easy for me.

Editor's Point of View

Welcome to another excellent issue of Blue Magazine. As we continue to grow on the national stage, we will continue to speak out against injustices in our profession. We will continue to advocate and promote awareness of law enforcement's great work in our troubling society.

We are experiencing perilous times in America. Our cities are rife with violence, the bloodshed is endless and the innocent lives are stacking up like cordwood, while many self-serving politicians and the greed-driven corporate media exploit these tragedies for gain. Schools, houses of worship, supermarkets and shopping centers are targeted daily for homicide. What's being done to solve this? We endlessly watch politicians and their coconspirators in the media drive purposed narratives for political expediency on the 24-hour news programs. We watch these self-proclaimed experts pontificate ceaselessly, point fingers and blame political opponents/parties; yet, no real progress is made toward solving the problem. We must demand they do something! Stop seeing every tragedy through political lenses, and work together for a solution — yeah, a real solution.

I know the solution, but many don't want to hear it. In a world where God is first, honesty and truth matter, and respect for one another, our country and law enforcement is paramount, we could work toward solving these problems. Yet, in our world, God is last, and those who love and follow Him are shamed. Disrespect for our country and our flag is fashionable to many. Trashing and disparaging law enforcement is not only celebrated but also embraced by many supposedly ethical political leaders. Therefore, we, unfortunately, live in a world similar to that of Stephen King's fictional Castle Rock, where the main character Leland Gaunt's shop, "Needful Things" gives customers the objects of their life's desires, while Gaunt uses them to commit violence against one another. Sound similar?

In my life, I have resigned myself to trust my God — Jesus Christ — to lead my family and me through these treacherous times. If that upsets you, my point is made.

Our upcoming annual valor awards dinner is being held in Davie, Florida, on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Signature Grand. It's sure to sell out, so reserve your seat today. We hope to see you there! This will be a night like no other in our profession!

As always, stay safe and demand truth, justice and intellectual honesty in everything. Blue Magazine exists for this reason. We are glad you are on this journey with us.

George Beck, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief

Innovative resiliency: NYPD for Health and Wellness

The NYPD Health and Wellness Section was created in 2019 with the intention of providing both clinical and holistic resources to our members, uniformed and civilian, that may not only improve mental and physical well-being, but provide tools to cultivate a more resilient mindset.

Mark Wachter is a deputy inspector in the NYPD and has been on the job for 25 years. He oversees the Health and Wellness Section.

Aaron Lohman is a sergeant in the NYPD Health and Wellness Section. He is a 15-year NYPD veteran and is currently the peer support coordinator, coordinating the peer support program and running the Health and Wellness Social Media page on Instagram. He also provides fitness and nutrition guidance and counseling and personal training for all 55,000 members of the department, both uniform and civilian.

Frank Voce has been a police officer since 2015 and in 2018 went through an extremely hard time in his personal life. He is the founder of the nonprofit organization Reps for Responders. Earlier this year he became a member of the staff in the Health and Wellness Section of the NYPD.

To watch the full interview scan here to go to our YouTube channel

The BLUE Magazine: How do you go about looking out for your officers’ wellbeing?

Mark Wachter: We've got to watch out for their mental well-being, their emotional, their spiritual well-being, and even really after they retire from the job. And again, this job is extremely stressful. You know, what our officers see every day, the traumatic incidents that they respond to sometimes just really not a lot of time to process it. And then they go home and how do you explain an incident that was horrific and now you've got to go home and explain that to your loved ones, your children. So what we try to do here is reduce stigma. It's OK not to be OK.

Can you tell us a little bit about why the NYPD chose to come up with this unit? What changed?

Mark: Really what changed is 2019 was just a horrific year for the police department. We experienced 10 members who died by suicide that year, which was just a tragedy for everybody, for the department, their families, for the city. I mean these offices patrolled the streets and built a lot of bridges with the community. So in 2019, you know, we really looked at the practices of what we were doing and we really changed our focus. And it was about the employee.

There are a lot of people who want to work on mental health, but at the same time, don't know enough about it. What is your opinion on this?

Mark: Yeah. No, it's true. And I think a lot of it is teaming up. And what we do in the Health and Wellness section, it's not just about coming to us for help. What we do is we advocate and we advertise every other resource that does similar work because at the end of the day my concern is that you get help. And if you come to us and I say, maybe it would be a different avenue for you to get help, we will guide and navigate you to that.

Should an NYPD officer be scared to come forward to look for help? The reason why I ask this is because at the end of the day, we're all scared to lose our job.

Mark: It's a valid concern. Again, you know, should you be concerned? Yes, it's a fear. It's real. But what I try to do in the health and wellness section is to build that trust. And it takes time. It takes time to build that trust. But by bringing testimonials of people who have gone through the same experience are, yes, you can trust me, you can trust the health and wellness section here.

Aaron, tell us a little bit more about your background.

Sgt. Aaron Lohman I spent a majority of my career as a police officer in high-crime active units, where I made one of the biggest mistakes that I think police officers make is they make the entire job their complete identity. So I was always chasing the bad guy, not looking after myself. I got to a point where in 2010 they took my gun and shield from me because of an incident that happened at work. And it was like my whole entire world collapsed. You know, my identity was taken from me. It was at that point that I looked back. I was over 425 pounds. I was completely stressed out and I wanted to end my life. So I was left with this decision either fix myself, seek help, change my life or end it. So I chose to give in, to surrender myself and change everything about my life. So from that point on, I decided I was going to make my life the best life I could possibly make it. So I started by controlling what I could. Everything in this career just seems so out of control.

I was the type of person who would just constantly fight with everybody on social media about things you couldn't control, whether it was the news or the media or things like that. So I would begin focusing on some of those things that I could control like what went into my brain, what went into my body, and how I used my body. And through doing that, slowly but surely, I improved my mental health by improving my physical health. I've lost over 178 pounds, and nothing stresses me out anymore and nothing bothers me. I've learned to manage my stress. I've learned about resilience.

That's how I changed my life. But what I try to preach to people is find something that you love doing. If you like finger painting, go do that. Find therapy through that. Find therapy through seeking treatment through mental health, whatever it is that you find something you love outside of this job. Because this job takes so much from us and we dedicate so much to it that you have to find outlets outside this job. For me, it’s exercise and working out and I try to impart that on other people because that's what worked for me. And you know, there's a statistic that says, you know, 30 minutes a day decreases severe mental health issues by 25%. You know, and to me, looking at those numbers and look at what I went through, I'm living proof that that is true.

How many hours a week do you workout? What's your routine?

Aaron: About an hour and a half a day. But what I want to impart on people is like when I say that I workout a half hour, an hour and a half a day, that's something I do because I enjoy doing it. Nobody has to start out that way. And literally all I want others to do is start out by doing something three times a week, walking 20 minutes three times a week at a reasonable time. Because as much as fitness and nutrition is about calories and calories out of all this stuff, what it really comes down to is behavior modification and behavior modification and changing your mindset. Your attitude toward exercise and physical fitness is where we all fail. This is why it's so hard. So when you fit it in, in a realistic time frame and you start making it a habit after a certain time period, it becomes second nature. And that's when you build on that.

Aaron, so before you said that when you were not in such a good place, you gave a lot of your time to being a police officer. And now that you're not giving so much time and you're in a better place mentally and physically, does that change? Does it not make you the best cop?

Aaron: I can't speak for anybody else's scenario, but for me personally, when I was giving so much time to being a cop, you think at the time that you're being a good cop because you're putting in those hours and because you're putting in that time. But if you're not taking those breaks and pausing and self reflecting, you're pouring from an empty cup and you cannot be the best police officer or best person or best family man you can be.

Frank, so tell us a little bit about yourself.

Frank Voce: Before I even say anything, I just want to shake Aaron's hand and say thank you for sharing your story and being honest, because that right there is what this whole department and unit is about. I actually left the NYPD and went to a different department. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder in 2018.

I came back to this job, New York City, because I love being a New York City police officer. I enjoy working in a busy command. But there's also a lot of life experience and things that weren't, I would say, addressed, you know, and police officers have to know also that there's a lot of things that happen in our life. So I said, what could I do to make sure no one ever has to go through what I went through? So I ended up starting a nonprofit. And my goal is to increase the emotional and physical survivability skills of first responders so they can make more responsible choices while they're working or at home.

What would you say to an officer right now who's contemplating suicide?

Mark: What I would say, you know what? A lot of people have been where you are. Come forward, call the health and wellness section. We will guide you where you need to go. And again, it could be our services, it could be other department services, it could be outside resources. But we are here to help you. Don't let the current moment turn into a tragedy. We can make it better. We will walk that journey with you.

Aaron and Frank, what are your hopes for the future for this wellness unit?

Aaron: My hope is just to get the word out, to encourage people, to let people know that what I went through and my story and let them know that they're not alone and they don't have to be alone, that a lot of people are going through what they're going through. And I hope that we just continue to break down those walls of stigma and get more people help through whatever means necessary.

Frank: My hope for the future in the health and wellness section is that more officers see and hear the different stories. And I hope more officers actually come forward and share their own personal story like I did and Aaron did. It goes back to saying, wow, you know, similar experience like me. Now you've got cops coming to you saying they might not even say anything to you about needing help but thank you. You know, we hear you. We understand you. And that is how one helps me stay sober. It helps me stay clean. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. There's no greater feeling than helping another cop help themselves.

Mark, what are you most proud of in this division?

Mark: In this division, you know what? I'm blessed. I work with some of the most talented people. All the people who work for me are dedicated. They pick up the phone 24/7 and they walk the journey. And that's the great part of being the CEO of this unit. Yes, I can come here and talk about it all day, but the real work is not done by me. It's done by the people who come to work every day. And you see it. They care for people.

Catherine Angel is an active law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey and journalist for The Blue Magazine.

A SHORT FILM TO END LAW ENFORCEMENT SUICIDE

View fullsize

A SHORT FILM TO END LAW ENFORCEMENT SUICIDE

View fullsize

This film was made after many years of watching our brothers and sisters in blue make the ultimate mistake. We as humans are not exempt from failure, bad times, depression or a mental health crisis. This is why we believe that this film needed to be made in order to remind all of you that life is worth living for. Don't ever feel alone, there are many people here for you. Enjoy this short film and pass it on to anyone you believe may enjoy this beautiful message. Never give up and always be proud of who you are.

Thank you to all the officers from different departments who were part of this beautiful project to save lives.

#BlueSuicide #MomentOfSilence #TheBlueMagazine

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Presented by

Saving the Brotherhood: Make the Call

Saving the Brotherhood
By: Monica Eaton

Police work is hard. It’s not for everyone.

Statistics will show cops are at a higher rate for obesity, mental health problems, suicide and divorce.

Cops will often tell you we have a brotherhood. One that exists to protect each other. To put our lives on the line for each other and to “hold the blue line.”

Cops also know that in many departments, that isn’t completely true. Many will tell you that the inside of a department is more of a “dog eat dog” world. We bitch, we complain, we tear each other down.

But why?

Why do we allow a negative work environment to be created within a mostly negative job to begin with?

Cops see people at their absolute worst more often than seeing people at their best. Cops see death, abuse, drugs, stabbings, and shootings, all of it.

We need to do better. We need to genuinely be there for our coworkers and ask them how they are doing. We don’t have to be best friends with everyone. But we can certainly have compassion for all. Everyone is struggling with something.

This goes for all first responders. Check on your coworkers. Lift them up. Be a shoulder to lean on. Be a positive person when there is always negativity around.

I challenge you to reach out to a coworker you don’t usually talk to. Ask them how they’re doing, and genuinely listen.

Take care of each other.

Monica Eaton is the owner/CEO of Five-0 Fierce and Fit which creates online nutrition and fitness programs designed to help female first responders lose fat, gain strength, and take back their confidence in 90 days because “your family depends on you to be fit for duty.” Using her six year Oklahoma law enforcement experience along with her 15-year background in fitness and nutrition she helps female first responders reach their full potential in life and career. Look her up on Instagram @five0.fierce.and.fit

Police Chaplain's Corner: In Hot Pursuit of Truth

In Hot Pursuit
By: Chris Amos

When I look back over my 26+ year career as a police officer, I am reminded of a lot of highs and a low or two or three … Sprinkled in between were a few heart-racing, palms sweating, hair standing up on the back of my neck moments of sheer fear. Without fail the worst, most dire, “this is how I’m going to die” memories all involved vehicle pursuits, specifically the pursuits in which I was riding shotgun. There is something about being a passenger in a pursuit that is not very comforting. Throw in a partner who is experiencing a major adrenaline dump and you have the recipe for disaster. I remember one specific pursuit more than any other.

I was a rookie at the time in 1988. My field training officer, a Vietnam War vet, was going through an ugly divorce and uglier custody battle. Looking back now, I think he believed he would rather die a hero in the line of duty than live the dumpster fire his life was quickly turning into. Sadly, his reckless behavior and tombstone courage would cost him his job and eventually his very life, as he would commit suicide by cop in a neighboring state. A tragic end to a very troubled life. For the sake of this article, I’ll refer to him as simply Bob.

Bob was driving as we heard another unit on the other side of our sector in pursuit of a stolen vehicle. To those of you who may be new to law enforcement, there was actually a time when officers were allowed to pursue criminals. My, how times have changed. Bob immediately activated our lights and sirens and in his “throw caution to the wind” approach set out to cut off the stolen vehicle as it weaved its way in and out of traffic getting closer to us by the second. Bob made a sharp left turn at a high rate of speed onto West 35th Street from Colley Avenue. How he didn’t end up in my lap is a mystery to this day. An unexpected consequence of Bob's driving was my suddenly aerodynamic clipboard. It literally flew past my eyes and out my open window. Bob slammed on the brakes; I bailed out of the car to retrieve what only seconds earlier had been a brand-new clipboard. I jumped back in and off we went the engine screaming as Bob floored the accelerator. By the grace of God, the suspect got to 35th St. and Colonial Avenue about 5 seconds before we did. Had it not been for my runaway clipboard we would have been in the direct path of a stolen vehicle flipping end over end almost six times before coming to rest against a brick apartment building. The suspect, walked away from the scene, in handcuffs of course, but he did walk away. Had my clipboard not taken a massive beating, I am absolutely convinced I would have. I laugh about that story now, but at the time, not so much.

I’d like to share an epic divine pursuit that has been ongoing for 6,000 years give or take. In this pursuit, you and I are being pursued rather than doing the pursuing. Let me explain:

1)     God Walked with Man

The Bible begins with God’s Creation of the heavens and the earth. He creates Adam and Eve. I believe this to have actually happened and not to be symbolic, leaving folks room to come to their own interpretations. Anyway, as the story goes, Adam and Eve sinned or broke God’s law. And with that, the pursuit begins. We read in Genesis 3:8 that upon committing their sin, Adam and Eve hid from God as He came walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. So the first recorded account of God’s interaction with the human race is that of Him walking with Adam and Eve from time to time while not in Heaven. God popping in from time to time to check on His creation before returning to His Heavenly Throne. Kind of like the lieutenant on night shift, who makes an appearance from time to time.

2)     God Lives with but is Separated From Man

As the generations passed, mankind became even more rebellious toward God. God would have been more than just in washing His hands of the human race as a failed experiment, but He did not. Quite the contrary, He did something truly amazing as His pursuit for the hearts and souls of His rebellious creation intensified. 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 tells us that God MOVED TO earth taking up residence in a temporary tabernacle made of cloth initially, before moving into a permanent temple made of stone. It was a love for a rebellious creation that led a loving and just God to move to this earth. He was now with His creation, but separated from them as He inhabited a part of the tabernacle/temple called the Holy of Holies. God’s presence among His people did not lead to their turning over a new leaf of faithfulness. No, like their fathers before them they rebelled, turning their backs on God.

3)     God Becomes Man and Lives, Laughs, Loves, Eats, Cries, with Man

Having continued down the slippery slope of rebellion and sin, intent on self-destruction, God refused to give up on those who had given up on Him. God’s pursuit of His creation went next level when He took on flesh and blood and was birthed by the Virgin Mary. God became man, His name Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus Christ 100% God and 100% man. John 3:16 tells us God so loved the world that He would send His son Jesus Christ to give His life on an executioner’s cross to pay the price, the penalty for our sins. Don’t miss that, God became a man named Jesus and Jesus lived with mankind, not separated from them in any way. The God-man Jesus ate with His followers; He laughed, cried, and traveled with this ragtag group of disciples throughout Israel. What would you be willing to sacrifice in pursuit of people who hated you, denied your very existence, and mocked you at every turn? God was willing to sacrifice everything, to include the life of His only begotten Son. He was repaid by His creation with a sentence of death by crucifixion, at least that is what His creation thought they were doing, not realizing it was all a part of God’s pursuit for the hearts and souls of mankind.

4)     God Moves into the Temple of Man’s Heart

What more could God do in His pursuit of men and women, like you and I? 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20 tells us the next level God took. “Christ IN you”. God the Father has taken up residence inside the very lives of those who put their trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. For that man or woman, their very bodies become the living temple of God in which the Holy Spirit now resides.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says that He stands at the door of our heart and knocks. Anyone who opens the door to his or her life and invites Jesus in as Savior and Lord, He promises to enter in, and take up residence in the form of the Holy Spirit. Promising to never leave nor forsake those who put their trust in Him.

Bottom line is simply, Revelation 3:20 tells us God is in pursuit of each and every one of us to an extent we can’t fully comprehend. We have either been caught by Him having chosen to pull over and throw our arms up in the air and surrender. Or we can continue to run. If you are still being pursued, I’d encourage you to pull over, take the keys out of the ignition, and surrender. I can promise you it will be the best decision you have ever made. Take care, be safe, and I hope to see you at the finish line.

Chris Amos is a retired officer and former spokesperson for the Norfolk Virginia Police Department. He is currently the pastor at Chr1st Fellowship Church in Norfolk. He is married for over 30 years and is the proud father of three children, two of whom are police officers. He serves as the volunteer Chaplain for Norfolk Police Dept. and Norfolk Sheriff’s Office.

Officer Strategy: Understanding Human Nature and Basic Drives

BEHIND THE BADGE  - Human Nature and Basic Drives

By Lt. Joseph Pangaro BA, CPM, CSO

In recent times, we have seen several high-profile political people who have engaged in some inappropriate personal behavior: read that a former New York governor and former congressman that were headline news for quite a while. Both men were led astray by their base instincts and inner drives in the arena of personal sexual behavior, the result being the destruction of their careers and pain for their families.

Why would two such prominent men engage in such negative behavior? Were they arrogant in believing they could get away with it? Were they just plain stupid? The surface answer is probably a little of both, but the deeper question is what would drive these men and many others we can name pretty easily to step outside their familial relationships and engage in such risky actions. The answer to this question requires a greater understanding of human nature and the things that drive us as people.

As a police officer, if you want to be successful you will need to understand what makes people tick. We see evidence of this understanding in many of the processes of law enforcement and security organizations. 

Debriefing of a criminal is important. This is an interview that seeks information beyond that which you would need for a conviction in a trial. This type of interview is focused on “why” and “how” the criminal did what they did.

My partners and I would debrief suspects on almost any type of incident, from burglaries to thefts to frauds and especially in sexual cases. The information you learn in these interviews can be the key to preventing future crimes.

Understanding why a person committed a specific crime allows you to put a given set of facts into perspective and reveal patterns in behavior. It is not an exact science, but the information you learn can give the investigator insight into how certain people act and react in different instances.

Take house burglaries, for instance; if you are the victim of a house burglary it is a very difficult thing to accept. The feeling of being violated is ever present; having a stranger come into your home, walk around your house, in your children’s rooms, and go through your personal property can be devastating to some people. In contrast to how the victim feels, in the world of police work a house burglary is rather routine, something that happens quite often. How then do the police respond?

We would like to find some fingerprints at the scene and match them up to a known criminal, but that is not always possible. Some agencies do not process burglaries and some that do are not always good at it. Without that important piece of evidence we are left with hoping a neighbor saw something, noticed a person near the house, maybe they wrote down the plate of a car parked on the street or called the police to report it. These things, too, do not always take place. What we are left with is basic police investigation work 101. That’s where the debriefing interviews come in.

In a previous column, I discussed the reality of “Signature” actions by people who engage in criminal activity. This is where a criminal will find a way of doing their business that works for them. A way of committing their crimes that is comfortable for them and has been successful for them. An example would be the shoplifter who uses a friend to create a distraction to the clerk while they take the merchandise they want. When the team figures out what distraction works best they will use it over and over again; same is true for serial criminals: rapists, killers and other criminal actors.

Burglars are no different; they will choose the same type of houses, or houses in the same place on a block, such as corner properties, or houses that back up to woods. Some burglars will always break out the glass at the basement window, others will always break out the glass in the kitchen, and others will always shoulder the front door. Whatever signature they have, you can predict, to some degree; how, when and where they are likely to strike next. It is with this knowledge, gained from good solid debriefing interviews, that you can make a great investigator out of an ordinary investigator.

This understanding and acceptance that people do have signature actions; things they do all the time because it is comfortable for them, such as always driving in the left lane, or always taking a certain route to work or getting a specific cup of coffee etc. can provide understanding into the human mind. People are creatures of habit. Understanding human nature is a very important tool investigators use to solve crime. Getting good at reading the signatures left by criminals is an individual talent that police officers can develop.

Another “understanding” a good investigator needs to be proficient in is the basic human drives, the things that motivate all of us to one extent or another. These basic drives to eat, sleep and procreate all influence our daily actions.

We all feel the need to eat. We can skip a meal or two, but after a while we get that feeling that we have to eat and we will take actions to ensure we find some food. This drive has an obvious purpose. If we don’t eat, we starve and die, so it’s not something we have a choice about, it’s a drive.

The sexual drive is responsible for continuing our own families on the small scale and continuing the human species on a larger scale. This is one of the most powerful drives we have. By looking to our own experience, we can all come up with examples of how this drive has been a blessing or a curse. We were driven to say hello to someone we liked, which led to dating and maybe marriage or family. That’s a good outcome because the drive was controlled. We also know of people who get themselves in trouble because of their sex drive.

Inappropriate comments, sexual harassment of the kind reportedly experienced in the governor’s office in Albany, is a very clear examples of this drive’s negative side.

Understanding how these drives in our nature make us tick can help us solve these crimes. When does a person go from a healthy sex drive to one that is inappropriate, then to one that is criminal?

These people have signature actions as well as the burglar. The investigator has to simply uncover enough of the facts and actions of a particular crime to begin to see a picture of the person who is committing it. With that understanding we can begin to “think like the criminal” and anticipate when and where they will attack next.Whether it’s is a particular food we can’t live without or a dark desire that invades a person’s mind day and night, those drives can be identified and revealed.

These two important investigative understandings can keep our police ahead of the criminals who prey on us. They need to be properly trained and take the techniques seriously, use them on a regular basis and look for the signatures.

In the end, only the people who engage in these behaviors can explain why they did what they did in any given incident, but the rest of us can be aware of the patterns. It is for this reason that we have to be very careful with serial sexual predators in particular. The sex drive is very powerful. A sex drive that is out of control is dangerous. The reality of Megan’s Laws tells us that the large majority of people with a criminal sexual drive do not change their behavior; they just get better at hiding it. Eventually, many of them will seek to prey on us again.

A serial burglar may be driven by the desire for “things” or money, but a criminal who acts based on a human drive rarely changes. For them we must beware.

Let me know what you think.    JPangaro@Yahoo.com

Lt. Joseph Pangaro retired after serving 27 years at a police department in Monmouth County, NJ, having served as the Lead Training Officer. Pangaro is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickenson University’s Certified Public Managers Program (CPM). He’s a newspaper columnist who writes about the rigors and joys in law enforcement. Joseph Pangaro is the CEO and President of Pangaro Training and Management, and Pangaro Global Training, an online training company. E-mail at: JPangaro@TrueSecurityDesign.com www.TrueSecurityDesign.com

Body Armor Failures: Is An Extra Three Inches Too Much To Ask For?

Is An Extra Three Inches Too Much To Ask For?
By: Kirk Lawless

Three inches extra doesn’t seem like too much to ask for; especially when it comes to your safety and well-being. I’m talking about your body armor, so listen up.

We’ve come a long way in the technology of body armor and its ability to stop a projectile from entering your body. The misnomer since we started this journey was the use of the term “bullet proof.” We now refer to it as “bullet resistant.” That’s a simple way to say “There is no guarantee that body armor will 100% stop anything fired upon us from getting inside our bodies uninvited.”

When you’re a young copper, (myself included) you feel a bit invincible, even more so when that vest goes on and you head out to your shift. You may be gullible and accept what your department spoon feeds you. Or, you’ll do your own research and pay attention, at least to this article, or something similar and enlighten yourself.

First, there are some cops who just flat out refuse to wear body armor, ever.  That’s just foolish. Now, there are special circumstances when body armor is impractical, such as working in an undercover capacity, narcotics for instance. 

If you don’t wear any body armor and some shit bird wants to put metal to your meat, it will happen with monotonous regularity! I know lots of cops who have been shot and survived, some got penetrated, some were saved from grievous injury by their body armor. Some were killed, when obviously hit somewhere that wasn’t protected by body armor. Some got shot up so bad they had to go off the job. Many ended up paralyzed.

28 May 2012, one of my police brothers got bushwhacked by an asshole who popped out of a dumpster and hit my friend three times. Over a television taken in a home invasion robbery. Hit three times and lying on the asphalt, my friend couldn’t move, but he heard enough movement near him that he believed the guy was coming back to deliver the coup de grace. That did not happen. His assailant was captured. My good friend was paralyzed and to this day is confined to a wheelchair.

Here’s the lesson. The politicians and brass (for the most part) do not give a solitary damn about us, especially when it comes to money. 

Corporate America is usually protected by the courts, and the cities and police department are often granted “sovereign immunity.” My friend found out that there was a problem, a huge problem.  The problem was with his body armor.

Quite simply, the vest failed him. Just like the police department failed him, just like the politicians failed him.

My brother filed a lawsuit against the city, the PD and primarily, the body armor company. Not shocking, the city, the PD and everybody else involved on that end were quickly off the hook. That left the body armor company holding the bag.

Here’s what my brother officer and his wife (expecting their first child when he was shot) learned.  One of the rounds that entered his body did so after passing through a panel of his vest. The vest company argued that because of the trajectory of the bullet, once fired, it could not be stopped by their product. Just like that.  The company added that the outer three inches around each panel was incapable of stopping projectiles (within their NIJ rating) 81% of the time. Eighty-one percent! Did you know that? I didn’t! Take your vest panels out right now and measure three inches all the way around that thing and see how much less coverage there is, where you stand a 19% chance of it stopping a projectile!  Now check the date on that thing. If it’s expired (or getting close) demand a new one! Right now!  Would you drink spoiled milk or chug the last of the bottle at midnight on the expiration date?

Inspect it from every angle.  Check for creases or bunched-up areas in the panels. Guess what?  Those are weak spots. And weak spots are potential entry points for metallic things, traveling at high velocities, wanting to play hide and seek in your guts with a trauma surgeon.

The vest company won the case in court. The company suggested that when it instructed all of us on how to wear a vest (nobody ever told me about how to wear a vest in 28 years on the job) after we were fitted (“fitted” as in a tape measure thrown around your chest and “Hey, Charlie this guy’s a 2x). They also suggested that the vest overlap, front panel over rear panel.  This is all bullshit. If we were lucky the panels touched or maybe came close.

My suggestion, wear a military armor plate carrier with side plates and anti-spall coating. 

Look on YouTube for the CEO of the vest company (PPSS) testing his own product, or look up Richard Davis, who has shot himself more than 200 times while wearing his product.

As far as the brass and politicians are concerned, “It’s cheaper to bury a cop, than fix one.”

Three inches would cost them a little over $50 per vest. Certainly we are worth way more than that!

Kirk Lawless is a 28 year, decorated, veteran police officer from the St Louis area. He’s a former SWAT operator, narcotics agent, homicide investigator, detective and Medal of Valor recipient. Off the job due to an up close and personal gunfight, he now concentrates on writing. He’s a patriotic warrior, artist, poet, actor, musician, and man of peace.

Stay Focused: Law Enforcement is Making an Impact

We can indeed make an impact
By: Dale Gabriel

This Pennsylvania State Police Memory is actually one from just a few years back, long after my retirement. In law enforcement, it can often be very difficult to know if you are actually making an impact or not. You are typically seeing people at their worst most of the time. Car crashes, victims of crime, delivering bad news, arresting them, issuing them traffic citations. That is one of the biggest reasons I really enjoyed doing programs, working with kids.

Today's world, including many of our political leaders and the media, display not only a total lack of respect, but also a complete hatred for police officers. They seek out the worst, a very small percentage of bad things, and make it seem like this is ALL law enforcement. I try to remember and point out to my current brothers and sisters in blue to never forget that every little thing you do matters. You can make an impact on someone's life with just the smallest gesture.

A couple years back, I was at a funeral home paying my respects to a fallen local firefighter. A familiar-looking young lady, probably early to mid- 20s kept looking at me, giving me THAT stare. My wife even noticed, as long-time police wives do, and asked if I had any "dealings" with her. It was just a reminder that being a police officer affects not only you, but also your entire family.

Finally, the girl approached me and asked that "loaded" question. Are you Trooper Gabriel. Everything rushed back. I hoped that I had not arrested her or a family member. I reluctantly told her that I was indeed Trooper Gabriel, but that was a lifetime ago, that I had retired a few years ago.

She then told me that I gave her Brownie Troop a tour of our station about 16 years ago, and that I was so cool! It made me chuckle. Cool? I am not often mistaken for someone "cool." As our station's community service officer, my absolutely FAVORITE part of the job, I had put on hundreds of programs, tours of the barracks, programs for schools, scout troops, church groups, 4-H, and so many more. It was DEFINITELY my favorite thing in my career. I loved anything with kids, really. I worked steady midnights, so often; I did these on my own time just because I loved it so much.

Anyway, she went on to tell me that the program made such an impact on her. She told me that it was informative, but fun, and scary, yet exciting all at the same time. She reminded me that I handcuffed her leader, smacked something with my expandable baton, things I knew that I always did during programs. And I chuckled a bit. She went on to tell me that she remembered so much that I told her troop about what it was like to be a police officer that she never forgot, including difficult things like relaying death messages. I thought what a weird thing for a kid to remember, but that led to her telling me that her mother was killed in an accident a few years after that, and it made her think of me. While mourning the loss of her mother, she felt bad for the trooper who had to tell them.

We chatted for a few minutes. She told me she had 3 kids and can't wait for them to be old enough to do things like learning about the police as she did. She hugged me and thanked me, and told me she was happy I was retired and "never got shot or anything."

I thanked her for the memory. I am a very emotional person. Needless to say, as she walked away, I shed some tears. It served as a great reminder of how we can indeed make an impact, even when we do not realize it.

Dale Gabriel is a retired patrol and community services officer with the Pennsylvania State Police. After 25+ years of service, in retirement, he has been working on a book of his many PSP memories. He also coaches a baseball team in a Miracle League for those with special needs. He holds a communication degree with English minor from Saint Vincent College in Western Pennsylvania.

MANAGING EDITOR’S POINT OF VIEW

Who doesn't remember the iconic line, "You can't handle the truth," from the movie A Few Good Men (1992)? The line in the original script was, "You already have the truth." But actor Jack Nicholson improvised a little and in the process made movie history.

Even for those who are not conspiracy minded, on the heels of National Police Week tributes, feelings deep within must tell you that something isn't right with much of our current situation.

While others may attempt to defend their indefensible lies and false narratives, the journalistic prowess of our BLUE Magazine writers, who have their fingers on the pulse of the front lines, consistently hit the mark in advance of legacy media.

WE TRIED TO TELL YOU…

With honest, fair and uncannily prophetic articles we've published about topics in advance of many current events such as ahead of the verdict in the Michigan governor “kidnapping” case FBI: Pot Calling The Kettle Black (Sheriff David Clarke – first published online March 2022), before the Russian Ukraine invasion we ran Are we on the verge of WWIII? Peace and Global Security is Jeopardized (Special Agent Eric Caron – November 2021), and as far back as May of 2020 we published Uncertainty The Road Ahead (Daniel Del Valle, George Beck Ph.D., and Joel E. Gordon) questioning how long the goodwill toward policing would last during the COVID pandemic before we were once again vilified, to name a few… and the list goes on!

While some seek to control every aspect of our lives; what we read, write, say, what you're allowed to publish, or post on social media, the independent voice of law enforcement remains strong, decisive and on point with honest commentary based upon real world experience. How can we see into the future? By understanding and learning from the lessons of our past.

There’s no room for neutrality. We will stand up for what's right and tell policy makers what's what. That's the idea behind speaking truth to power, as we courageously confront authority; calling out injustices on our collective watch, and demanding change where necessary for the common good. Our voices remain powerful and our experience, professionalism and expertise will continue to withstand the test of time.

Not to be outdone, in this issue…

Don’t miss the article on the legendary Joseph Wambaugh by Lori Cooper. Human Nature and Basic Drives are explored by Lt. Joseph Pangaro, and our Cover Story interview of Florida Sheriff Grady Judd conducted by Blue Magazine’s Catherine Angel, is a must read as is this entire edition of Blue Magazine!

Stay safe and strong. Reach out and join us as we work together in our belief in truth and for justice for all.

Joel E. Gordon
Managing Editor

A True Legend: Joseph Wambaugh Interview

JOSEPH WAMBAUGH: A COP, CREATIVE WRITING GENIUS, AND AWARD-WINNING BOOK, TELEVISION, AND MOVIE SCREENPLAY WRITER AND CONSULTANT, ON HIS CAREER AND POLICING IN AMERICA TODAY
By Lori Cooper

A few years ago, I had the audacity to write to Joseph Wambaugh, who now casually signs his name in every response as just "Joe," or "Joe W.," a representation of how many times we've corresponded. The need for formality in his full name had now been reduced to what friends do: to simply call each other by the shortened version of their first names.

A complicated man whose tough interior shifts with topics about his days from earning an MA degree in literature, to his 21 works of bestselling nonfiction and fictional tales about the lives of the American police officer, to his titles that were adapted into major motion pictures and made-for-TV movies, Joe Wambaugh has almost come to peace with a life where he feels his work, and his name, have all but been forgotten.

After graduating from high school in Ontario, California, he entered the United States Marine Corp, serving a three-year tour-of-duty. At the age of 18, he married his high school sweetheart, Dee Allsup. When he entered the Los Angeles Police Department in May of 1960, he'd already earned his Bachelor's degree in English, taking advantage of the G.I. Bill subsidy offered to members of the service, along with classes he could take on his off-duty hours. Wambaugh added, about his longstanding marriage to his high school sweetheart, "We were married when I was a Marine and she was a telephone operator.  We are both hard workers who don’t back off when things are difficult. We just had our 66th anniversary on November 26th, so the marriage will probably endure the rest of the way."

During his first eight years on the LAPD, he worked various assignments and returned to his alma mater, California State, Los Angeles, where, again, on his off-duty hours as a cop, he majored in English and earned an MA in literature by 1968. He also worked his way up the ranks to becoming a detective sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department. He was likely the only cop to have ever earned a master's degree in literature in 1968, with his first three books he'd also write while serving for the LAPD. Joe Wambaugh's undeniable career successes read like an A-to-Z collection of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

My late dad had been a police officer in Columbus, Ohio during a time when Wambaugh, himself, was serving for the Los Angeles Police Department. Shot in the line of duty in 1972 by a career criminal who had eluded authorities for more than four decades, I explained in my first piece of correspondence that it was my own search that had resulted in the apprehension of my late dad's shooter exactly 44 years later, a man who Wambaugh would undoubtedly call a sociopath. It was a term I had read that he used frequently through the years in relation to criminals without a conscience. In fact, I'd also read where he believed it was safe to suggest that about 95% of those who committed heinous crimes were nothing but sociopaths.

I knew I needed to write our family's true crime story, one that was so outrageous and inconceivable it defied almost every piece of fiction I had ever read, but never having written anything more than business  prose, I dreamed of having the ability to ask the 'father of the modern police novel' for any wisdom he might be up to sharing with this daughter of a late 'copper,' another Wambaugh-ism for those he admired and respected who wore blue and carried a badge: the American cop. He was kind enough to share some of his thoughts, too.

I explained to Wambaugh, in that same piece of correspondence, that my late father had been a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club in the late 1960s and early 1970s, receiving all of his books that were always best sellers. Wambaugh went for the gusto when he wrote "The New Centurions" in 1970, his novel he described as the "first really true story about modern-day policing in an urban environment." He knew that it would never be approved by the department or its then-chief, Ed Davis, so he sent it out without the department's approval.

As the story goes, Wambaugh's first novel became a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and so my dad had received a copy of it, along with so many more. During a time when I was 8 years old and supposed to be reading the novels that were a part of the classics in "The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories," I was instead reading my dad's cop books written by Wambaugh about the reality of how 'the job' affected a cop's life. Many of his subjects dealt with the escape into alcohol use, marriages that failed, and all of the fortitude that went along with those who were Wambaugh's main characters in his first novel,"The New Centurions," about three academy graduates from the same class, and how their personal and professional lives as cops evolved and changed over a five-year period.

I learned about the character of William "Bumper" Morgan in Wambaugh's second book, "The Blue Knight," and the hardest 'beat' of his life in a gritty and witty beat cop who was on the verge of retirement after 20 years as a patrol officer. Cynical and idealistic at the same time, there's a little bit of "Bumper" Morgan in Joe Wambaugh, in my opinion.

But the third book of Wambaugh's career, "The Onion Field," revered as the best true-crime story ever written alongside Truman Capote's, "In Cold Blood,"earned him a jacket review by Capote, something Wambaugh believed to be a real honor. When asked how he had met Truman Capote, Wambaugh explained, "I met Truman on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He and my wife became acquainted in the Green Room, and he invited us to his Palm Springs home for lunch."

All of Wambaugh's first three books were adapted into films, with "The Onion Field" the first work of nonfiction he had written by 1973. Despite his belief that even young cops aren't aware of his name or his award-winning books and films, I have challenged him about his notion of that thought, having spoken with so many cops, retired and active-duty, who believe this title to be the one that changed the trajectory of policing forever. In my own cynical ways, I feel anyone who is or has been a cop, a reader of true crime books, or an avid viewer of true crime movies, would have to have lived under a rock to not have read, have viewed, or at least have heard about "The Onion Field." When I asked Joe about this topic, he capitulated in a response that still gives me cold shivers: "If policing became more sensitive to the psychological wounds suffered by cops, and not just the physical wounds, then yes, I am proud of that," he replied.

Just in case there's one person or cop who hasn't heard of this book or film, it's based on the lives of LAPD Officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger, who made a traffic stop in 1963. Officer Campbell's gun was stripped from him by one of two sociopaths in the vehicle, and both officers were kidnapped and driven to an onion field, where Campbell was executed, and Hettinger ran, escaping his own death. Hettinger would suffer from incredible amounts of 'survivor's guilt' and what we now know to be post-traumatic stress syndrome, otherwise called PTSD. He was forced to resign in 1966 and died at the age of 59. When I asked Joe Wambaugh out of all of his books who his favorite character was, he proclaimed, "possibly Karl Hettinger because of how much he suffered and endured."

Along the same subject matter, I asked Wambaugh, in his opinion, which film adapted from all of his books he would suggest was the best, and, while I was not surprised, he responded with "The Onion Field.” When I asked why he felt it was the best, his answer was, "because it was faithful to the book. That is because I wrote the screenplay and self-financed [the film] and raised more money to maintain control [of the film].”

Wambaugh retired from the LAPD in 1974, after serving 14 years. With his first three books making the best seller lists, the first two were adapted into films rather quickly. "The New Centurions" was on The New York Times best seller list for 32 straight weeks and opened to worldwide film audiences in August of 1972, while "The Blue Knight" aired to television audiences in 1973. Joe Wambaugh had become famous, and with that fame and notoriety came a myriad of problems he deemed too disruptive to the business of police work, forcing him to leave his beloved job for the LAPD and become a full-time writer. There were pranks at his station house, some officers with whom he served who treated him differently, and guest invitations on the talk show circuit, to name a few. When I asked how many appearances he'd made on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson, alone, he answered with a humble reply of, "I don't know how many [for sure] but several."

Though he would go on to write 18 more books and create the popular television anthology, "Police Story" in 1974, Wambaugh has decidedly elected to put down his pen and paper to simply reminisce on all the work of his past, leaving future stories to those who may continue to attempt to succeed his award-winning work in true crime books and cop dramas.

Suggesting "The Sopranos" was the only television show beyond his own he ever watched with any consistency, he also has added,"I have not been approached on the street or in any public place for at least 30 years. I am not a movie star, just a writer. I am not sure that people read books the way they used to do, so my guess is that no writers are frequently recognized and approached for autographs. Not only has the general public forgotten me, but even young cops have no idea who I am these days. And not all of the older cops remember my name, either. It’s a different world, Lori."

Just like there can only be one Fred Astaire, regarded as the greatest popular-music dancer of all time, there can only be one Michael Jackson, referred to as the "King of Pop" and one of the most significant cultural figures and the greatest entertainer in the history of music. As for the greatest true crime writer of books, films, and television, particularly in the subsegment genre of cop dramas, there can only be one famed, icon, regarded as the most significant game changer in the portrayal of the life and times of the American police officer, and that individual will always be, hands-down, Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh.

Finally, when asked what recommendations he would make to anyone who wants to become a law enforcement officer, Wambaugh responded with the good humor and great candor that nobody like him possesses. He said, "In my book, Hollywood Station, ‘the Oracle,’ a senior sergeant, tells young cops that doing good police work is the most fun that they will ever have in their lives. I do not know if that is still true." He also noted, “If you want love, join the fire department. People needy of approval should not become cops."

Lori Cooper is the daughter of a late Columbus, Ohio police officer shot in the line of duty and whose perpetrator eluded authorities for 44 years until her own search resulted in his apprehension. Her story, featured by hundreds of news organizations, catapulted her to success as an expert law enforcement advocate, where she now writes for law enforcement media groups and is a highly acclaimed guest on national radio and television. An Ohio University Social Studies Major, she has written a book about her story, titled THE SOUND OF SILENCE. She can be reached at www.WriterLoriCooper.com

FBI: Pot Calling The Kettle Black

FBI: Pot Calling The Kettle Black
By David A. Clarke Jr., Sheriff (Ret.) Milwaukee County

This headline refers to a proverb that I remember my parents saying to me when I was little boy. It means, “someone guilty of something they accuse another of.” This is very appropriate in the case of behavior by the United States Department of Justice and their investigative arm, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Like every other law enforcement agency, they carry a sense of trust given by the public. It is a sacred trust that must be closely guarded because once law enforcement loses that trust, it is very hard to regain. Nobody needs a corrupt law enforcement agency. I stressed that every day in my time as sheriff of Milwaukee County. The reason is that law enforcement agencies have awesome government power and authority. They can make arrests summarily. Due process doesn’t kick in until afterward. In addition to that, the word of a law enforcement officer carries more weight in report writing and testimony under oath in a court of law. Think about that.

So, when I read accounts about the FBI violating not only its own internal policies but violating people’s rights under the U.S. Constitution, suffice it to say I was not surprised, and I should have been. The reason I wasn’t surprised is because this agency has exhibited a pattern of this behavior for a while now. Just like with state and local law enforcement agencies, they are dealing with the human element in their personnel. Every so often an officer goes outside their documented policies and goes over to the dark side to commit egregious violations of the public trust. There is a difference, however, between a one-off that occurs in local law enforcement agencies and the pattern being exhibited by the FBI.

This goes back to the 2016 presidential election where FBI agents ran with a fake dossier from a previously discredited source by the British intel agency MI5 about then-candidate Donald Trump as the basis to secure a search warrant to wiretap Trump’s campaign. This dossier reached the highest levels of the Bureau. It is not too much to ask the FBI to do its due diligence in getting secondhand information before running to a magistrate seeking a warrant especially involving a wiretap on a presidential campaign. Any local law enforcement officer would know that they have to look at the source and vet him or her for trustworthiness before using the information. They have to tell the judge that they have relied on this source in the past and he is considered reliable. But it doesn’t stop there.

A former FBI lawyer involved in the Trump investigation pleaded guilty to altering an email that the showed source was not a source with the CIA, when the original email indicated that the source was a source used by the CIA. Follow that?

Now, there is this. In 2019, a Judge ruled that the FBI had gone too far in a search warrant raid and delivered a blistering account of those raids in a case involving a Wall Street financier. The FBI said in a statement that a typographical error in the warrant was to blame. The judge called it recklessness. That’s not all.

Now the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is asking the U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General to review FBI agents’ failure to follow rules in sensitive domestic investigations that came to light in an internal audit. Senate Judiciary officials said that, “The violations are widespread and systemic. The sheer number of investigations that fail to comply with Domestic Investigation and Operations Guide rules suggest a pattern and practice of evading rules which opens the door for political and other improper considerations to affect the decision-making process.” That is a scathing indictment. The same audit found that FBI agents violated their own rules 747 times in 18 months while conducting sensitive investigations involving individuals engaged in politics, government, the news media and religious groups. This, ladies and gentlemen, is cultural in nature. To call this department rule violations is putting it kindly. These are violations of people’s constitutional rights. These are civil rights violations. It has become standard operating procedure within the FBI. Worse yet, nobody will be held accountable. The Bureau gave the perfunctory statement about taking this seriously. Sure, now that they have been caught. FBI Director Christopher Wray’s credibility in now under question by the House Judiciary Committee for past discrepancies about these violations in previous testimony before the House Committee.

Here is why I bring this up. I have said over and over again that when law enforcement is right, I will defend them to the wall, but when law enforcement officers and agencies are wrong, I will call them out. The FBI and USDOJ never hesitate with breakneck speed to parachute into a local community when a police use of force occurs, especially when the officer is white and the suspect is black. They turn over every rock looking for the slightest thing that might suggest wrongdoing. They do this without being asked and before the local investigation is completed. They misread statistical data on traffic stops and declare a local agency guilty of a pattern and practice of racial discrimination and then arm-twist them into a consent decree basically taking the agency over, thus federalizing local law enforcement. During the Obama administration, they conducted 22 pattern and practice investigations. They found local agencies guilty of it in 21 cases. That doesn’t pass the smell test folks. They know that weak-kneed mayors will fall on the sword and not fight the ruling. This places the city’s officers under a cloud of suspicion and has them spending time away from the street and filling out onerous federal reports on traffic stops, field interview incidents and even minor uses of force. Then some cop-hating activists exploit the collected data to hammer the officers as engaging in targeting black residents. It is a basic truth that high-crime areas in urban centers have high percentages of black residents. It is also true that a high percentage of crime and violence involves black perpetrators. It stands to reason, then, that most traffic violators, field interview stops and arrests will involve black people. That isn’t targeting. It is a statistical reality.

I would suggest that the FBI focus on a culture change within their own agency. Their credibility and public trust are in the toilet. It reminds me of a Bible passage in Matthew 7:3-5 in thinking about the behavior of the FBI. It says, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye (local law enforcement)and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

It is a classic example of the meaning of the pot calling the kettle black.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of Americas Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com

Police Officer Andrew Barr

Police Officer Andrew Barr
Article & Artwork by Jonny Castro

On April 24 2022, Cayce South Carolina Police Officers responded to a residence for a report of a domestic disturbance; as officers were speaking with another individual outdoors the suspect opened fire from inside. Officer Andrew Barr was struck and killed. After a seven hour barricaded standoff with police, the gunman took his own life.

Officer Barr was no stranger to life as a first responder. As a teenager, he began working as a volunteer firefighter obtaining the rank of Captain and was also a skilled EMT. Andrew Barr was hired by the Cayce Police Department in 2016 and served in the K9 unit with his Black Lab Retriever partner “Molly”. It was the job that he always dreamed of having. Back when he was still a trainee, he was shot and wounded in the line of duty by a gunman following a stolen car pursuit. That shooting never slowed him down or discouraged him from his career in law enforcement. He lived to serve and help people, and he did that until the very end. Officer Barr was 27-years old.

BIDEN'S DISINFORMATION CZAR (Just what we needed; not)

By: Lt. Patrick J. Ciser (Ret.)

How ironic is it that the Biden Administration is now going to regulate free speech along political lines? With the numerous gaffes and blatant lies that have come out of our current president’s mouth over the last 40- plus years, he might need to assign someone to constantly fact check him alone.

Our younger generation, I would imagine, has no clue as to what I’m referring to, so per- haps I should give a few examples. Biden was quite adept at plagiarizing other politicians’ speeches back in the day. One such example being when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. While campaigning, he plagiarized British Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnoc; and as a result, he later withdrew from the race.

He also frequently boasted that he graduated in the top half of his law school class at Syracuse University, when he actually was 76, out of a class of 85. Mr. Biden at that time also claimed that he had three degrees, when in fact he only had one; a B.A. in history and political science.

According to Alana Goodman, of the Washington Examiner, he made the following claims, which were all found to be figments of his imagination. He was shot at in Iraq, he was a coal miner, and his helicopter was forced down and he discovered where Osama bin Laden’s safe house was in the mountains of Afghanistan. Remember in 2020 when Biden told a 20-something Black female that cops don’t pull over white girls?

So now, Biden is creating a “Disinformation Governance Board” under the Department of Homeland Security, which kind of reminds us all of the Facebook and Twitter fact checkers. How is it, even with tons of circumstantial evidence, and also some real evidence (see Dinesh D’Souza’s 2000 Mules documentary) that no one is “allowed” to say that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election? However, it’s fine when Democrats make similar claims.

Hillary Clinton said on multiple occasions that Trump didn’t win the election in 2016 with zero repercussions from the liberal left. What’s worse is that she spouted lies about Trump “colluding” with Russia, which we now know was a plot to bring Trump’s presidency down. The John Durham investigation is finally heating up, and the truth will come out soon enough. It appears at this stage that Clapper, Brennen, and certain members within the FBI, among others, were “all-in” with the Steele dossier hoax in order to stop Donald Trump.

The BS Mueller report cost taxpayers millions, and hampered Trump’s ability to govern his entire term; not to mention destroying the man’s reputation and keeping him from a second term. Hey! Who’s going to vote for a “Russian Agent?” Stacey Abrams never conceded the governor’s race to Brian Kemp and constantly claims Republican fraud, but of course that’s also fine, because she has a “D” after her last name.

How many times have “fact checkers’’ stifled actual facts? Conservatives said early on that COVID-19 probably came from the Wuhan Lab, but according to the left, that was practically sacrilege! Then the liberals, thinking everyone  is as stupid as they are, insisted that it came from a bat at    a Wuhan wet market, and properly excoriated us on social media.

Remember when Hydroxychloroquine was demonized by the left? Not because it didn’t help you recover from COVID, but because Donald Trump said that it showed some promise. Countless doctors came under fire on YouTube and other media platforms because they agreed with Trump. Ivermectin was another drug showing promise in fighting the pandemic with reliable studies coming out of Israel. But whenever someone would tout its effectiveness, fact checkers came out of the woodwork, only to find out later that it was indeed, effective.

A Disinformation Board is only good for one thing; controlling the information that gets out and that supports the Democrats’ progressive agenda. Look who Biden picked to head the board? Nina Jankowicz, who, crazy enough, has a history of spreading disinformation. In October 2020 when the New York Post broke the Hunter Biden laptop story,   she was screaming from the rooftops that it was “Russian disinformation!” Twitter, Facebook/Instagram, and others banned any talk of the laptop, and probably with that act alone, kept Donald Trump from winning a second term.

A poll taken after the fact and the November election, said that 1 in 7 Biden voters would not have supported Sleepy Joe had they known about the Hunter Biden laptop and the incriminating evidence within. Today, even the ultra liberal Washington Post admits that the laptop story was legit, and Hunter is now under investigation by the FBI.

So in the end, if the Biden Administration succeeds in getting its wish, it’ll be like the wolves watching the henhouse; stay tuned.

(UPDATE: The Department of Homeland Security, ac- cording to various news sources, announced that it has “paused” the creation of the “Government Disinformation Board.” In addition to this, Nina Jankowicz, has resigned.)

 Pat Ciser is a retired lieutenant from the Clifton Police Department, and a 7th Degree Black Belt. He was a member of 5 U.S. Karate Teams, win- ning gold medals in South America and Europe. He is the Author of BUDO and the BADGE; Ex- ploits of a Jersey Cop (BN.com/Amazon), and is a guest writer for Official Karate Magazine

Chief Thomas Walsh: R2R Training is a Must-Attend for All Officers

Feature Interview: Chief Thomas Walsh’s R2R Training is a must-attend for all officers
By George Beck, Ph.D.

Chief Thomas Walsh’s course “Rookie to Retirement” (R2R) is a must-attend for all officers. Attendees of R2R will experience an in-depth look at what they should be doing in order to avoid the pitfalls associated with losing the job and steps they should be taking to not just reach the finish line of retirement, but achieve a fulfilling life after your career.

We recently spoke with Chief Walsh about his R2R course, as well as his law enforcement career and tips for officer success on the job and in retirement. Chief Walsh is an energetic, motivated and very talented instructor who helps many officers understand the importance of planning for retirement, avoiding professional issues, and living their best life. Chief Walsh’s class, hosted by the wildly popular Street Cop Training, is scheduled for June 13, 2022 in Deptford, New Jersey. For more information head over to Streetcoptraining.com or you can email Chief Walsh directly at tomwalsh@streetcoptraining.

What was the impetus for developing the Rookie to Retirement class?

I started my full-time law enforcement career on Christmas Eve in 1996.  As I was waiting for briefing to start for my very first shift, a salty old sergeant looked at me and snapped a Polaroid picture of me sitting in a chair in the squad room.  He shook the photo to expedite the processing, then looked at it and threw it at me.  He said to me, “Hold onto that photo, sport, and look back on it when you are about to retire, you’re going to be surprised how quick 25 years goes by.”  That sergeant was correct.

Twenty-five years went by really fast.   I spent the next three or four years with that sergeant and other than that advice, he didn’t give me much more advice or wisdom that could have helped me navigate this career.  As I was cleaning out my desk during my last few days at the agency, I came across that photograph.   I looked at the picture of myself and though to myself, “What would I say to the me in that picture now?   If I had eight hours to talk with that 23-year-old kid on his first day, what wisdom would I impart to him to help ensure that he would make it to the end, not get jammed up, keep his marriage intact, not burn professional bridges, live a longer life, retire on his terms when the time comes, set himself up financially and so much more.”  That is really the impetus for the course.  A culmination of personal life lessons coupled with advice provided to me along the way by some great mentors.

The class covers getting to the finish line of this career and getting to retirement. Does the class cover on-duty and off-duty behavior that gets officers jammed up?

Absolutely. And, why wouldn’t it? When I start to go over the importance of proper on duty and off duty behavior, I sometimes see the occasional eye roll from a student.  But, it is so critically important to go over the behaviors that I have repeatedly seen end officers’ careers.  All too often, these were so preventable. I use funny stories and real-life scenarios that hit home for the students as a wake up call to get their behavior in check.

Do you go over state specific retirement figures?

Yes, 100%. During a certain segment of the course, I cover the state-specific retirement system for the state where I am teaching.  Since I am from Jersey, I am well-versed in the PFRS system.  I lay out the numbers and figures line by line when contemplating retirement and I show the students exactly what a take-home retirement check looks like as opposed to being employed.  It’s really a powerful and mind-blowing portion of the class.  The rumble in the audience when I layout that if I remained working, I would be essentially going to work for $2.78/hr is always very satisfying for me.

- The age of retirement for a chief in NJ may be changed to 67. This suggests that many chiefs stick around a long time and want to be around longer. How difficult was it for you decide to retire? 

It wasn't a very difficult decision for me. When I ran the numbers, financially it was a "no-brainer."  I lay the financial piece all out in the class, line-by-line.  When you see the pension payment laid out in black and white, it is hard to justify staying. So, from a financial aspect, the decision was very easy. The pension system, coupled with two outside investment vehicles for a majority of my career, made that the easiest part of the decision-making process. The hardest part was just coming to terms with the change itself.  I discuss this in the class as well. Adjusting to change in general, leaving behind a 25-year career doing something you love, walking away from working day-in and day-out with some of the greatest friends and colleagues a guy could ask for; this was the most difficult part of leaving the job.

- Officers who stay beyond 25 years are potentially risking getting jammed up, why do they take this risk?

There are a multitude of reasons why so many officers take this risk and do not retire when eligible.  And, it is a huge risk.  As you say, they are potentially risking their pension or more if they get jammed up or if someone under their command gets jammed up.  While some of the reasons are valid (an impending promotion) many of the reasons are excuses, invalid and completely avoidable. If the officer took the time to prepare for retirement at a very early point in their career and continually evaluated those plans, retirement would have probably been a much easier decision and transition. That's why it is so important for me to get all the course content from R2R to younger officers.

- What is the best advice to avoid what I call the “police identity crisis” where an officer’s identity is defined by their profession?

We see this all too often, and it is one of the biggest contributors to officers having a hard time adjusting in retirement, or having a hard time to even make the decision to "pull the plug." I use a short movie clip in my class from An Officer and a Gentleman where Richard Gere breaks down when the USMC Drill Instructor tells him that he is going to kick him out of US Navy Flight School Boot Camp, and he screams "I got nowhere else to go." So many officers feel like that at the end of a career. They have let the job consume them and they literally have nothing else.  My advice is to maintain your friendships outside law enforcement, do not only socialize with police officers outside work, cultivate hobbies, and realize as soon as you can that one day, this job will come to an end and a new chapter will begin.

- What’s your take on officers using retirement countdown clocks to track the months, days, hours, minutes until they are eligible to retire? I often tell officers to be careful with these apps because they are counting down the days of their lives and now’s the time to live and enjoy. Waiting for retirement to come to start enjoying life is a sad mindset in my humble opinion.

Wow! I feel like you have already taken the course. This is another topic discussed in the class. I installed one of those apps on my phone about two months out from my retirement date. I solely did it as a joke so that when someone asked me how long I had left, I could look at it and respond, "Five days, two hours and fifty some-odd minutes.” While I did this for entertainment purposes more than anything else, I know officers who have those countdown apps on their phones two weeks out of the academy. I just find that terribly sad. If a career is so bad that you need to count down the days like a prison sentence, then that is exactly how it will feel ... like a prison sentence.  Time is the most valuable commodity that we have.  Life is short; it shouldn't be spent wishing it away. This career has provided me some of the best experiences in my life, officers should embrace the opportunity to live life in the moment and enjoy the ride.

-You mentioned keeping your marriage intact while surviving a 25-year career in policing, what are some tips for this?

I'm not a marriage counselor or relationship expert, so I don't feel qualified to give out too much advice on this topic.  This career really has the propensity to take a toll on relationships.  This includes all relationships including; personal, professional and marital. I don't think there is any easy fix or simple words of advice that would ensure anyone makes a whole career with their marriage intact. I think it really says something about the spouse of a police officer, if the marriage is still together. I guess that would be my one piece of advice; make sure that your potential spouse has a very clear understanding of what they are getting into. Your partner needs to fully understand all that comes with this job such as the added stress, the tolls associated with shift work, the late-night callouts, the overtime and working weekends and holidays. All of that takes a toll on a relationship and a family. My advice would be to have that discussion with a potential life partner before marriage, or to discuss it at length before taking on this career if you are already in a committed relationship.

- How marketable are officers in the private sector post-retirement from law enforcement?

This is a critical component of the course. It is so important that officers realize that they are extremely marketable in the private sector after retirement. Whether you want to work part-time or full-time in retirement, a retired police officer is seen as a desirable candidate to employers. Being groomed in a quasi-military organization where showing up on time, handling tasks, following directions and adhering to uniform policies, make police officers great employees in any field. Whether it is a part-time job stocking shelves in a hardware store, to being the head of a private security division of a Fortune 500 company, these qualities that are ingrained in us as police officers put us ahead of the competition when it comes to other candidates.

A lot of times, officers don't think they have a lot to offer in retirement because they didn't achieve a high enough rank, worked in a smaller agency or didn't get any specialized training.  I am here to tell you that just fulfilling a career in law enforcement is a huge resume builder that puts you on an employer's radar. Additionally, the younger you are, the more marketable you are to an employer.   The ability to retire in your late 40s or 50s is a blessing for those that want to retire from the law enforcement field, but transition into the private sector.

- Can you offer some advice for success in retirement so officers can ease concerns about only being underemployed or in a job they may consider menial?

Start thinking about something you can do in retirement that you will enjoy. For some people, working as a tow truck driver, or security guard may be exactly what they are looking for. Start thinking about what is most important to you; flexibility, time off, working for yourself, working outdoors, etc. Start thinking about what you really like to do and think about crafting a new chapter around that. I know officers that are working in the private sector making a good living off of their hobbies. Training dogs, maintaining fish tanks, interior decoration, selling homes, handyman services, there are a lot of retired people making great money which is supplementing or surpassing their pension payments.  No matter how far away you are from retirement, start thinking about it.

- As a chief of police, what was your greatest responsibility to the men and women who worked for you? 

I think a lot of chiefs get a bad rap. I have been a patrolman. I have been a supervisor. I have been an administrator. I have been a union delegate. I have seen this profession from many perspectives. While it is easy for others in the agency to criticize the administrative leader of an organization, the position comes with a great deal of responsibility. I felt an overwhelming amount of responsibility to care for all my fellow officers. This included a vested interest in their professional development as an individual, as well as their personal development both in and outside the workplace. Of course, keeping your officers safe is of paramount importance with proper training and equipment, but for real, empathetic leaders, it doesn't just stop there. Looking out for their mental well being, helping them through tough times and getting them the help and giving them the support they needed was always on my mind.    

- What’s your greatest regret during your police career?

One of my biggest regrets as chief of police, and I discuss this in the class, was my decision to wear a white uniform shirt for my official agency photograph. While that seems like such a small and insignificant issue, it is a big regret of mine. I joke about it in the class and say that I regretted ever wearing a white uniform shirt because a white shirt adds 15 pounds, and because whenever I wore it I inevitably would spill Italian food or Chinese food all over it.  But, the truth of the matter is that I felt like a white uniform shirt separated me too much from my fellow officers. I enjoyed working the road. While the administrative positions provided new challenges for me, I truly missed the real police work in the trenches. I hardly ever wore a white shirt, and most of my officers wouldn't even recognize me in one. For that reason, I regret that I am immortalized in a photograph that still hangs in my agency with me wearing a white uniform shirt.  If I could do it all over again, I would have bucked the trend and worn a blue uniform shirt in that photo.  

Introspection: Sharpen Your Leadership Tools

Introspection - The Overlooked Leadership Tool
By Ron Camacho

I am often asked what the best way to become a good leader is or to identify the methods a person can use to improve their leadership abilities. Of course, there are many answers to those questions, such as finding a mentor, increasing your education, attending leadership training or listening to podcasts on the subject. These are a few recognized approaches used to increase your leadership IQ. However, based on personal experience and my research on the most proven leaders in history, my answer is often the most challenging path to take - introspection.

I first learned what introspection was by attending intense counseling sessions some years ago. The therapist taught me to point my “judgmental telescope” inward, examine my issues first and fully understand them. The introspection exercise was emotionally draining but satisfying. I wanted to improve as a person, and that honest, inward look was the first step in a long and continuous journey toward reaching that goal. For me and others, genuine introspection is a life-changing endeavor.

Introspection can be described as analyzing one’s feelings, thoughts and ideas, both negative and positive. It is an inward look at what makes you “tick.” It is also a critical and valuable tool in a leader’s toolbox. Yet, many modern leaders do not understand why introspection is essential in their development. Even worse, they are afraid to employ it. As a result, when a leader fails to evolve, a lack of introspection is almost always the reason.

Why is introspection so hard? How comfortable is it to honestly examine past mistakes, failures and weaknesses? It sounds like a good time, right? I teach my officers, clients and students to embrace being uncomfortable while self-reflecting. It is vital to look deep inside oneself. Allow yourself to feel the pain of emotions, i.e., failure, guilt, shame and anger. There are valuable lessons to be learned in conducting a truthful self-assessment.

So, what is the “upside?” When we are honest with identifying our flaws, accepting and working on them, it helps us better connect with our coworkers, friends and the public. Introspection is a great way to suppress one’s ego, build trust and develop mental toughness. If you are your own worst critic, how can another’s words upset you? Winston Churchill once said, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” Introspection is not a harmful endeavor; it is about self-improvement, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and changing for the better.

What does introspection look like in practice? From patrol officer to captain, my promotions came relatively easily. But, once I started competing for police chief positions, the competition grew stiffer, and I was unsuccessful in getting selected. So, I analyzed and critiqued my past performance during the oral boards or assessment centers by using introspection. I began by asking myself poignant yet straightforward questions:

Was I truly prepared for the selection process?

Did I represent myself accurately?

What could I have done better?

When possible, I reached out to the oral board or assessment center members, searching for any positive or negative criticisms of my interviews. This information was invaluable and, combined with my self-reflection, allowed me to adjust and improve, ensuring future successes and selection for a chief position.

The police and military use the After-Action Review (AAR) to evaluate and critique tactical and non-tactical operations. Introspection is your personal AAR and should be used after making critical leadership or management decisions. Experience, knowledge, and confidence allow many decisions, even significant ones, to be made without much deliberation. Nevertheless, it is vital to examine these critical decisions to validate that you are on the proper path. Introspection provides an honest, inward look at your decision-making process. To help jump-start the journey toward introspection, here are some of the questions you can ask yourself:

Were you fair when making your decisions?

Did you remove your emotion or biases during the decision-making process?

Was the decision made in your self-interest or for the betterment of others?

Did you take the advice or counsel of others?

Was the advice and counsel of others helpful or hurtful?

Are you comfortable with the decision you made? 

Introspection is a gift that helps remove the barriers to success in our personal and professional lives. Self-reflection can defeat the chaos that constantly invades our lives in these chaotic, crazy and busy times. In addition, time spent studying ourselves will lead to a profound understanding of those around us. Understanding is one of the foundations of respect, and without respect you are not a leader. So, give introspection a try; the worst that can happen is that you learn something about yourself. The best thing is that you take that knowledge, truly connect with others and start reaching your full leadership potential.

Chief Ron Camacho is an accomplished law enforcement executive who spent time as an advisor in Afghanistan and Mexico. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, has a master’s in criminal justice from Liberty University, and is the chief of the Chambersburg Pennsylvania Police Department. He is the owner of Camacho Consulting LLC, a leadership and management training company

Solving America's Crisis. Start With Yourself

America in Crisis
By: Eric Caron

View fullsize

In 2021, life expectancy in the United States dropped again to age 76.6, caused primarily by the epidemic of mental illness and substance abuse.

May was Mental Health Awareness Month, and quite frankly, America needs a rebirth. I was taught the “Secret” of living a long and healthy life that serves as my core principles which ultimately saved my life. It’s time for Americans to get “Switched On.”

Given the last two years of pandemic living, many people are realizing stress, isolation, and uncertainty have taken a drastic toll on their overall well-being. Many have turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism, only to exacerbate their depression and leading them on a dark-lonely path to suicide. According to the National Institute of Health, suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States including in our military, law enforcement and our youth.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) reported suicide as the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14, and adults aged 24-35 with nearly 46,000 total deaths.  Yes, you read that correctly … 46,000 total suicide deaths in just one year.

Furthermore, the nationwide crisis of opioid misuse and addiction is fueling suicides, and has evolved into an urgent public health emergency. The CDC estimated that 106,854 people died of drug overdose in the 12-month period ending November 2021. Shockingly, since 1999 over one million Americans have died due to drug overdoses.

Each death from suicide and overdose has a rippling effect …a heavy toll both emotionally and financially on families, caregivers and our communities.

I believe it’s time for America to get back to basics and start living a “Switched on Life.” (SOL)  living switched on is a daily decision, a moment by moment choice, and a constant awareness and mindset. It is a coat of armor that protects you from ALL types of threats, both in your physical and emotional world.    

How we “nourish” the Mind, Body, and Soul is the foundation of living a SOL.  They are equally important and interconnect and influence each sphere in a positive or negative way. We simply need to feed, train and practice each of them daily.  

The Mind - If you train the mind, the most important “muscle,” the body will follow. To maximize brain training we need to engage in challenging, creative activities that must be practiced such as: painting, learning a language, instrument and sewing. Physical activities (swimming, jogging, cycling, yoga and meditation) have not only a positive effect on the body, but the mind, too.    

The Body - Sleep, Eat and Exercise (SEE) - The 3 most important things we do daily. 

Sleep allows both the body and brain to recover daily from life’s events. Sleep deficiency is not only feeling tired but increases obesity, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, etc. … you get it! Lack of sleep literally can kill you. Recent studies have shown that getting a good night’s sleep (8 hours) can actually heal/strengthen your body and mind. What we are eating throughout the day and evening along with physical activities or lack thereof will have a direct effect on our sleep hygiene. 

Eating - The consumption of healthy food is required for energy and development, and plays an important role in the promotion of good physical and mental health. It may be a cliché, but you really are what you eat! The food you put into your body becomes your daily fuel and promotes a healthy mind-body-soul.

Exercise - Everyone knows daily exercise is essential, often affecting your mind or “mood,” to improving your sleep and sex life. Exercise also adds years to your life, and controls your weight, and I’m not talking about Ironman training.  Medical experts recommend regular exercise to maintain good health and to prevent many diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, Alzheimer’s and depression.

The Soul - Strengthen the soul through faith which is like the wind … you can’t see it, but you feel it. We must find meaning and purpose in our daily lives. It’s our responses to life’s moments filled with good and bad, love and loss which shape our souls. Our response to life’s events is our choice. We must strengthen the soul to believe that through it all Life Is Good! If you’re secular, you might find it outside of religions in actions such as spending time in nature, yoga, meditating or volunteering.

The mind-body-soul is interconnected and must be fed, and cared for if we are to respond in a healthy way overcoming adversities and hardships.

American’s more than ever need to be alert, be ready, be able. Are you ready to change your life … implement these core principles wherever you play or pray and get “Switched On!”

Eric Caron is a Special Agent (Ret) with 25 years of service. He is the author of "Switched On - The Heart & Mind of a Special Agent." His website is: Switchedonlife.com