Spring is a beautiful time of year. Many Chiefs and Sheriffs are fighting with city/county councils to get their 2020/2021 budget funded. Kids are going into their last few months of the school year. Easter is coming, spring break happens in a lot of places and, perhaps of greatest note for we in the law enforcement industry, National Police Week happens.
Kicking off on May 10, National Police Week brings us a plethora of activities around the country and in Washington D.C. where the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Law Enforcement Memorial organization (NLEOMF) hold functions to remember and honor those officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2019. The NLEOMF also recognizes fallen officers of years past who, for whatever reason, weren’t added to the wall until this year.
2019 saw the loss of 146 officers in the line of duty. It galls us to realize it, but 24 of those 146 died of illnesses related to their response on September 11, 2001. We need to remember that not all officers lost to duty related causes die immediately. Sometimes the job kills us years and decades later.
Of those remaining 122 line of duty deaths, 48 are reported to have been killed by gunfire. Please, wear your vest, practice good tactics, and carry a blowout kit. Heart attacks killed 18 officers on duty—the second most common cause of duty deaths in 2019. That is almost entirely preventable. Eat cleaner. Exercise regularly. Get your annual physical and blood work done. We have to take care of ourselves first. December was the deadliest month in 2019 but June was second. Maintain your situational awareness and act accordingly. If you react to a potential threat and you’re wrong, you’re embarrassed. If you fail to act at all and the threat is real, you’re potentially hurt or worse. Embarrassment is not fatal.
As this column is being written, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is the primary topic in the news, competing with election primaries. I’ve been asked by several people if this “threat of pandemic” will cause law enforcement conferences and/or training events to shut down. They may, but we in law enforcement deal with the threat of transmittable disease every day we work. Blood-borne pathogens, whatever people contaminate with their spit, urine, feces, etc.; we deal with it all. We are all too familiar with the necessary precautions to not bring any of that home with us and to not get infected. That said, as this goes to print, the number of infected and killed by the virus has probably grown appreciably. I trust all my fellow law enforcement professionals are taking the proper precautions and caring for their families appropriately.
Finally, spring and summer seem to be everyone’s favorite time to train. For everything being done outside, the temperatures are certainly nicer as compared to winter. Of course, you might have to train in the rain. Some of you have heard this: “If it ain’t rainin’, we ain’t trainin’.” None of us likes to train in the rain but we have to work in every weather condition, so suck it up and train in whatever weather presents itself when the time comes. Short of dangerous winds or lightning, go do what you have to in order to maintain your martial skills.
Welcome to spring.
Stay safe.
