This week, Executive Director Chuck Wexler wrote an important piece about the tragedy of cops dying of COVID 19. I applaud Director Wexler for his leadership at a time when too many law enforcement leaders are silent or actively undermining attempts to get cops vaccinated to save lives. The numbers don’t lie. In 2020, 242 law enforcement officers died of COVID 19, and so far in 2021, 137 have lost their lives to the virus. At this point, there is not any rational argument. Get your vaccine. Stay alive. Protect your co-workers and community. It’s the very definition of protect and serve. Here’s ..read more

Police Union Politics is Getting Cops killed The Fraternal Order of Police boasts that it proudly supports over 364,000 police officers nationwide. One look at the FOPs social media pages and the overwhelming statistics in red-alert style graphics screams daily totals of gunfire deaths and ambush cries. But, you know what’s killing three times the number of law enforcement officers as gunfire in the last two years? Covid19. The Officer Down Memorial Page has documented 241 law enforcement line of duty deaths to Covid19 (45 gunfire deaths) in 2020 and 107 Covid deaths (39 gunfire) so far this y ..read more

I am outraged that a Capitol Police Officer had his skull crushed by members of an insurrectionist mob, while elsewhere in the capitol building, some of his fellow officers were taking selfies with the mob. Do you get it yet, my fellow cops? Do you see why there can be no tolerance for extremists in our ranks? This is what turning a blind eye to bigotry, racism, and most recently, white supremacy and Trumpism gets you. Yes, I’m fully outraged because we have seen this coming for a long time. We’ve seen the dark underbelly of law enforcement play out in a never-ending cascade of extrajudicial k ..read more

As a 25-year law enforcement veteran, I sit this morning with a familiar sadness seeing justice denied once again to a family and a community in this country. The criminal justice system denied Breonna Taylor’s family the justice they deserved. Here is the thought I can’t shake today: Why can’t we–the police, the city leaders, the powers-that-be–ever apologize and admit we’re wrong? Breonna Taylor should not have been shot dead that night. Full stop. She should be alive today, working a shift as an EMT, living her life. But because of a poorly planned, badly executed, no-knock warrant, she is ..read more

Those who know me or have followed this blog know that I tend to have a slightly different viewpoint than the standard police thinking. This doesn’t mean I’m anti-police or that I have turned my back on the profession I love, or those I served with for twenty-five years. I’ve always had a slightly different perception of how to improve policing. It’s not surprising, then, that I find myself at odds with many of my police friends and former colleagues over the many political arguments of the day. This week’s example of my heresy involves a Florida Sheriff who doesn’t believe the media hoax that ..read more

When I see former colleagues angrier at protestors than disgusted by the latest cops shaming their badge, I realize how far we’ve strayed from our oath. We have to do some honest soul-searching. To protect and serve has too often become you’re either with us or against us. How did we get here? Policing is a profession of contradictions. Policing can be a thankless job and the most rewarding career. Policing demands great responsibility and affords great privilege. Here’s where I think we’ve gone wrong: Police enforce society’s laws, but police are not the law. It’s really easy to blur that lin ..read more

I started writing this blog a few years ago out of a sense that policing—the profession I love and spent 25 years serving—was losing its way. But, then, as I gained more perspective through time and distance of retirement, I realized we were always on shaky ground. I entered the police academy in November of 1989 and hit the street three months later as a naïve, but energetic rookie, eager to save the world. Of course, I soon realized that idealism is difficult to maintain. My first assignment was to a midnight squad that worked the largest public housing complex in the city. The housing proje ..read more

As outrage burns over the murder of George Floyd, my commitment to police reforms & accountability has never been stronger. I’m outraged because the actions of those officers do not represent our honorable profession. I’m outraged by the depravity shown by Derek Chauvin under the color of authority, and we all instantly knew every cop was going to wear that crime for a long time. Rightly so.  Not because all or even most women and men who serve as police would ever condone such despicable behavior. That’s a given. What brands us is the internal malfeasance that keeps us from removing ..read more

“In order to do this, you must stand up and say, “I think we should all help each other become better officers. I want you to know that if I should ever do anything in your presence that could result in my embarrassment, suspension, loss of job, or prison time, I want you to know that it is okay to intervene; to stop me. Can I have the same commitment from you?” Improving Police Roll Call. I would like to talk to you today in light of all that has transpired around our country as a result of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Most of you chose to be police officers because you actually ..read more

Since the murder of George Floyd one week ago, I’ve been concerned about the escalation of violence and the risk to more citizens and cops. We should be thinking about the exponential risk to every good cop who now has to wear the depravity of one of our brothers in blue, callously snuffing out the life of a person in his custody. This event has ramped up violence nationwide and, as always, cops on the front line are the ones in harm’s way. My friends, we must understand how we got here. I want to talk to you truthfully and frankly, as a fellow cop, because we have to tell each other the truth ..read more