In 2022, 249 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. 42 percent of those could have been preventable...
/In 2022, 249 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. 42 percent of those could have been preventable...
By: Monica Crawford
An excerpt from, "Thriving Inside the Thin Blue Line."
"In 2022, 249 officers died in the line of duty. The median age of the line of duty deaths (LODD) was 45, with the average duty tour of fifteen years. Of those 249 LODDs, thirteen died due to heart attack, two due to heat stroke, and seven “duty related” deaths. All of these twenty-two deaths occurred as a response to a call or during a training exercise. These incidents range from executing arrests, foot pursuits, directing traffic, firearms training, and basic physical training. In other words, these officers went to work expecting to carry out another “routine” day and died because of physical overexertion. Their bodies became too stressed out, and their heart rates were likely too high for their body to recover just one more time. Scary. In addition to those twenty-two deaths, an additional eighty-three officers died from complications of COVID-19 contracted while on duty. This adds up to 102 health-related LODDs in 2022, out of 249 total, equating to an alarming forty-two percent.
As law enforcement officers, we all know the basic premise of staying healthy and in shape. We recognize the dangers of the job we took. We know we could go to work, get shot, get run over, get stabbed, and never return home. Yet in 2022, forty-two percent of us died because of poor health, likely a result of many years on the job that went unaddressed for too long. Instead, we forget about the things that kept us healthy before taking the job: our lifestyles, family, home life, and hobbies. We forget the version of ourselves we brought into this profession, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to make a difference in the world. What happened to those men and women we once were when the badge got pinned on our chests?
The main problem I see with first responders is that we, as a population, tend to lose ourselves within the career we serve. I think cops are the worst in that. Being a cop somehow becomes our identity on and off the clock. We start dawning the blue line flag on shirts and posting it on walls and photos around the house. We lean away from friends and family who just don’t quite get what we do or what we go through daily. Worst of all, many of us become slaves to the job. It comes to the point where we forget who we were before becoming a law enforcement officer. We drop everything else to work, sleep, and repeat. Our hobbies get thrown out the window, our family events and birthdays become forgotten and accepted as missed, and we lose our sense of self.
Until one day, we wake up miserable. We get tired of running ragged, constantly stressed out, and sluggish. We get tired of noticing our clothes and uniform have gotten tighter, and suddenly, we’re twenty pounds (or more) overweight. We get tired of feeling like we’re breathing heavily on a simple task at work or getting outrun again by the latest shithead in our jurisdiction. We get tired of missing family events and important events of loved ones."
If you're at this point of being miserable, what do you do? Do you accept the job for what it is and choose to stay miserable where you are? Or do you make the decision to take back your control, rediscover why you chose this career field, and create the fulfillment you once believed you could have?
Coming in December, I will be launching my December Challenge. This will be a group challenge inside of our Skool group where you will learn step by step, how to lose your first 5 pounds (or more), gain strength with workouts that fit your schedule, and have the accountability to navigate the holidays while doing so. Imagine actually losing weight in December and being that much farther ahead towards your goals once January 1 hits!
For early access and inside updates, join at www.skool.com/five0fierceandfit/about
Stay safe out there,
Coach Monica
Monica Eaton Crawford 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
