Sending out thoughts and prayers…
…and hoping to get some back
Three dramatic events that have occurred the past
few weeks truly define how we law enforcement officers are caught between a rock and a hard place.
On May 4, New York City Officer Brian Moore died
from injuries suffered when he was shot in the head
and face during a routine stop in Queens the preceding Saturday night. Our thoughts and prayers go out
to Officer Moore’s family, his fellow officers and
Marc
everybody at the New York City Patrolman’s BenevoKovar
Executive
lent Association, our NAPO sisters and brothers.
Vice-President
At the end of April, the city of Baltimore was overwrought with riotous protests after Freddie Gray
died while in police custody. The incident caused six
officers to be charged with murder, and the ensuing riots left 20 officers injured, 250 citizens arrested and the city locked down under
curfew for the better part of a week.
On May 13, National Police Week crescendoed with the 27th
Annual Candlelight Vigil remembering all law enforcement officers
in the U.S. lost in the line of duty and reading the names of those
who were killed on the job in 2014, including Allendale-Waldwick
Local 217 member Christopher Goodell and three other officers
from New Jersey.
Now, which of these three incidents will resonate most
throughout the country?
I’m sure sympathy will pour out profusely for Officer Moore. For
a few days. And right after we lay him to rest, we might see some
acknowledgement of the 127 officers lost in the line of duty throughout the U.S. in 2014 whose names have been added to the wall at the
National Law Enforcement Memorial.
But two weeks from now - and two years from now - what happened in Baltimore will be the event people will still be talking
about. I wish I could make sense of this and provide some kind of
message for you, but I’m not sure there is one. Or at least a good one.
So forgive me for ranting a bit, but I want you to know we’ve got
your backs. Because nobody else does.
After the events in Baltimore, the President criticized cops, just
like he did after what happened in Ferguson, Missouri last August.
When he did that, the NAPO Executive Board decided to forgo its
annual visit with Top Cops honorees to the White House during
Police Week.
Then, after Officer Moore died, the President praised cops for giving their lives in the line of duty. Which one is it, Mr. President? Do
you have our backs or not?
I don’t know why we don’t see the politicians coming out and
sticking up for cops, but it’s really painful. We’re out there giving our
time to Special Olympics, The Torch Run, giving out turkeys to the
needy on Thanksgiving and Christmas, collecting toys to give
holiday gifts to kids who would not otherwise receive them and
working every day to support our communities and citizens.
Why all the support we give to charities, Little League teams and
the like doesn’t make national news? And all the cops who come to
Police Week on their own dime or ride the Police Unity Tour on their
own time, is not what anybody will be talking about.
If people want something to protest, they should protest over a
cop sitting in his car getting executed. If the politicians don’t get our
back, other cops in New York City will be victimized like Brian Moore
was a few weeks ago and Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were a few
months ago.
In 2015, we have been losing officers in the line of duty nearly one
in every four days. In 2014, it was one in every three days.
I don’t know what the message is here. I know when I was at Police
Week watching family members taking etchings of the names on the
wall at the Law Enforcement Memorial and 20,000 people attending
the Candlelight Vigil to honor all fallen officers, my heart was breaking. It’s been that way since I first attended Police Week more than
10 years ago.
When I see that, I think of how fortunate we are to get home safe
at the end of each tour of duty. And hope we continue to do so. d
WELCOME NEW
STATE DELEGATES
On April 14, the following
new State Delegates were
sworn in at the NJ State PBA
meeting at Pines Manor in
Edison: Brad Kerney, Deal
Local 101; Hector Olmo,
Tenafly Local 376; Jonathan
Williams, Pompton Lakes
Local 161; John Welsh,
Passaic County Sheriff’s
Office Local 197.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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MAY 2015
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