Say Hello to Your Local Hero

I want to address the issue of law enforcement neglect.  I’ll try to make it short, and sweet.

I do not have any desire to draw attention to the anti-police crowd rioting in the streets.  My blood boils whenever I’m forced to see it within the media, and through social media.  And I know you are tired of seeing them as well.  The nation is over it.

No.  Today, I want to target the majority of Americans who still feel that law enforcement officers continue to be the heroes of our time.  I am asking that you let your voice be heard.  I am asking you to show our officers that you are thankful for their service.

Because right now, they are losing faith in you.  

Courtesy of Colorado FOP

You’ll see patrol cars driving through your neighborhoods, pro-actively looking for those who seek to do the general public harm.  You’ll see a lone officer at the Chipotle, back against the wall at the rear of the restaurant (so he can analyze any potential threat that walks through the door).  That officer might stop to assist you when you’ve broken down on the side of the road.  She might even respond to your call for assistance during far more critical times.

Leave a note on their patrol cars.  Thank them for their service.  It only takes a matter of moments to make this simple gesture.  And the morale you will single-handedly supply will have a long-lasting affect. 

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office

Walk up to a patrol officer, shake his hand, look him right in the eye, and say Thank You!  If your walking with your kids and you see a patrol car, point the officer out and wave to him.  You say, “that man is a hero.  Whenever something bad happens, that man will respond and he will help you.”

I guarantee you that most officers, not en route to a service call, will give your kids a show if you are kind.  Whenever I take my girls to the 16^th Street Mall, I always make it a point to stop and wave to the DPD officers we see.  And they always invite both of them to sit on the bikes or in the cars.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is equally classy.  A friendly wave has brought several deputies to our daughters while strolling along on our evening walks.  They flip on the lights, chirp the sirens, and hand out Douglas County badge stickers.  The looks on both of my girls’ faces are always priceless.  They are absolutely mesmerized by these officers and deputies.

Your local officers and deputies are fatigued.  They have been left out to rot by the media and your local politician.  And quite frankly, they feel abandoned by you.  They are discouraged that the ignorant voices of the anti-police movement are being heard and acted upon (in favor of the common criminal).  Only small pockets of people are standing up for what is right.  The officers hang on to the hope that one day, common sense Americans will stand up for law enforcement officers and send the anti-police movement back into the shadows.  

JCSO 

Lets show our law enforcement officers that we care.  Lets restore their faith in humanity.  Say something encouraging when you see one of ‘em!  I think that this is the very least of what you could do.  Take it from me, your kind words will go a long way.

  

Thanks for listening.

Steven S. Press

Why Ferguson, Missouri Matters: The Story of a LEO Hung Out to Dry

This was written by a FOP rep named Sean McCauley.  I tried to put it in better words, but couldn't.
Thank You, Mr. McCauley:

I thought that I had flushed the Ferguson situation out of my system with my last post, but a two hour flight gave me more time with my thoughts. I have purposefully remained silent over the last week because the facts of the case in Ferguson were still unclear, though the original accounts certainly seemed suspect. I knew that it would take time for accurate information to gradually flow out to determine what happened that afternoon. The case will proceed, as it should, through a formal investigation with an ultimate decision made through legal process.

For those of you who know me and now what I do, you probably have figured out long ago where I stand on this issue. As an attorney, I have handled hundreds of officer involved shooting over the last 14 years. I am not a police defensive tactics expert or a police psychologist, but I can tell you from experience I know what officers go through during and after an OIS. It is a trying experience. None of them go to work hoping to get involved in a shooting. And none of them are the same after the fact. They will tell you that they are okay, but, in the end, they are human beings and taking a life, however justified, leaves an indelible mark on one’s soul. They are never truly the same afterwards.

Officer Wilson is going through much the same situation, but under the microscope of the nation and that makes the situation for him exponentially worse. It is something no one should have to go through. While the uninformed and inexperienced debate what he could have done or should have done, Officer Wilson is left with only that he had to do. Assuming that the facts that have come out are true, and I have no reason to doubt them, at that fateful moment when he chose to fire, there was no hate in his heart, no racism coursing through his mind, no macho desire to take a life, the only thing there was fear. Fear that he would not see his family again, fear that he would die right there in the middle of the street, fear that his last though would be “Should I fire?” His entire life flashed before him in that instant, his vision tunneled, his body reverted to his training and he made the decision- a decision that likely saved his life, and one that most of us will never have to make. And now he is left to deal with the aftermath of that decision.

And he feels alone. He feels abandoned. And why wouldn’t he. Elected officials and the media have prejudged the situation from as far as Martha’s Vineyard and as close as Ferguson itself. Governor Nixon and others, who have supported officers in the past, have jumped to the politically expedient side of the issue because they seek higher office or hope to retain their current one. They have judged the situation based on the account of someone who has every reason to lie. They have done exactly what they ridicule the police for doing, they have judged the situation based not on the facts, but on personal prejudice. In this case, it is not the color of the man’s skin, but rather the color of his uniform. I am a liberal and most of my clients question my political persuasion. After the experience of the last several days, I questioned it myself. I always believed that my side, for the most part, stood on the side that supports the constitution and our legal system, the side that supports innocent until proven guilty, the side that supports the bill of rights, the side that supports factual investigations in its pursuit of justice. But the reality is they only support one thing.

Themselves.

But Darren rest assured you are not alone. You will not be abandoned. Because when all others run, when they walk away from what’s right to protect their own self- interest, when they stand in front of a camera to score political points, when they promote a self-aggrandizing agenda, there’s only one thing left. And that is the thin blue line. Because in reality the only thing that officers can truly rely on is each other. Others mock it, call it corrupt, but this is situation illustrates why it exists. And that line will not fade. It will not shrink. It will not disappear. And behind that thin blue line and the men that make it up, is the Fraternal Order of Police. We all got your six Darren, and we are not going anywhere until the truth wins out.

END

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Supplement:  Steven Press

As of today, 1,047 citizens have donated $40,145 toward Officer Darren Wilson's expenses during his leave from the department.  This does not include the sale of support t-shirts at $18-20 per shirt.  Over 1,000 of these shirts have already been sold and the proceeds will benefit Officer Wilson and his family.

Please drop by the Support Officer Darren Wilson site, and show your support!  

Thanks!

Steven