Spotlight - From Dead on the Table To Fighting for the Wounded and Officers across America

From Dead on the Table - To Fighting for the Wounded and Officers across America
By Valerie Velazquez-Stetz (Ret.) J.C.P.D.

Detective Mario Oliveira proudly served the Somerville Police Department for 17 years. His life changed forever on Nov. 2, 2010. While being assigned out to the ATF Boston Office as a Task Force Agent. Detective Oliveira was shot six times at point-blank range while serving a federal arrest warrant. He pulled over the vehicle and was shot by the actor and by crossfire from his squad. Detective Oliveira was rushed to the Emergency Room where the paramedics, other officers, the surgeon, his grandma and God had a hand in his recovery. Mario was dead on the table for 2 minutes. With the help of God and his grandmother’s spirit he came back to life. At this time, Mario, who had a wife and one son, did not know his wife was pregnant with their second son. The injuries sustained during this incident forced Oliveira to retire. Since being retired, Mario has dedicated his time to educating and assisting police departments and law enforcement officers and their families on the dangers of police work. He educates on coping skills due to the tragedy of serious injury or death in the line of duty. He is the executive director of the New England Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors. He is also a co-founder of Violently Injured Police Officers Association (V.I.P.O) (both 501c3 nonprofit organizations), along with retired Woburn Police Officer Robert DeNapoli. Oliveira is currently employed with the New England State Police Information Network (NESPIN) as the Eastern Massachusetts Metro/Boston area law enforcement coordinator.

Officer Robert DeNapoli served the Woburn Police Department proudly for 17 years as a patrol officer. On Sept. 6, 2011, DeNapoli was shot several times while responding to an armed robbery at a local jewelry store. He was shot in the face, trigger hand and throughout his body. He sustained permanent career-ending injuries. With the help of his wife and children, he was able to recover at home after several surgeries. His one son followed his example and became a police officer as well.

Both officers from the State of Massachusetts fought for their full pension “special legislation” which was granted to a few officers prior to them. They did not think it was fair for them to receive only 70% instead of the full 100%. It took them a couple of years, but eventually they were granted their full salaries tax-free, benefits, and pay increases until the age of 65. They can also be gainfully employed, with the exception of being a police officer. It is their mission to have every state recognize those officers severely injured on the job. As it stands, officers find themselves being punished for surviving a work-related serious injury. By receiving a pay cut (in N.J 66 ⅔) and ZERO cost of living increases, these injured officers are often forgotten. Their whole world changes and their future dreams are destroyed. The careers that they loved can be taken away in a blink of an eye, and through no fault of their own. It is taken away as a result of doing their jobs to protect the cities or towns that they served. Their families are not cared for as well. We all need to do our part for our brothers to achieve their goals, to help every tragically injured officer receive 100% of their salary throughout the United States.

V.I.P.O has recently created a new piece of commonsense legislation (SD815) that is currently up for debate. This will help make nighttime traffic stops safer for both our officers and operators alike. It is also refreshingly succinct, clear and concise and much shorter and more to the point than any proposed legislation state lawmakers have seen in some time. The “LIGHTS ON” bill mandates that any driver of a vehicle that is stopped by the police after dark activate their interior cabin lights upon pulling to the side of the road and stopping. Of the 46 officers who were shot and killed nationwide in 2017, eight, or 17%, were killed by motorists whom they had stopped. Detective Oliveira and Officer DeNapoli are extremely grateful to State Sen. Bruce Tarr for his continuing support to bring this safety issue to the forefront. They hope that the entire legislature and the governor will support this “LIGHTS ON” bill and set the tone for what could be a huge safety factor for officers nationwide.

Tribute - We Knew Him Well

We Knew Him Well
By: BBO Staff Writer

A few weeks back, I had written a reflective piece on law enforcement line of duty death funerals. Little did I know that, as I sat there, those words would be so relevant so quickly.

On February 12th, 2019, NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen was killed in the line of duty as he and several other NYPD police officers and detectives attempted to apprehend a robbery suspect. What followed in the days after was a living representation of what I had just written about weeks before.

As a police officer since 2007, I have seen my share of police funerals, both line of duty and otherwise. While there is a familiar cadence to services surrounding a line of duty death, each one is unique; as unique as the individual who was lost. As a board member for Brothers Before Others, I have been afforded an even more special perspective.

Since he founded the group in 2014, BBO’s Founder/President, who also serves as Editor-In-Chief for the New York edition of BLUE, retired NYPD Police Officer Michael J. Burke has had one goal in mind; honor our police officers and support their families. In order to accomplish this, Michael immediately established the National Flower Fund, which has sent a floral arrangement on behalf of the group to the services of every line of duty death, regardless of where in the country they have occurred.

From a personal perspective, attending a line of duty death service, when feasible, is, or should be, a requirement. As I discussed in the article I referenced earlier, it is impossible to leave a police funeral without a profound sense of humility. Our presence, often referred to as a “sea of blue” is a crucial step in what is the beginning of a family’s healing process; both for kin AND blue.

While the ceremonies of both the viewing and the actual funeral are a show of respect for the fallen, they are so much more than that. As police officers, we often take for granted that our friends and our families love this profession as much as we do. For us, understanding the level of sacrifice made by the ones we mourn comes naturally. However, for those whose life is focused on simply supporting their loved one and running the household while they were off playing policeman, that understanding might not come so easy.

When we turn out for police funerals the way that NYPD turned out for Detective Brian Simonsen, the family left behind has no choice but to see that the loss of their loved one was not in vain. The parents, siblings, spouses and children immediately are hit with the reality that their loved one was a hero.

Being a member of Brothers Before Others has afforded me the experience of attending police line of duty death services in a unique capacity. I am not family. I am not a friend. Often times, I am not even on the same department. Yet, especially since partnering with Philadelphia Police Officer Jonathan Castro and often times hand-delivering one of the portraits that he creates, I have been able to meet and connect with the grieving family left behind. I can tell you that, of all the things I have done and seen in this life, both on and off the job, these interactions have been by far the most humbling experiences that I carry with me every day.

There is a saying (paraphrased) that, when an officer is lost in the line of duty, it’s not a department that loses someone, it’s the entire law enforcement community. Attending Brian’s services reinforced this point to me.

Again, being an essential outsider, I was there out of respect; respect for Brian, respect for his sacrifice and respect for the sacrifice that his family has made and will now make every day they live without him. However, being separated from the immense grief experienced by Brian’s close friends and family, I was able to more closely observe and appreciate, in real time, the amazing amount of love and respect being shown by everyone who braved the cold weather. I was able to see the strain on the faces of his coworkers. I was privy to just how much work and time went into those days, ensuring that not one need or request of Brian’s family went ignored.

One of the things that humbled me was how clear it was how much Brian was loved. As I stood in the lobby of the church, watching photo after photo of Brian with his friends and family scroll on TV screens that had been placed around the church, I couldn’t help but see exactly why they called him “Smiles.” Listening to the heartbreaking eulogies delivered by his coworkers and friends, there was no mistaking what Brian meant to the people in his life.

As police officers, I think we often take for granted that people are just going to pack the church at our funeral because of the uniform and shield we wear. However, I am here to tell you that is not the case. The turnout that you saw for Brian, the visible strain and emotion on the faces of his family, coworkers and friends, all were a testament to who this man was.

We personalize funerals. We always do. Virtually every line of duty death starts off as something that police officers do every day, sometimes multiple times during a day; motor vehicle stop, vehicle pursuit, domestic violence intervention, motor vehicle accident investigations, assisting disabled vehicles, and as was the case with Brian, calls for help/service. So, inevitably, you find yourself sitting there thinking “Damn. I do that stuff every day” and the weight of the humbling reality hits you. You’ll often hear cops say, “We hardly knew you, but we knew you well.” We DO know each other well, because we experience the same stresses and realities.

This emotion was so prevalent during my time at Brian’s services that I could literally feel its presence. As I looked at the photos, heard the stories and met his law enforcement family, I was overcome with the reality that none of us really think this could be us. An incident like the one that ultimately took his life was the farthest thing from Brian’s mind as he posed for the pictures that we all saw flashing up on the screen.

I try to take something from every service; basically my way of acknowledging to the lost that they taught me something, even though we often times never met. Brian reminded me to not take one day on this job for granted; whether you have 19 years in as he did, 12 like I do, or if you’re just starting out. He reinforced the concept of conducting myself, both on and off the job, as someone who people will WANT to remember when they retire or leave this earth. Most of all, Brian made me want to be the kind of guy who, when I’m gone, will be remembered for my smile. How amazing and outwardly loving must he have been for his smile to be that impactful?

While my heart breaks for their loss, I am grateful that every member of the Simonsen family, including those he worked with, were able to experience that kind of great love. I am grateful that they had someone in their lives so amazing, worthy of every tear they have spent and will spend.

Former NYPD Commissioner Bratton once said during a eulogy that he was delivering: The most common phrase he hears repeatedly at police funeral services is that “God always takes the good ones.” He added, “That is not a mistake. Because police officers represent the best of all of us.”

I may have been an outsider at Brian’s services, but I left without a shadow of a doubt that Brian was exactly the kind of cop Commissioner Bratton spoke about and that is a tribute to both how he lived, how he loved and, most importantly, how he was loved.

Fare Thee Well, Detective Simonsen.

Unwavering Patriotism - Recognizing Those Who Serve Their Country and Law Enforcement

Recognizing Those Who Serve Their Country and Law Enforcement
The Patriot’s Pride Ceremony
By Cynthia Scott, Public Information Officer and Ted Freeman, Executive Undersheriff

March 14, 2019, was a special day at the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, as once again, the sheriff’s office was recognized for the support that it gives to its employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve at the Patriot’s Pride Ceremony. Corrections Officer David Leventhal, a staff sergeant in the New Jersey National Guard, submitted three names for consideration for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Employer Award: Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, Acting Warden Donald Sutton and Corrections Lt. Stephen Riznyk. All three were presented their awards at the Patriot’s Pride Ceremony by Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur G.A. Maggs, USA (Retired). Monmouth County Executive Assistant Selma Morris (former specialist, United States Army) and Assistant Veteran’s Services Officer Michael Ferraro (Command chief master sergeant, United States Air Force, Ret.) planned and coordinated the Patriot’s Pride event.

“I’m honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award. It’s vital that we continue to provide support and a strong commitment to our citizen soldiers in the National Guard and Reserve especially when engaged in responding to emergencies on the home front or deployed overseas in service of their country,” said Golden. “They fight for our freedom and sacrifice everything to keep us safe through their heroic efforts, and it’s our duty to our nation to strongly support them and their family members.”

The keynote speaker at the ceremony was Capt. Brian Sheakley, Commanding Officer, Navy Operational Support Center, Fort Dix. Sheakley commended the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and Board of Chosen Freeholders for their exceptional support for the military men and women serving in the National Guard and Reserve. "I appreciate the community honoring the sacrifices that our courageous men and women make on behalf of the nation with aid to military families who may face hardships while fighting for our freedom."

In Monmouth County, county employees who are in the National Guard and Reserve receive full pay for 90 days when called to active duty. Following the first 90 days, the county makes up the difference between their county pay and their military base pay for active duty. Families of those on active duty maintain their health benefits and are actively supported by the sheriff’s office during the duration of military activation. The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office has several officers who are currently serving on active duty and deployed overseas and stateside locations.

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office has hosted two other veteran recognition ceremonies within the last five years. On April 22, 2015, an ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve) ceremony was held in the Sheriff’s Office Operations Center in Freehold. Recognized at that ceremony were Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, Freeholder Lillian Burry, Michael Ruane – director of the Monmouth County Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Affairs and Randy Schwartz, director, Neptune Community Resource Center.

On Dec. 7, 2016 a Patriot’s Pride Awards and Recognition Ceremony was held at the Monmouth County Police Academy. Guest speakers at the ceremony were Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Lillian Burry, ESGR Employer Outreach Director Norm Patten, NJ DMAVA Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs Raymond Zawacki and Adjutant General Michael L. Cunniff. The keynote remarks were presented by then-Lt. Gov. and former Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno. Sheriff Golden, along with Neptune Township and Ocean Township Police Departments, received awards for their support for the National Guard and Reserves at this ceremony. In addition, 49 police chiefs submitted their Statements of Support

Affirmation for the Guard and Reserve, and the NJ DMAVA Military Awards and ESGR Awards were presented. Just before the closing of the ceremony, the “Wall of Heroes” was unveiled, listing every employee of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office who has served in the military, Guard and Reserve. That “Wall of Heroes” is proudly displayed in the entrance foyer of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Center for all who enter to see.

“The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to supporting our men and women who, in addition to their duties as law enforcement professionals, have a commitment to the safety and security of their country by serving in the National Guard and Reserve,” said Golden.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Our dedicated officers who remain in the Guard and Reserve continue to pay that price for all of us.”

Wellness - My Brother and Sister’s Keeper

My Brother and Sister’s Keeper
By Julia Torres

In light of the amount of police suicides recently occurring, we at Blue would like to extend our open, unending invitation to unload your weight. We are “my brother’s keeper” and have chosen to take this issue very seriously. We do not want this to be a growing trend. You are valued; we care and love you.

If you feel desolate, tormented, know that you are not alone. Someone, somewhere, has been in that moment and they found a positive solution. You can, too. The way out is not taking your life. You are too valuable, loved and cherished to cease to exist of your own volition.

Your future is bright. God, our Father planned prosperity and hope for His children (Jeremiah 29:11). Therefore, there is no temptation that cannot be conquered (1 Cor 10:13). He has equipped you with the tools required to combat all challenges. You are a victor, victorious in the abundant life Jesus came for you to have. How can I be so certain? Simply and unequivocally, God has said it in His Word (John 10:10).

Decide to believe in the future you were meant to live. Ask Him to lead you to it, to guide you through it. He will bring a confidante and you will find relief. But reach out. The longer you remain silent, the more emotions fester, feeding further into negative emotions until you believe there is no hope. It’s all untrue. You were designed for more.

A warm hand is available. The pastoral staff of Abundant Grace Christian Church, at 70 Home Avenue in Rutherford has expressed their desire to provide free counseling in a loving environment. Steve Hannett, founder of Abundant Grace, and EveryHouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3, is passionate about changing lives. It is with this intention that he has volunteered the staff’s services to the Blue community and their family. As host of the The Miraculous Life TV show, Pastor Steve reaches over a hundred nations delivering hope, an invaluable endeavor he offers to those in Blue. Having been healed of cancer, Pastor Steve understands firsthand the turmoil and anguish one can experience in a grave situation.

Take a moment to read the fervent zeal in his voice as he shares God’s truth and love with the desire to protect and love those who serve others.

A Look at the Upward Trend of Police Suicide & How to Combat It

Shots fired! Shots fired! The blood rushes through your body as you race to the scene to provide backup. Your body floods with emotion as you approach the chaotic conflict, wondering what you’ll encounter. To your horror, you see officers down and blood pooling. The assailants have fled, but you're shouting for help as you radio for medical assistance to save your brothers and sisters in blue.

Incidents like these last for moments, but the traumatic memories last a lifetime. Adding fuel to the fire are the memories of daily calls dealing with tragic accidents, domestic violence and drug-related incidents. These memories give rise to new fears, stresses and burdens that are increasingly overwhelming to the mental and emotional wellbeing of many police officers.

Data via the Ruderman Family Foundation/the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health reports that the occurrence of depression among police officers is two times as likely and the occurrence of PTSD approximately six times more likely than the general public!

The problem is real, and it's causing an increasing number to end their trauma by tragically ending their lives. According to Blue H.E.L.P., a nonprofit run by active and retired police officers, at least 159 officers died by suicide in 2018, nine percent more than the total number of line-of-duty deaths resulting from 15 other causes such as felonious assault, patrol vehicle accident, heart attack and duty-related illness. For the third straight year, police officer suicides exceed all combined causes of line-of-duty deaths.

The problem is that less than 10 percent of U.S. police departments have suicide prevention programs. The simple fact is that the problem is not being addressed at all or it's addressed too late after a police officer is already suffering.

Police officers are modern street warriors who need proactive training that strengthens more than just physical skill. They need to return to the training methods of ancient warriors who trained not only their bodies but also their minds and spirits.

For thousands of years, the warrior understood that their spirit was an essential part of their being. They knew if their spirit was strong, their minds and bodies would follow. Modern warriors have suffered from a modern culture that frequently shuns spiritual training, and it’s time for a change.

One of the greatest ancient historical warriors is King David. He was a man so close to God he lived, loved, and fought from a place of spiritual strength. He wrote his own words saying,

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1–3).

David fought many battles, and though the Bible records he went through deep emotional turmoil, he always came out on top because of the hope and strength he found in God. This strength David accessed then is the same strength all can access now!

Satan is real, and police officers daily witness the evil he releases on the frontline streets. We desperately need Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the ultimate warrior who “overcame” and “overcomes” darkness with infallible proof. We need the power, teaching, love, forgiveness and grace of God to flood our hearts so our minds may be filled with peace and be able to stand strong in battle.

Imagine for a moment what life would be like for you and your family if you trained like King David and had what he had. Imagine if you had his spiritual weapons! You would without question take down your Goliaths!

There’s hope for you no matter how much pain you feel. We invite all who would like more information to contact EveryHouse, a nonprofit organization, at 201-355-3225 or contact www.everyhouse.org. We stand ready to stand with you to combat the growing trend of police suicide. Failure is not an option.

Resources:

https://www.menshealth.com/health/a20944664/police-officer-suicide-rate-mental-health/

https://bluehelp.org/158-american-police-officers-died-by-suicide-in-2018/?fbclid=IwAR0eCgLUQ0zrmtf75B_mWHQqMH6eccmIuYT-J3eoJomcIckdPFI7pCwgAcM

https://www.policeone.com/lodd/articles/482561006-Report-More-cops-died-by-suicide-than-in-line-of-duty-in-2018/)

For thousands of years, the warrior understood that their spirit was an essential part of their being. They knew if their spirit was strong, their minds and bodies would follow. Modern warriors have suffered from a modern culture that frequently shuns spiritual training, and it’s time for a change.

One of the greatest ancient historical warriors is King David. He was a man so close to God he lived, loved, and fought from a place of spiritual strength. He wrote his own words saying,

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1–3).

David fought many battles, and though the Bible records he went through deep emotional turmoil, he always came out on top because of the hope and strength he found in God. This strength David accessed then is the same strength all can access now!

Satan is real, and police officers daily witness the evil he releases on the frontline streets. We desperately need Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the ultimate warrior who “overcame” and “overcomes” darkness with infallible proof. We need the power, teaching, love, forgiveness and grace of God to flood our hearts so our minds may be filled with peace and be able to stand strong in battle.

Imagine for a moment what life would be like for you and your family if you trained like King David and had what he had. Imagine if you had his spiritual weapons! You would without question take down your Goliaths!

There’s hope for you no matter how much pain you feel. We invite all who would like more information to contact EveryHouse, a nonprofit organization, at 201-355-3225 or contact www.everyhouse.org. We stand ready to stand with you to combat the growing trend of police suicide. Failure is not an option.

Resources:

https://www.menshealth.com/health/a20944664/police-officer-suicide-rate-mental-health/

https://bluehelp.org/158-american-police-officers-died-by-suicide-in-2018/?fbclid=IwAR0eCgLUQ0zrmtf75B_mWHQqMH6eccmIuYT-J3eoJomcIckdPFI7pCwgAcM

https://www.policeone.com/lodd/articles/482561006-Report-More-cops-died-by-suicide-than-in-line-of-duty-in-2018/)

For thousands of years, the warrior understood that their spirit was an essential part of their being. They knew if their spirit was strong, their minds and bodies would follow. Modern warriors have suffered from a modern culture that frequently shuns spiritual training, and it’s time for a change.

One of the greatest ancient historical warriors is King David. He was a man so close to God he lived, loved, and fought from a place of spiritual strength. He wrote his own words saying,

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1–3).

David fought many battles, and though the Bible records he went through deep emotional turmoil, he always came out on top because of the hope and strength he found in God. This strength David accessed then is the same strength all can access now!

Satan is real, and police officers daily witness the evil he releases on the frontline streets. We desperately need Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the ultimate warrior who “overcame” and “overcomes” darkness with infallible proof. We need the power, teaching, love, forgiveness and grace of God to flood our hearts so our minds may be filled with peace and be able to stand strong in battle.

Imagine for a moment what life would be like for you and your family if you trained like King David and had what he had. Imagine if you had his spiritual weapons! You would without question take down your Goliaths!

There’s hope for you no matter how much pain you feel. We invite all who would like more information to contact EveryHouse, a nonprofit organization, at 201-355-3225 or contact www.everyhouse.org. We stand ready to stand with you to combat the growing trend of police suicide. Failure is not an option.

Resources:

https://www.menshealth.com/health/a20944664/police-officer-suicide-rate-mental-health/

https://bluehelp.org/158-american-police-officers-died-by-suicide-in-2018/?fbclid=IwAR0eCgLUQ0zrmtf75B_mWHQqMH6eccmIuYT-J3eoJomcIckdPFI7pCwgAcM

https://www.policeone.com/lodd/articles/482561006-Report-More-cops-died-by-suicide-than-in-line-of-duty-in-2018/)

Remembrance - Illinois State Trooper Gerald Ellis

On March 30th, Illinois State Trooper Gerald Ellis was on duty in his patrol car, traveling on Interstate 94 in Green Oaks. Gerald observed a vehicle heading toward him in the wrong direction at a high rate of speed. Without hesitation, Trooper Ellis selflessly crossed over two lanes of traffic and put his patrol car directly into the path of the driver. The collision stopped the wrong way driver and saved several other vehicles behind him from being hit, but it cost him his life. Gerald passed away from his injuries at the hospital. Trooper Ellis had served the Illinois State Police for 11 years, spending his entire career at District 15 in Downers Grove. He was a husband, father of two and a U.S. Army Combat Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 36 years old.

Reflection - Is Your Job Really Boring?

Is Your Job Really Boring?
By: Christian Argudo

A fellow officer once told me that he loved his job, but he wasn’t too happy that it consists of endless boredom with very few moments of rush. I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but I guess a sluggish officer sees his daily routine as constant boredom. On the other hand, for a highly motivated officer, the job is anything but boring.

Besides this officer’s perspective, there is also a public misconception that cops sit in their vehicles waiting to be sent to a job, and occasionally conduct a traffic stop to write a ticket. Although not one hundred percent accurate, I can see some correlation. However, if you put certain perspectives in place you would realize that…

• There is nothing boring about directing traffic when there is a major accident or a traffic light is not working properly.

• There is nothing boring about conducting a field interview when you see a person who is not a resident of the area and is acting suspiciously upon your presence.

• There is nothing boring trying to be one step ahead and attempt to figure out where the car that was stolen a little while ago will be heading.

• There is nothing boring with doing community-oriented policing, and getting out of your car to talk to the local residents about what they want to see done in their neighborhood to make it better.

We know that unpredictability is what makes our job interesting. The problem comes down to some officers do not do the above and have become complacent with their job. They are known as the “call takers” instead of the “call makers.” The latter will find the stolen vehicle and pull somebody over, which will result in several felony charges. They even deter crimes just with their presence around town. The bad guys avoid them at all cost.

Most people don’t understand that the outcome of their work is not always “luck,” but hard work.

So, how do you deal with a “call taker” and keep them attentive and ready for action? In other words, keep them on their toes. There is not a “one size fits all” type of answer, since everybody has different personalities and reacts different to their environment.

To motivate your team, you need to get to know each person individually and persuade him or her to do the right thing. There are extrinsic motivators such as a favorite sector in town or even a preferable parking spot. There also intrinsic motivators, such as them knowing what they do means something to you and your department; but the utmost important motivator for everybody is recognition.

Recognize them by letting them take ownership of their jobs. Listen to any ideas they may want to share. Make them feel like they are part of the team and their opinions toward certain tasks matter. In addition, compliments are a great way to boost their morale. These are a few ways that would not only make your officers feel empowered, but you’ll also find they will work harder when they know they have a say.

So, the endless boredom attributed to the job could be more than just the job but other factors unknown to the naked eye. Hence, when your officers tell you that their job is boring; don’t go out elsewhere looking for an answer, because the real answer may be standing right in front of you.

Operation Rebound - Serving Your Town While Serving Your Country

Serving Your Town While Serving Your Country
By Michael D. Boll

For nearly twenty years, our combat veterans have been switching roles and becoming first responders! However, some of these veterans have decided to continue defending our nation, part time as military reservists. It should be noted that our New Jersey Military Reserve Units are still being constantly deployed to various combat missions.

Sometimes, our military reservists must leave with little notice. The vast majority of our law enforcement and fire departments bend over backward to help their men or women who are leaving on a deployment. However, sadly a few leaders really do not understand their employee's sacrifice and begin to resent the military reserves all together. Some employers will even go out of their way to deter employees from being in the reserves and do whatever they can to make them quit the reserves altogether. Being a first responder, one would think the command would understand and support our military reserves, but time after time, our military reserve brothers and sisters have to deal with some horrible and unnecessary treatment from their bosses. There is enough stress with being a first responder, and we should be praising and rewarding our first responders who actively serve in the military reserves.

Recently, according to my brothers and Operation Rebound teammates from the Clifton Police Department, there have been major problems serving in the military reserves. After interviewing a few of my Clifton teammates, I learned that harassment of and discrimination against military reservists at the Clifton Police Department has been rampant for well over a decade, but it was not always this way. Prior to September 11, 2001, training for military reservists was mostly the old one weekend a month and two weeks over the summer standard. After the terrorist attacks on 9-11, the military reserve forces were, and still are, used regularly to supplement active duty forces, and as a result, the training tempo for military reserve forces increased, deployments overseas increased, and other military obligations became more common. This required the military reservists to be absent more often from the Clifton Police Department in order to fulfill those obligations.

Unfortunately, the increased necessary military absences to fight the Global War on Terror (GWOT) have reportedly been met with overt disdain by some Clifton police supervisors. There are repeated complaints about the inconvenience of having to modify schedules and derogatory statements made upon returning from military leave, such as “You still work here?” or “Hey, who’s the new guy?” On one occasion, an officer returning from military leave was ordered to stand in front of patrol lineup and introduce himself as if he was new to the force. When drill schedules were submitted, derogatory remarks would follow, such as “How much do you get paid on weekends to drink beer and barbecue?” or “How much do you make to go camping?” Upon submitting notification and orders for an upcoming deployment to Iraq, one officer’s superior officer commented, “Must be nice to go on vacation.” Some officers have even been questioned improperly about their disability ratings for injuries sustained in the service.

Most offensive, however, is the repeated pressure placed on reservists to choose between the police department or the military. They have been told, “You have to pick one, you can’t do both.” A high-ranking department official reportedly once told an officer, “The military is your mistress and the police department is your wife. You need to treat your wife better than your mistress.” This same official was also said to have threatened termination of the officer if he accepted a set of military orders.

Because of their strong commitment to serve their country, they endured the years of harassing comments and threats by department supervisors and officials. Service to both the city and the military can, and should, peacefully co-exist. Instead, they have now received threats to reduce their pay unless they reimburse the city all military pay received retroactive to 2011 for military leave that the City had already approved if they fail to turn over seven years of military paystubs. The financial burden this could cause their families could not possibly be lost on City officials. There is not much more of a deterrent to reservists, and those who may be contemplating military service, than this.

These uniformed heroes are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They don’t ask for recognition; they don’t ask for praise. All they ask is the unfettered ability to serve.

Military News - What’d they Say? Hearing Loss for Military and Law Enforcement Professionals

What’d they Say? Hearing Loss for Military and Law Enforcement Professionals
By Scott Frezzo

How many of you have ever been told by someone close to you to get your hearing checked? Whether you are watching TV, in an important briefing or out in the field, missing words or entire sentences is dangerous and frustrating. Being unable to clearly hear a command can get people hurt, and it’s frustrating not only for those who suffer from hearing loss but for your loved ones as well, who are constantly repeating things so you can remain engaged.

Some people with hearing loss are in denial because of the stigma that goes along with losing your hearing, or fear it may be time to hang up your sidearm or take a desk job. Many of you have been told to get your hearing checked so many times, you do not even ask for things to be repeated, out of fear that you may actually have a deficit. Well, don’t panic. There are many causes of hearing loss, like excessive earwax, aging, severe pressure change, ototoxic drugs, foreign objects in the ear and noise. And if you feel as if you may not be hearing as well as you used to, please see a physician. But military and law enforcement professionals have other forces to contend with, such as gunfire, explosions, aircraft and heavy traffic for multiple hours every day. Even vigilant users of ear protection can suffer from some hearing loss, so be sure you’re wearing OSHA-approved equipment that reduces exposure to below 85 dBA over the course of 8 hours.

Normal noise exposure is 85 dBA for 8 hours, and for every three dBA over 85 dBA, the exposure time is cut in half. Normal stadium noise is 105 dBA, but peak stadium noise is 130 dBA, and should only be tolerated for 1 second in a 24-hour period. At 91 decibels (dBA), the equivalent of a lawn mower, a person can withstand that noise safely for only 2 hours a day, before becoming susceptible to hearing loss or damage. A .357 magnum revolver round and a shotgun blast are both around 160dBA.

I was an infantry paratrooper in the Army for many years and jumped out of more C-130s and C-17s than I can remember. The firing range alone may have damaged my hearing, but my time spent in combat zones definitely didn’t help. My wife has been telling me to get my hearing checked for quite a while, but I didn’t realize how bad my hearing was until an Army buddy came to stay with us back in February. We were watching TV and I kept asking, “What’d they say?” My buddy, who served longer than I did, could hear everything while I strained to hear the dialogue. Wait! Do I really need to have my hearing checked? Maybe it is me and not my wife, (whom I accuse of mumbling all the time). I am about 10 years older than my friend, and have more bomb exposure than he does, but I am ready to face the truth.

I scheduled an audiology appointment at the Veterans Administration Hospital for next month. I can’t say I’m excited to go, but if I do have an impairment, I’d like to know. Hearing aid technology has come a long way in the last 20 years. They are virtually undetectable to anyone but the wearer. Still, I’m hoping my mother was right, and all I have is potatoes growing in my ears. So, if you too feel that your hearing is changing from what it once was, make that appointment and have it checked out. Your health is worth it.

Legal News - Know Your Rights: Accidental Disability

Know Your Rights: Accidental Disability
By Timothy Smith, Esq.

A New Jersey police officer who retires on an accidental disability retirement pension is entitled to higher pension benefits. Accordingly, it is important to understand the eligibility requirements for securing such a pension. To be eligible, a claimant must establish:

(1) that he or she is permanently and totally disabled;

(2) as a direct result of a traumatic event that is

a. identifiable as to time and place,

b. undesigned and unexpected, and

c. caused by a circumstance external to the member (not the result of pre-existing disease that is aggravated or accelerated by the work).

(3) that the traumatic event occurred during and as a result of the member's regular or assigned duties;

(4) that the disability was not the result of the member's willful negligence; and

(5) that the member is mentally or physically incapacitated from performing his usual or any other duty.

One would need to write a book to explain the ins and outs of all these requirements. This article focuses on just one: that the injury be “undesigned and unexpected.” The meaning of the phrase is not at all self-evident. The best way to understand it is to look at cases that have interpreted it.

In one New Jersey Supreme Court case, Richardson v. Board of Trustees, PFRS, the court gave the following examples of the kinds of accidents that would qualify for accidental disability retirement benefits: “A policeman can be shot while pursuing a suspect; a librarian can be hit by a falling bookshelf while re-shelving books; a social worker can catch her hand in the car door while transporting a child to court.”

The Richardson Court said that a police officer who has a heart attack while chasing a suspect would not qualify because, “Work effort alone or in combination with pre-existing disease, was the cause of the injury.” However, the court explained that “The same police officer who was permanently and totally disabled during the chase because of a fall, has suffered a traumatic event.” Likewise, the court stated, a gym teacher who develops arthritis from repetitive effects of his work over the years would not qualify as suffering a traumatic event. But if the same gym teacher trips over a riser and is injured, that injury would satisfy the standard.

There are Appellate Division cases that have applied the “undesigned and unexpected” legal standard to different fact patterns. For example, in one case, the Appellate Division ruled that a fireman who suffered a disabling injury while kicking down the door of a burning building — because the tools normally used by firefighters to break down doors had not yet arrived — had suffered an “undesigned and unexpected” event. In a school-employee case, the Appellate Division approved of accidental disability retirement benefits for a school custodian who injured his shoulder moving a 300-pound weight bench into the school. The court reasoned that the custodian's accident was clearly “undesigned and unexpected” because he had been confronted with an unusual situation of students attempting to carry the heavy bench into the school, took charge of the activity, and the students suddenly dropped their side of the bench, placing its entire weight on the custodian.

In another case, a female corrections officer disabled her wrist while operating a gate that separated access to the prison’s tiers. Although the officer had operated the gate many times without incident, on one occasion, the gate suddenly stopped in its tracks. The officer then heard a pop in her wrist. That injury turned out to be a permanent and totally disabling injury. But the Pension Board ruled that the injury was not “undesigned and unexpected.” The Appellate Division disagreed. It reasoned that absent evidence of known prior malfunctions, employees should be able to expect that equipment supplied to them will not injure them. The court further stated that such an expectation was especially true in a prison where safety and security concerns are elevated. Hence, the court concluded that under the particular circumstances of that case, the officer’s injury resulted from an “undesigned and unexpected” event.

Reviewing these examples, the one thing that becomes clear is that there is nothing clear about determining if any given situation fits the test of being an injury that is “undesigned and unexpected.” If an officer’s injury is absolutely identical to one of the examples given above, then that officer’s accidental-disability application should be approved of without difficulty. Otherwise, a trip to the Appellate Division may be necessary to decide the matter.

Something to think about

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

THERE COMES A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOUR WORKPLACE CHANGES DRASTICALLY, AND LATELY, LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS BEEN THE MAIN TARGET. BUT WE CANNOT BLAME ANYBODY BUT OURSELVES. BEING RETIRED FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS, IT STILL BAFFLES ME WHEN I READ THE NEWSPAPER AND SEE THE STUPID THINGS COPS ARE DOING

AND GETTING CAUGHT, IT MAKES ME CRINGE. HERE IS MY ADVICE: AS A COP YOU HAVE CHOICES. YOU CAN BE A GOOD COP, A BAD COP, A CORRUPT COP, A MOANER, OR A PAYCHECK COP, BUT DEEP DOWN INSIDE YOU KNOW YOU

ARE BLUE. SO LET'S CAST ASIDE THE PETTINESS, THE ENVY, AND ALL THE STUPID DRAMA THAT SOME COPS THRIVE ON.

LET'S CONCENTRATE ON BRINGING BACK THE HONOR, THE RESPECT WE HAD FOR EACH OTHER AND OF COURSE FOR THE BADGE. IF ONE OF US BLEEDS, WE ALL BLEED. I CAN REMEMBER BEING SOMEWHERE AND MEETI

THAT'S THE FEELING WE NEED TO BRING BACK. LET'S CONCENTRATE ON HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR OUR BENEFIT, HELP OUR STRUGGLING BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND MOST OF ALL THINK BEFORE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING STUPID. REMEMBER THAT AT ANY TIME OF THE DAV MANY CELL PHONES WITH RECORDING CAPABILITIES SURROUND YOU.

ONE OF MY MANY MENTORS ONCE SAID, "YOU CAN BE A COP, OR YOU CAN BE A THUG, BUT YOU CAN'T BE BOTH." ... SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

STEVEN OLIMPIO IS A MEMBER OF THE NEW JERSEY POLICE HONOR LEGION AND THE RECIPIENT OF NUMEROUS AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS FROM VARIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS FROM AROUND NEW JERSEY AND THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING CONGRESSIONAL AND UNITED STATES SENATE AWARDS FOR HIS EXPERIENCE AND LEADERSHIP.

Out Front - Where have all the leaders in law enforcement gone? By Christoper Scilingo

Far too often it seems that titles, stripes or shiny bars bring forth de facto leadership within our law enforcement organizations. However, this idea couldn’t be farther from the truth. A supervisor is just that; a person who supervises or manages people and their activities. Law enforcement organizations have plenty of supervisors. They may be your corporals, your sergeants, your lieutenants, your captains and so forth. But does your law enforcement organization—your department—have any leaders? If your department has effective leaders, great, I am sure you are aware of the positivity and success that they bring to your organization. If your department does not have effective leaders—or no leaders at all for that matter—be cautious and watch closely, because that can be dangerous for an organization. Leaderless police departments are often found plagued with crippling low morale, troubled officers and numerous complaints from the public.

Law enforcement supervisors are necessary in operating a department and its functions. Effective law enforcement leaders are absolutely vital in whether or not that same department operates effectively. Let’s not forget, we’re in a service industry. We don’t manufacture any goods, we don’t necessarily make our employers money and we’re not profit-based. We do, however, provide value to the communities we serve. Whatever definition of service you come up with doesn’t necessarily matter; the fact is that we all serve. What level of service can we as law enforcement officers provide if we are only managed and supervised by those who solely place emphasis on controlling procedure or scheduling a work force to limit overtime?

In comes the leader—he or she may be your supervisor or your peer. Here’s a scary thought: The sole leader may be your chief of police. It doesn’t matter who the leader is. What matters is if they can positively influence a workforce to go out and do great things and to serve successfully. I’m not here to debate the abundance of leadership styles, especially in the law enforcement business. I believe we all understand that police work and police organizations are a paramilitary business. We take our orders from those senior in rank or time, and we carry out those orders to the best of our ability often without question. Every situation is different and every situation should dictate which leadership style be used most effectively. We hope, at least, an effective leader can do exactly that in assessing a situation and responding with an effective leadership style. You don’t need rank and you don’t need titles to be an effective leader. What you need is the will to positively influence others and set the example for others to follow.

My advice to that fresh-caught rookie from the academy is to educate yourself on effective leadership and gravitate toward those who possess great leadership traits that you will be working with. It is in this way that you will only become more successful. My advice to the supervisor with stripes or bars on your collar is to take a moment to truly realize the influence you have on subordinates and know that you can make a positive impact in their life and career. This will only help the greater mission in providing effective law enforcement services. Lastly, my advice to you, the big dog, the head honcho, the officer in charge-chief of police, sheriff, director, colonel, the person that the buck stops at is you are at the top and you have absolute influence over all that you command. It begins with you and ends with you. You must take responsibility when times are good and when times are bad. Understand that taking no action or providing no leadership is the single most destructive behavior that you can display — your command and those under you will suffer from it. Leaders don’t know it all, but an effective leader certainly will know what they do not know, and that inspires the truest respect. If you’re not up to the leadership task, be responsible enough to admit it and walk away. Let a real leader step in, before someone you supposedly “lead” gets hurt or killed. In our line of work, the stakes are too high for ineffective or absent leadership.

Chris Scilingo is a police officer in NJ since 2011. He’s a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is near completing his bachelor’s degree at Fairleigh Dickson University; where he also plans to pursue a master’s degree. Chris aspires to teach higher education after transitioning from law enforcement.

One The Beat - Can Banks Sometimes Seem Like a Thief’s Partner in Crime? By Ryan Weber

Banks try to make it as easy as possible for a person to obtain a bank account. They don’t have many security requirements that one must go through to open a checking or savings account. Anyone can walk into a branch with a single form of identification, deposit money and walk out with an active account, a debit card and some starter checks.

But in comparison, when a police investigator contacts the bank to obtain all available information, they put the brakes on the easy accessibility. Often the investigator must jump through hoops to solve a case where 99% of the time the banks are the victims.

The following is a typical scenario in connection to stolen check cases. There are many ways a check can be stolen. Currently, in the Tri-State area, we are experiencing a high volume of thefts of checks from United States mailboxes, a practice commonly referred to as fishing. Fishing is the term used to describe when a sticky substance is applied to a bottle or some other item, and then a string is tied to the bottle or item, which is then used to lower the bottle/item into the mailbox to extract the mail. Many people still mail checks to pay bills, and they use the blue mailboxes scattered throughout the suburban neighborhoods to send their checks.

When an account holder discovers that a check, which they wrote to pay a bill, did not make it to its destination, they immediately contact their bank. The banks have the account holder write out an affidavit, which they sign indicating that they did not have anything to do with the theft and fraud. The banks then advise the account holders to file a police report.

Usually, by the time the victim files the police report, weeks or months have passed since the crime has been committed. Seldom do banks notify the account holder immediately, and the police are notified sooner rather than later. So, investigators contact the victim’s bank and depending on the bank, they usually spend about a half an hour on hold before they can speak to a customer service representative who ultimately gives a phone number to a fraud investigator. Once the fraud investigator is contacted, after more time wasted on hold, the case details are finally provided to them. The first question that needs to be answered, and one that most banks will not provide without a subpoena, is where was the bank of first deposit?

Some banks will not provide that information, nor will they give any additional information without first receiving a subpoena. Investigators typically ask the bank employee why they still need to provide a subpoena when they are ultimately going to be the victim.

So the investigator applies for a subpoena, and it takes a day or two to get it back from the prosecutor’s office. Then, the investigator must figure out how the bank wants to be served with the subpoena. Some banks want it to be served in person, some via email, some by fax, some regular mail and some want service to be via certified mail. So, depending on the service, and a lack of a standardized process, more time is lost.

A good tip is to request that the bank provide a photograph of the person who deposited the check and a photograph of the person who first withdrew money from the account after the fraudulent transaction occurred. If the check was deposited via a mobile device, then requesting an IP address and date and time of the transaction is needed.

Sometimes, depending on the amount that has passed since the crime, the surveillance video is no longer available and important evidential information is lost.

Lastly, investigators must ask why banks make it easy for thieves to deposit stolen checks into their customer’s accounts. They allow the customers to remove money from their accounts before the clearing of the checks. In the current environment, it is easier for a thief to commit the crime than it is for the investigator to investigate the crime, therefore begging the question: Have banks become complicit in their own victimization? You decide.

Reform is needed. All bank customers should be required to provide a photograph and fingerprint when opening an account. All existing account holders should also be required to provide that information. All transactions should be verified with that information prior to being executed. Finally, banks should be more cooperative with law enforcement and should expedite the flow of information. Catching the thieves should be everyone’s number one priority. It shouldn’t take a battle through red tape to uncover criminals.

Ryan Weber is a 13-year veteran law enforcement sergeant, currently assigned to the detective bureau in a northern New Jersey police department. He will be completing his bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in April of 2019.

Cover Story - Phishing Season - Don’t Get Hooked By Deniz Majagah

You and your agency are targets. Everyone is fair game, and no one is immune.

Cybercriminals have become quite effective at targeting end-users. People just like you and me. They’ve learned that the easiest way around your organization’s technical defenses and controls isn’t by hacking through them. It’s by tricking you into letting them in.

Verizon publishes an annual report known as the Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) which provides information and data on real-world cybersecurity incidents and data breaches. The report gathers, aggregates and analyzes data from public and private organizations, including law enforcement agencies, from around the world. According to this report, upwards of 90% of breaches have a social engineering component.

Social engineering is a form of hacking, but it differs from what most people commonly understand to be hacking. Instead of seeking out and exploiting technical vulnerabilities in computer systems, social engineering targets the human mind. Cybercriminals use psychological methods to get people to unwittingly further their schemes. After all, it’s easier to talk your way past the front desk by having the security officer believe that you belong in the building than it is to try to bypass door locks, alarms, cameras and other security controls.

Hackers use social engineering techniques to manipulate and dupe people. Phishing and its variants, spear phishing and whaling, are by far some of the biggest concerns because they are the simplest as well as the most dangerous and effective tools at their disposal.

Phishing starts off as an email that appears and purports to be from a legitimate source. The email tries to fool the recipient into taking an action. That action might be to send a password or to click a link or open an attachment from within the email that inadvertently installs some sort of malicious software such as ransomware. The other phishing variants, spear phishing and whaling, are targeted messages against particular people. In the case of spear phishing, an email is crafted and sent to a person or group of people serving a certain role such as human resources or perhaps a patrolman or patrol squad. Whaling emails target the “whales” or high-value people of an organization such as a chief or mayor.

Phishing attacks are increasing in frequency as well as sophistication. Knowing what to look for will help to protect you as well as your agency from being a victim of cybercrime.

Required Action

Phishing messages often express a sense of urgency that invokes fear or reward. These messages use psychological triggers either in the subject or body of the email to get people to take an action quickly. Some emails attempt to scare the recipient while others do the exact opposite by offering some sort of reward. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You did not win a brand-new car or a free TV from BestBuy. These types of emails require you to click on a malicious link or respond with personal information as soon as possible.

Inaccuracies and Generic Feel

Phishing emails often include grammatical errors, typos, inaccuracies, or generic greetings and signatures. Emails from legitimate sources generally make sure to use good grammar and check for spelling mistakes. With the exception of spear phishing or whaling, email messages are often sent to hundreds or thousands of recipients. The greetings and signatures are general and lack a personal feel to them. Though cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated and are crafting better emails with less errors, the messages still tend to be generic.

Deceptive Addresses, Links and Attachments

Links and addresses in an email can be obscured by using a hyperlink, spoofing the sender address, or by using Punycode – use of foreign language characters that look like letters of the English alphabet. Hovering your mouse over a link within an email should show the real address. If there is a mismatch with a link or if the link or sender address looks suspicious in any other way, the email is probably a phishing attempt. Spear phishing and whaling messages will often contain links or attachments with names geared towards the recipient’s roles and responsibilities. Phishing messages with attachments play on the mind’s natural curiosity and the result is an impulse to open them.

We regularly see talk about huge data breaches hitting the mainstream news outlets. Every year the number of breaches and data compromises increases. 2018 was no different. Some of the more recognized names that were hacked are Under Armour, Facebook, Panera and Marriott.

You will rarely hear about Smallville, USA being hacked but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. A Bergen County town was recently hacked and duped out of nearly $500,000. A state agency’s entire email system was supposedly compromised in late 2018, as well. Within the last six months, there have been at least four North Jersey municipalities and police departments hit with ransomware. In all likelihood, all of these attacks were the result of someone clicking something in a phishing email.

Phishing is a real problem that all agencies face. Our adversaries aren’t just on the streets or locked up in jails and prisons, they are sitting behind computer screens.

We are the weakest link in any organization’s cyber strategy but knowing what to look for will help reduce liability, risk and exposure and help defend against cybercriminals. Don’t get caught in a cybercriminal’s phishing net. Always be wary of and use your best judgment with unsolicited emails. Be mindful with and use caution before clicking any links or downloading or opening any attachments. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Always think before you click!

Deniz Majagah is a corrections sergeant and heads his agency’s Office of Information Technology where he has served nearly 19 of his 23 years with his agency. He has a bachelor of science in criminal justice from Rutgers University and is currently enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson University where he is pursuing a master’s degree with a focus on Computer Security and Forensics Administration. He has multiple certifications focusing on cybersecurity and information assurance including CISSP, GCIH, GCCC and GSTRT.

Should you need any advice or assistance, he can be reached at dmajagah@gmail.com

Success in Retirement - Retirement - who me? By James F. Ford, Jr., Ph.D.

Corporate Security, Police Chief in another community, Campus Police Director, Radio DJ, Ballroom Dancing Instructor, Nursing, Coaching, PGA Teacher, Adjunct Professor, Construction, Range Officer, Process Server, Paramedic, Real Estate Agent, Executive Protection, Insurance Investigator, Substitute School Teacher, Town Manager, Forensic Hypnotist, Campus Security, Driving Instructor, and Mobile Pole Dancing Cleaner. Believe it or not, these are a few of the many employment opportunities awaiting you when you retire, or you could just sit home and do nothing.

The positions listed above were obtained from a two-day survey conducted on retired law enforcement officers. Are you ready for retirement? Have you thought about what you might want to do? How have you prepared yourself? I am not referring to the New Jersey Civil Service or the New Jersey State Pension Board holding seminars to prepare you. I’m talking about a year or so before you retire from the job. Are you going to be one of those people who cannot leave the job and go visit the station/headquarters every day for coffee with the guys? Don’t forget you couldn’t wait to get out of there, remember? I worked with an officer who from my first day on the job said to me, don’t stand in my way when my times comes to retire. Guess what? He stayed longer than 25 years. Statistics in the past have shown that police officers were usually given a life expectancy of five years past their retirement. Don’t become another statistic.

Today, officers are retiring at a young age and some aspire for another career. Maybe your department sent you to the Certified Public Managers Courses or the FBI Academy. Why not use those skills and education that you have acquired over the years? Think about some of the in-depth specialized courses you have attended. Perhaps you took Crash I, II. Reconstruction Expert, DRE School, or maybe forensic accounting courses? You are valuable to the private sector. Over your 25 or more years, you have acquired more knowledge and experience than the average citizen has.

I’m sure we all can agree that law enforcement is (especially patrol) for younger officers. Do you really want to work shift work in your 50s or beyond? We have many officers who are in great physical condition regardless of their age because they work at it. What is often difficult to measure is the toll “the job” takes on us psychologically. How many sexual assault or child abuse cases do you have to investigate before it really affects you and your home life? Many of you are running from call to call with hardly any downtime. You’ve been working at this pace for years and years and then all of a sudden that comes to an end. How many Jerry Springer shows or other talk shows can you possibly watch? For the officers who aren’t running from call to call, you still are anticipating calls coming in and how to handle them in the most efficient productive manner - it doesn’t end.

Please realize that you too can have another career after your stellar work in law enforcement. In your last few years on the job, think about what you want to do when you do retire. If you want to pump gas or work part-time at some convenience store, there is nothing wrong with it. Just do something. Don’t sit home and do nothing.

As police officers, we are called upon to make life-changing decisions for so many but often neglect ourselves. Healthwise, one of the worst decisions to make is to retire and do absolutely NOTHING! Before I retired, I became an adjunct at the College of Saint Elizabeth teaching Criminal Justice. My first class was the best and I knew this was for me. This was my opportunity to share my own experience and education with adult students who had no clue about the criminal justice system except what they saw on “Law & Order.” They really did think that most cases were solved in 45 minutes and that court lasted about 15 minutes!

I soon discovered that in order to teach full-time at a four-year college/university I would need a doctorate degree. Four and half years later, I earned my Ph.D. and I enjoy every day. I feel blessed to have another career. You can too! Do something you love and stop stressing!

Contact Professor Dr. Jim Ford at the College of Saint Elizabeth for more information. Dr. Ford can be reached at jford@cse.edu or (973) 290-4324. It should be noted that CSE’s Graduate Program in Criminal Justice is ranked 14th in the country by U.S. News and World Ranking.

Square-Shooting - Those White Cops By Officer Deon Joseph

With all of the controversy of the day surrounding cops, each day I get questions and statements from some community members regarding my white counterparts. Questions like:

How can you work with those white cops?

Or

I bet with all the good you do for the community, those white cops must really hate you.

Or.

If you would have been there, Joseph, those white cops wouldn’t have shot that dude.

Well… I have been on my department for 23 years. I have worked with human beings from all walks of life, and I can say that most of the people I work with match the human race. They are mostly decent people doing a tough job.

But if that general statement is not convincing for you, allow me to break your tunnel vision a bit. I have received many accolades, awards and news coverage for the work I have done. Of course a bulk of the credit goes to my parents.

Yet there is one man who also played a huge role in shaping how I policed for the rest of my career. His name was Bill Snowden. Here is my best recollection of him. He was an LAPD legend. He was a tall, white man, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He had the big mustache and all. Physically, he was every black person’s (who thought of cops in the stereotypical sense) worst nightmare.

But he was the most professional police officer who ever trained me. Snowden was known for making 2,300 arrest for narcotics sales and violent crime in the Oakwood area, an area mostly populated by African Americans at that time.

As a new probationer on the brink of getting fired thanks to my previous training officer who berated and humiliated me at every chance he got, I was now assigned to the hardest-working cop on the department and I just knew that because I was so behind the curve for not being trained properly that working with this legend called Snowden would seal my fate.

Everyone in the station said to me, “Joseph, you better get your shit together. This guy is the real deal.”

When I met him, I was carrying two bags, a shotgun, a Taser, a bean bag, and wearing my long sleeves in the summertime.

I was nervous as hell and he knew it as he towered over me. He smirked and said, “I’ll take some of those off your hands. I’m not going to treat you like a boot (a probationer). You are my partner. By the way, it’s hot outside. Go change into your short sleeves and let’s go have fun.”

I calmed down and was finally excited about learning my job. A job which I struggled with at first as it pitted me against my perceived “Blackness” at the time.

As we patrolled the Oakwood area of Venice Beach, there were black gangsters and citizens yelling his name, and waving hello to him. “SNOW!” or “WAS UP SNOW!!” I smiled and asked him who all the people were that were waving at him. After all, I was told that black people were supposed to hate cops, especially after the Rodney King beating. Hell, even I did before I put on the badge. He smirked at me and said, “I probably arrested half of them.”

I was perplexed. Then I became concerned. Was this some dirty cop who had the people of the community so terrified of him that they were compelled to say hello?

He looked at me and said “Joseph, we have a job to do. Oakwood is a dangerous drug-infested place and we are here to keep people safe from many of the people I arrested. But you don’t have to be an asshole to be a cop. We do not judge or mistreat the people we have to arrest. We treat them all with dignity and respect, because in the end, they know we have a job to do. All they want is for us to respect them when we do it. Do you understand, partner?”

I still had my reservations until one day we saw a 6 foot 7 inch parolee who was over 350 pounds standing in the street threatening to fuck up the first person he saw. He was stoned or completely out of his mind. Snowden looked at me and said. “Put out a back-up. We gotta deal with this before someone gets hurt.”

Now this man was twice the size of Snowden and I put together, but Bill did not hesitate. If he was afraid, he did not show it. As I sat sizing up this Goliath of a man, he barked at me “Joseph. Let’s go!” I got out of the car and we approached the man. I just knew we were going to end up shooting this man. Not because he was black. Not because he was poor, but if he got his hands on either one of us based on his size and strength and demeanor, he would have killed us with his bare hands.

I could hear the sirens of the other units coming as the giant taunted us and challenged anyone in uniform or not to stop him. Snowden said to me, “Let’s get him detained before the other units get here, I think he forgot to take his meds.”

Snowden approached him using a calm voice, and said, “I heard about your mom. I’m really sorry man. I know it hurts, but she wouldn’t want this for you at all.” The man looked at Snowden and said, “It’s fucked up Snow. I feel like killing someone right now!”

Snowden responded, “Well we don’t want to hurt you, and we won’t. It’s me, man. Have I ever done you wrong?” He looked at the ground and said, “No. You always been cool with me Snow.” “Then let me help you man. I gotta handcuff you. But I promise you won’t go to jail.” He looked at Snowden and said, “You for real?”

Snowden said, “I always keep my word, don’t I?” He bowed his head and said, “Only for you Snowden.” To my relief, he turned around and placed his hands behind his back. Snowden looked at me and said, “OK, Joseph. Cuff him so we can get him to the hospital.”

Trying to handcuff this man was a challenge. His wrists were the size of my 21-inch arms. Other officers were approaching to help. I did my best not to make him uncomfortable, but as I cuffed him, the cuff pinched his wrist. He screamed and started to turn on me. The other officers sprang into action. One pulled out his baton as I tried to keep this man’s large arms behind his back. He was so strong, but I held on for dear life. The officer tried to use the baton to pry the subject’s arms loose so I could detain him. Though the officer would have been justified to do so, Snowden looked at him and yelled “Put that thing away!! Right now!” The officer backed down out of respect for Snowden.

Snowden focused on the man again and said, “You gotta calm down. He didn’t mean to hurt you. Let the officer do his job.” He looked at Snowden with tears in his eyes, and said, “OK, Snow. I know he didn’t mean it. It just hurt.” I was finally able to cuff the man. Talk about a workout.

When we got to the station, Snowden said “I know the officer meant well. But that would have pissed that guy off and we would have had to shoot the man. We are here to try our best to preserve life, not create the circumstance where we have to take it.”

As we continued to work together, I saw people thanking him for trying help clean up their community. For his work, he received the “officer of the year” award many times. When I got off probation, I was driven to be just like him. He worked hard, he was honest, he knew his community and respected them no matter what they did.

Ladies and gentlemen, being a good cop or bad cop has zero to do with one’s skin color. It has everything to do with your heart, your maturity and how seriously you take your oath to protect and serve. You don’t have to be from the area to care. Your race does not have to match the community you patrol.

There are wonderful officers on my department and beyond from all walks of life who, if they got the same attention as those few who create a negative impression of our profession, you would be honored to know them and maybe be inspired by them.

As I walk the streets of skid row today and hear my name being yelled out, when I receive hugs and handshakes and respect from the community I serve, even those I had to arrest, I remember who trained me: a damned good cop, who just happened to be white, named Bill Snowden.

Like with all people, we must stop judging cops or their actions by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. One’s complexion does not make them inherently good or evil. Their heart does.

Deon Joseph is a 23 year veteran of law enforcement in Southern California - 21 of those years working in the homeless community to create an environment conducive to change for those in recovery, as a Lead Officer. He’s been recognized for his work locally and nationally, and news stories and documentaries surrounding his work in crime fighting and community relations, featured him. www.deonjoseph.org

Featured Interview - World Champion Boxer Danny McDermott By George Beck, Ph.D.

Danny McDermott, aka “Little Mac” is a world champion boxer, who in 2014 won the WBU Light Welterweight world championship in the Philippines. He defeated Ronnell Esparras to become the first North Bergen, New Jersey, native to win a title since James J. Braddock in 1935. McDermott’s victory made him the first American to win a world title in the Philippines.

Before becoming world champion, McDermott won in New York and New Jersey Golden Glove competitions. He also won the bronze medal for the USA Boxing Team in 2004 representing New Jersey in international competition at the Aponte Games in Caguas, Puerto Rico before turning pro. 

His boxing career took him all over the world, facing such fighters as Italian lightweight champion Floriano Pagliara, who he knocked out in two rounds. McDermott served as chief sparring partner to Arturo Gatti when Gatti got ready for Leonard Dorin, Jesse James Leija, Floyd Mayweather and Carlos Baldomier. Gatti was McDemott’s mentor. McDermott was chief sparring partner for Junior Jones when he won his world title fight against Marco Antonio Barrera. McDermott sparred world champions Bones Adams, Gerry Penolosa, Paul Malignaggi, Yuri Foreman, Ivan Robinson, Vivian Harris and Macho Camacho to name a few.

McDermott is a humble man who knows the value of hard work and faith. In this exclusive interview, I sat down with him to get a current sense of the sport of boxing, his experience teaching fighters and how learning boxing can help officers become more effective and safer. 

McDermott teaches aspiring boxers, enthusiasts and officers. He runs the “Little Mac Boxing” to help people get their bodies into fighting shape to take on anything they want to achieve in life. He still competes in the professional boxing circuit and is preparing for a fight in Atlantic City at the Claridge Hotel. Blue Magazine is rooting for his success! 

Why is boxing an important sport for law enforcement officers?

Danny McDermott: I believe boxing or any form of martial art really, is important for law enforcement officers to know. There are many times officers will be presented with a physical altercation on the job where they need to subdue a perp physically. If a guy is resisting and he becomes physically violent but has no weapon in hand, the easy thing to do is take out your gun and shoot him or these days you use a Taser. The way things are in this country nowadays the laws are in place to help the criminal, not the officers. You shoot your gun, you’re in trouble. You get hit with a suspension, years of ongoing litigation, and you become a poster boy for police brutality. You are publicly embarrassed and shamed through mainstream media. We’ve seen it more and more over the last fifteen years. But, if you know how to handle yourself in some form of self-defense, boxing, I think you don’t have to resort to pulling out your firearm when a suspect comes at you with no weapon in hand. You’ll have the ability to handle the situation better.

Boxing is an amazing form of exercise. This is a great sport for officers to stay in shape and stay healthy. You don’t really know how long a minute is until you spar in a boxing ring. Besides being in great physical shape, you are learning self-defense. I think every officer should study some form of self-defense. I see it all the time in the boxing gym. Officers come in to train and become more effective on the job. 

Boxing will give you a great sense of confidence. There’s no better feeling than knowing you can take care of yourself and the ones you care about if a physical situation arises. It’s a known fact that when you are in top physical condition, all your senses are much sharper. Your awareness is at its peak and that’s vital for an officer of the law.

Many people may believe boxing is an offensive sport, would they be correct? If no, why?

There is a reason it is called the sweet science. To the average person that sees boxing on television, it’s a sport of savages. Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots, but it’s a lot deeper than that. It’s a chess game. For every action there is a reaction, every defensive move there is an opportunity for an offensive move to be executed. Hit and not get hit. So I disagree when people want to say it’s an offensive sport. Being defensive is just as important, if not more important. Who wants to take unnecessary punishment when they don’t have to?

Is strength more important than technique?

I believe stamina is more important than both. I have seen physically weak guys with halfway decent technique win fights just because they were in shape and outlasted the stronger, more advanced boxers. It was their will that made these guys win. The only way you can out-will your opponent is to be in tremendous shape. That’s when confidence comes into play. 

Perfect example is Mike Tyson versus Buster Douglas.

Tyson’s strength and skill were on a different level than Buster Douglas’. But, Douglas had just lost his mother earlier that year and she was his motivation to get in great physical condition for his fight with Tyson. He trained endlessly while Tyson didn’t train as hard as he usually did. He expected to have an early night because he depended on both strength and technique. Who was in better shape that night? Who out-willed who? Stamina is extremely essential in boxing. It can make all the difference to out-will your opponent and win the fight.

What is the best aspect of teaching boxing?

It’s self-rewarding to know that you’re giving someone the ability to learn and love a sport that can positively impact his or her life. For those who will compete, it’s awesome to see how they shape and develop on that level. It’s equally self-rewarding to give people the tools to defend themselves if a situation should arise where otherwise they’d have become a victim. Nobody should have to become a victim by some evil person out there who thinks it’s OK to harm other people just because he feels like it. 

I love teaching boxing. I think the most important thing to teach in the beginning is proper technique. Make sure they bring their hands back in place after every move. You can’t build a masterpiece without building a strong foundation. There are different ways to teach a new person to box because everyone is different. You might have to start teaching someone differently than how you usually teach, because they may pick it up different because they are built differently.

 What has teaching boxing taught you?

Teaching boxing has taught me to become a better boxer. I see the mistakes that I made as a fighter. It’s also made me a better person, a more patient person. Some of the personalities I’ve dealt with over the last twenty years, not all of them have been the greatest kind of people to deal with. I’ve learned to adapt to the different personalities and different classes of people. Learning to adapt in different environments is vital in one’s life. It’s amazing how teaching boxing has actually taught me so much about myself and life.

 For officers looking to add boxing to their defensive tactic skills, how should they go about this? 

Find a local boxing gym. I was fortunate, my neighborhood had a PAL (Police Athletic League). There are very few Police Athletic Leagues these days but there are commercialized boxing gyms in almost every town or city. UFC, Club KO, TITLE BOXING. These are the McDonalds of boxing. Most of these gyms have a few decent trainers on staff. The days of “Micky” the trainer and the old “Rocky” gyms are few and far between. The most important thing is that they make the first move and seek out a place to train. The officers may find the place they selected is not the right fit for them, and move on to a different boxing gym. But at that point you’re already training and that’s the most important aspect of learning any sport.

 Where do you see the sport of boxing heading in the next decade? 

I see boxing remaining strong. Every generation has called it a dying sport since the 1900s. During every decade over the past century we saw great fighters come up and shock the world.

 During the 1920s you had Dempsey, the ‘30s & ‘40s there was Robinson, Louis, Armstrong, Pep,--the ‘50s had Marciano, LaMatta, ‘60s & ‘70s had Ali, Holmes, Griffeth, Frazier, and Foreman. The ‘80s had Tyson, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler Camacho Duran, and the ‘90s was the time Holyfield, Lewis, DeLaHoya, Jones, Jr., Toney Trinadad, Hamed. The last two decades we had Mayweather, Pacquiao, Klitchko, Hopkins, GGG, Gatti, Lomonchenko, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

As you can see there are plenty of fans worldwide who love boxing. The highest paid athlete every year is a boxer. The sport of boxing will never die. I don’t see it happening. 

 McDermott is among the best boxers the sport had ever seen, and officers can benefit greatly from learning the sport directly from this world champion. If you seek to sharpen your defensive tactics and techniques through learning the sport of boxing, reach out to Danny McDermott at danny.mcdermott@hotmail.com

George Beck is a police detective, award-winning journalist, and editor-in-chief of Blue Magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in History & Culture from Drew University. He is the author of The Killer Among Us and several other books. His nonfiction and short stories have been featured in magazines and anthologies nationally and internationally.

Social Media Radicalization is Putting Our Military At Risk - By Dr. Demetrick Pennie & Eric Feinberg

Beginning in 2015, we started to monitor and report on how Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were being used as the catalyst to incite global violence. Essentially, the platforms allowed extremist ideologies of the virtual world to bleed over into the real world. This process was facilitated by a pervasive cycle of negligence that ensued for years because the social media companies refused to remove online content that posed a significant threat to United States, international and homeland security interests. Our research and knowledge on this subject have been reported by nearly every news organization around the world; yet the social media companies have remained unresponsive to the mounting complaints and media criticism.

Despite acknowledged failures to manage the corrupt and nefarious misuses on their online platforms, social media companies such as Facebook continue to dominate political, social, economic and cultural messaging across the globe with impunity. Although Facebook’s executives have publicly alleged that their platforms were created to provide a visceral environment where harmonious ideas could merge, in recent years we have learned that the platforms have been widely used by terrorists to recruit, radicalize and disseminate extremist content encouraging attacks on United States democracy, its infrastructure and its military personnel.

Ongoing discussions about social media’s contribution to online radicalism have remained somewhat dense because of lack of knowledge pertaining to threatening content and government’s unwillingness to challenge “Big Tech,” considering the financial influences that social media has over geo-political affairs. Unfortunately, failures to challenge the status quo have emboldened international terrorist groups like ISIS to ramp up their radicalized propaganda on social media to encourage more attacks on U.S. interests; thereby limiting our nation’s ability to mitigate the outcomes of attacks inspired by threats proliferated through those platforms.

Based on emergent social media trends on Facebook and Instagram, members of our military and intelligence community overseas should be extremely concerned. After President Trump’s announcement in December 2018 of America’s intended withdrawal of troops from Syria, we identified a discernible spike in radicalized content on Facebook encouraging attacks on U.S. interests in Syria. The content is often so specific that anyone would deduce the correlation of recent attacks on American troops to the radicalized messages.

For example, on January 16, 2019, two U.S. soldiers and two American civilians were killed by a suicide bomber in the city of Manbij in Syria. In the aftermath of the attack, a video surfaced online depicting graphic scenes of the suicide bomber detonating his vest among a crowd of people in front the restaurant that Americans were meeting. Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack and has since used the video in its propaganda campaign on social media to inspire others to carry out similar attacks against our military officials and soldiers. On January 21, 2019, three Americans were injured in a second targeted attack. In this incident, an ISIS suicide bomber targeted an allied Kurdish force and a U.S.-led convoy traveling in northern Syria. Videos and photo images of both attacks were posted on ISIS Facebook accounts to inspire more attacks.

Over the last decade, corresponding with the advent of social media, America has lagged in its ability to appropriately engage terrorists because of our inability to intercept threatening communication strains on social media. This shortcoming has remained consistent over the years because there is no legal mandate or regulatory requirement for the social media companies to inform government authorities of impending threats. Additionally, our vulnerabilities to such threats is exacerbated by Congress’ inability to pass comprehensive legislation addressing the immunity clause in Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act; which offers broad immunity protection to the social media companies for facilitating the nefarious third-party content. The social companies have frequently claimed this “immunity protection” to circumvent blame and have often leveraged its protections for other “carte blanche” activities including claims of providing material support to terrorism.

It is important for our leaders to understand that if this issue remains unchecked, then the lives our soldiers abroad will continue to be endangered and our nation’s critical assets will continue to be subjected to the real world consequences of online radicalization. We believe that to proactively protect our troops overseas, multi-party collaborations must exist including: (1) Congress must hold social media companies accountable for facilitating overt threats to our international and homeland security interests; (2) social media companies must provide the U.S. intelligence community access to the “clandestine communications network” that terrorists have formed on their platforms, so that they can better respond to threats; and (3) third-party experts must be integrated into the review process to properly audit any threat-mitigation procedures adapted by the social media companies. Unfortunately, the social media companies’ history of poor unaccountable behavior has shown us that they cannot be trusted to protect the interests of our nation’s greatest assets - the men and women who honorable serve in the U.S. military!

Demetrick Pennie, Ed.D., is a 20-year veteran Dallas police sergeant. He is nationally recognized as a law enforcement advocate and currently serves as the president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation and the executive director of the Texas Fallen Officer Foundation. He is also a Doctor of Education and has facilitated college courses ranging from: Terrorism, Ethics, Criminal Law and Justice, to Cultural diversity.

Eric Feinberg, is the CEO of the cyber-intelligence company GIPEC. He is an expert in cyber-intelligence attribution and has been featured in many major publications as an expert in the field.

References:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-bomb-attack-sdf-checkpoint-us-troops-shaddadi-after-manbij-americans/

Vantage Point - SCOOP & RUN By Joel E. Gordon

I am still reminded on any given day of dampness the time that I fell through the floor of a vacant partially gutted home in West Baltimore. I was on a call looking for heroin addicts trespassing and shooting up. Realizing that my knee wasn’t right upon landing in the dwelling’s basement I immediately got on the radio to report that no trespassers were found and to also report my injury. My mentor (and often my guardian angel in my rookie policing days) Officer Dwight Thomas, radioed that I should stay immobilized. He was quickly on-scene cancelling any EMS and taking me to the closest hospital in his patrol car after securing the vehicle I had been operating.

In 1980s Baltimore, we really had no formal policy on whether or when police should transport an injured person directly to a hospital or wait for EMS personnel for ambulance transport. In critiquing our performance in the line of duty shooting resulting in the homicide of another mentor of mine, Officer Ronald Tracey, it was noted that supervisors made the correct call when instructing officers on-scene to transport the wounded officer by police vehicle and to not wait for EMS. Regrettably, in this case it was to no avail due to the severity of the injury.

The practice of police medical transport in places such as Philadelphia is known as “scoop and run” or “scoop and go.” In a recent 12-month period, Philadelphia police drove 408 gunshot victims to trauma centers, according to the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation, the state’s accrediting agency for trauma centers. In cases of profuse blood loss, there have been documented cases where this practice has proven to be a life saver.

Several other police departments have policies permitting their officers to conduct transports including Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit, but none reported transporting victims on a regular basis. Police departments have cited other reasons for not regularly practicing scoop and run, arguing that EMS units are better trained to handle severely injured patients. The New Orleans Police Department says its first priority is to secure the scene; hard to do if they’re speeding to the hospital. Instead of being tended to by trained EMS and paramedics with a range of medical supplies and equipment, patients are quickly loaded into the back of a police car, where they may not even receive direct pressure to their wounds, not to mention a buckled seat belt. Then, despite Good Samaritan laws, there is the risk of accusations of wrongdoing which could result in civil lawsuits or even criminal culpability in this day and age of police vilification.

Studies on the issue, though, have led some clinicians to interpret findings to mean police transport is safe for patients, and in some cases advantageous. One study included a subset of people severely injured by gunshots. Compared to those transported by EMS, patients transported by police had higher rates of surviving their wounds. According to some trauma doctors, the lack of medical intervention that victims receive during the typical scoop and run is part of what makes the practice beneficial. Advanced procedures like breathing tubes and IV fluids, while helpful for certain kinds of patients, may actually do more harm than good for shooting and stabbing victims in urban areas.

“I’d love to debunk the myth that you need a person on the scene who has all this advanced medical training and that is going to make the difference for this specific kind of injury,” Elliott Haut, a Johns Hopkins trauma surgeon, has been quoted as saying. For a presentation he gives at conferences, he shows an image that asks, “What’s the best fluid to give victims of penetrating trauma?” Then he clicks to the next image, which reads “…fuel.” “Yes, you’re going to get less medical care on the street and in the back of the car, but I’m OK with that because the shorter time is going to make a difference.”

Perhaps a Cleveland Police directive which gives officers the option to transport a victim after assessing “the totality of the circumstances” to include nature of injury, location of incident in proximity to a hospital and proximity of EMS is the right approach to the scoop and run question.

If the goal is to save a life based upon the best information that an officer has available at any given time, it would seem that officer discretion would be the most logical universal answer to victim care.

While not always ending in the desired result of saving life, as long as we act in good faith while doing our best to provide optimal service to our communities, can we really go wrong?

Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer’s Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com

Military News - Four Tips for Scheduling Success in the VA System By Scott Frezzo

How many veterans or caregivers feel as though they are receiving sub-standard health care from their local Veterans Administration (VA) hospital? The good news is you could be receiving better service and quicker scheduling if you are willing to put in a little effort following these three simple tips.

I am rated 100% Total and Permanent (T&P) from the VA. I have had five surgeries and have been treated at four different East Coast VA hospitals. For many years, I had between three to five VA appointments a month and currently have one to three a month. I did not always receive the high level of care I receive now, so here’s how to greatly improve the level of service you or your loved one is currently experiencing.

First and foremost, you are responsible for your own health care and well-being. This means being proactive rather than reactive. This is essential to receiving the care you deserve. Make your own appointments. When a referral is placed for you to see a specialist in the VA system, do not wait for them to call you to schedule your appointment -- you call them – persistently, if necessary, to schedule the appointment at your convenience. The earlier you call in the day, the better. Always ask to be notified of any cancellation ahead of your appointment so you may have an earlier appointment if it becomes available. If your next appointment is further away than you would like, call the department’s scheduler at least once a week, preferably on a Monday to inquire about the upcoming week’s cancellations. Doing this will help in two ways. It will give a chance to grab a recently canceled appointment, and secondly, it helps to build a good rapport with the schedulers, while simultaneously keeping your name on the department’s staffs’ minds. I have found this helps me see the physician sooner. I am also in the practice of scheduling as many of my appointments on the same day as possible to limit the number of trips.

Second, schedule your appointments in person when you are at the VA. This may require going to the multiple departments to schedule, but the departments can communicate with each other while you are standing in front of them to organize an appointment schedule (pardon the pun) you can live with. It’s a lot harder for someone to tell you no when you are standing in front of him or her and are politely persistent.

Third, utilize the patient advocate. Every VA hospital facility has at least one patient advocate, who is there to handle any issues you may have regarding the hospital or its staff. The patient advocate is available by telephone or electronic communication. However, I recommend stopping into the advocate’s office to discuss your particular issue(s). Be sure to confirm the patient advocate’s office hours before showing up. Issues discussed with the advocate will be investigated, and you are entitled to a response and/or a decision of how the matter is to be handled. I have found great success utilizing my patient advocate, making my interactions with the VA less stressful and more pleasant.

Lastly, the fourth tip is for dire situations only. If you are unable to get an appointment with your doctor or specialist, go to your VA’s emergency department (ED). They are open 24/7 and will treat, or schedule you for the appointment you require with a sense of urgency. Do not forget, the main hospital is closed after 4 or 5 p.m. during the week, on the weekends, and on all federal holidays. So, plan your trip to the ED accordingly. I learned that lesson the hard way, showing up in the ED on the Sunday before Columbus Day.

The VA has a website dedicated to assisting veterans to receive and monitor their health care. Myhealthevet.va.gov allows veterans to access their medical records, view test results, refill prescriptions, monitor appointments (past and future) and most importantly, communicate privately and directly with a physician or department to discuss any medical or scheduling concerns. In my experience, the waiting time for a response has never been more than 24 hours during the workweek. Communication of this type is statistically analyzed by the VA upper leadership, and physicians or departments who consistently have longer than average response times are reprimanded.

I use the VA because it is the only insurance I have, and for me, it is entirely free. However, even if I had private health insurance, I would still utilize the VA because I feel as though I am receiving all the care I require, while being treated with respect for serving my country. Because the VA is nonprofit, I am not asked to have unnecessary procedures or tests done to hike up my bill to the insurance companies. The Veterans Administration Health Care System is the world’s largest teaching institution, and the future doctors who are trained at the VA are instilled with respect for veterans and knowledge that will allow them to be the highly skilled and compassionate physicians I know they will be.

So, all veterans out there give these tips a try. They could save you a lot of time and frustration.

Scott Frezzo is a disabled Iraq War veteran. His ultimate goal is to continue his educational pursuits to one day legally represent veterans as an attorney. He is passionate about advocating for more PTSD awareness programs, and for disabled veterans to receive the quality health care they deserve. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Fairleigh Dickinson University and is currently working toward his master’s degree. He lives in Northern New Jersey.

A Helping Hand By Chris Amos

As a law enforcement officer, you often find yourself in the unique position of meeting people in their greatest hour of need. Perhaps as a victim of a crime or participant in a serious car accident. What does this mean? It means you may very well be the most important person in that person’s life at that very moment. How? By providing something as simple as a word of encouragement, a different perspective or possibly even a quick prayer or word of reassurance that everything will be OK. Let me give you an example that happened to my daughter-in-law Stacey just last week. Stacey was married to my oldest son Seth. Seth was a nine-year veteran of the Norfolk Police Department. Seth died just four months ago from a catastrophic infection that attacked his lungs. Seth turned 30 years old 20 days before he went home to be with his Savior and Lord, Jesus. Seth left behind his wife Stacey, of almost 10 years, and two sons, Carson (6) and Bodie (1 1/2).

Stacey had a doctor’s appointment. The only thing worse than going to a doctor’s appointment is to go to one when you feel cut off, alone, in a place of unbearable darkness and sorrow. Stacey was in such a place as she awaited her doctor. There was a knock at the door, her doctor stepped inside. The doctor asked Stacey if she would allow a medical student to join them. She was in no mood to endure the battery of questions she knew the student would ask, a requirement of his “training.” Despite how she was feeling she granted permission. As expected, the medical student began to ask her medical history. Stacey began to answer the questions when, without warning, she burst into tears. As a steady stream of tears trickled down her cheeks, Stacey shared the story of Seth’s passing, at times crying so hard she could not breathe. The medical student finished his questions and put the clipboard he was holding down. “Stacey,” he asked, “Can I pray for you?” Stacey looked up as if looking into the eyes of Jesus Christ Himself and said, “Please do.” This medical student lifted Stacey up in prayer and in doing so lifted her spirits and provided a desperately needed dose of compassion, encouragement, reassurance, peace and light.

What am I suggesting, friend? To those of you who are Believers in Jesus, you may very well find yourself in the coming days in the position to be the mouth, the feet, the arms and eyes of Jesus. To those of you who are not Christians, you still have much to offer by way of a word of encouragement or assurance, two things that the person you are dealing with may desperately need. Or perhaps the shoe may be on the other foot. Maybe like Stacey, the walls of your world may be closing in. Your marriage may be on life support. Your kids may be headed down the wrong road. Your health may be failing. It could be any number of things, but needless to say, you need help. You need hope. As Stacey, despite how she felt, said yes to the medical student. You too may need to reach out and say, “Yes, I need help. I am overwhelmed. I feel like I am being buried alive by the problems surrounding me.”

Friend, the bottom line is that everyone who reads this article will need the faith and courage to either reach out for help from another person or offer hope to another person. May you have the courage, the faith, the conviction to do what is most needed for yourself and for those with whom you come in contact in the coming days!

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 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.