Fallen Officers Remembered at D.C. Memorial

Let this sink in, officers. Never forget tactics, officer safey and TRUST NOBOBY!
Workout and at least do some type of cardio activity. Too many of us are "out of shape", so to speak (I could lose a few pounds myself)
Lets get the numbers lower for years to come and dont give the bad guys or death any more assistance!

be safe, be healthy

Brother paul, the brothers that were killed in Pittsburgh had no chance. The suggestions here would not have helped those officers so they don't belong here. The Pitt. officers were killed with an AK. So I see your comment as being disrespectful to their memories.

What needs to be done is that Police Administrators need to get the heads out of the clouds and start allowing us to be armed like the bad guys (not out armed like we are today)

I think Paul was right on, I didn't take it as a shot at the Pittsburgh Officers but Officers in general. While the article speaks about the Pittsburgh Officers, alot more Officers were killed than the 3 in Pittsburgh. A lot of Officers don't use the proper tactics on every call (parking away from the residence, etc.) Not that using the proper tactics can always stop an Officer from being injured or killed, but it sure can't hurt! Better weapons Real imagination is another great idea as well, I believe most agencies could improve. But for many Officers that is out of their control. So trying to stay in shape to compete with the criminals, and maintaining a good sense of Officer safety may be all most of us can control. Point is, we all hate to hear any Officer getting killed, and any advice any Officer can give others to stay alive should be accepted. God speed to all of the fallen Officers, and each one of you!

What we need to remember most from the tragedy in Pittsburgh is that it can happen to any of us, at any time, anywhere and on any call. We must always be prepared for the fight of our lives. I have heard nothing that suggests that the officers in Pittsburgh did anything wrong and I am not suggesting that they did-on the contrary. However, we must all never forget that danger is only a heartbeat away on any day and we must do everything in our power to be prepared...and if that is not enough hope that our brothers and sisters wearing badges can once again drag us out of harms way. God Bless you all. Lets stay safe out there.

Honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Honor and celebrate their lives. Comfort and support those left behind, families and friends. Learn from these horrible incidents what we can so as to not relive these horrible times again. Remember, for the Grace of God there go I, in a horrible instant it can happen to any of us at any time. It is up to us, those who still carry on, to remember our fallen brothers and sisters and to always honor their sacrifices by upholding the high standards and traditions of our office.

Real,
I agree with you about the Pitt Officers and the admin, BUT my comment was not disrespectful to anyone.

There are still names on that list, even if the Pitt Officers went home that day safe and sound.

Research those names and incidents and you will find some medical issues, car crashes and yes, I'm sorry to say, poor tactics.

ALL of our fallen brothers/sisters deserve the utmost respect, no matter what their size, shape, experience level, driving habits or patrol/safety tactics may have been, and I apologize that you took my post as disrespectful, thats not how it was typed. I was looking at ALL fallen officers as a whole and not just the Pitt Officers.

Be safe!

one last thing. I referenced the physical stuff in my original post because thats the easiest thing we can do as officers but the one we usually don't do.
Running sucks! BUT it will make me healthy and help prevent physical problems, as will working out/martial arts/weight training, etc
We cant control the bad guys but we can control our lives and do everything in the world to get the upper edge. That usually entails our physical conditioning and good solid tactics.

Again, be safe!!

I came off to harsh and I am sorry for that. Your points are total correct in that more of us need to workout and increase our tactic and driving skill. I just wanted to say that sometime you can do everything right and still lose your life. As in the case of the fallen Pitt officers.

.

Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:31 AM
To: NJHL.Ex.Bd@ns-mr22.netsolmail.com
Subject: FW: Obama MIA / Police Week





Sir,

While it's tradition for the World Series Champions to visit the White House each year there is also another tradition that happens in Washington, DC every May 15th. It is known as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and was signed into law on October 1, 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. That is the day that a ceremony is held at the United States Capitol to honor all law enforcement officers who made the Supreme Sacrifice the previous year. Historically, the President of the United States is the keynote speaker and welcomes the survivors as each officer's name is announced and the family places a flower in the FOP wreath in honor of their loved one.



The husbands, wives and children of the 134 officers killed last year in the Line of Duty were not the only family members who came to the ceremony. Their mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers also came to the Capitol to honor their hero. Also, the officers that served with them were in attendance. So there they were, almost 1,000 police survivors from every corner of the country, seated on the West Lawn of the Capitol waiting to be welcomed by the President only to find that he was unable to attend due to a photo opportunity and a 10 minute speech to a baseball team.



It's not the Phillies fault that the President of the United States was busy welcoming them to the Rose Garden, they deserved that, but if it was known that the Law Enforcement Memorial Service was scheduled for noon on May 15th I'm sure an adjustment would have been made to accommodate both.



My question is how do you tell a child whose parent was killed protecting his community, that the President would not be coming to honor his mom or dad because even though he was just down the street he was too busy taking a picture with a baseball team. The City of Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley and our country has seen way too many officers killed in the Line of Duty. FYI...there are 18,661 names on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, and one horrible fact remains. Every 53 hours a Police Officer is killed in the Line of Duty.



At every funeral you see the outpouring of grief and sympathy from our citizens. There are fund raisers at Geno's, Finnegan's Wake, the FOP and numerous establishments around the city to support the officer's family. We as Police Officers cannot thank the citizens enough for their kindness, generosity and support, but the men and women who were in DC for Police Week are reeling from the President's decision not to pay his respects by attending the memorial service but instead chose to welcome a baseball team to the Rose Garden. There is no comparison. There is no excuse. There is no justification. I don't understand his reasoning....go pay my respects to 134 Police Officers killed in the Line of Duty or take a picture with a baseball team.

THIS IS NOTHING BUT AN INSULT!!!



I became a Police Officer in 1974 and retired in 2001 and in those 35 years I may have missed 4 or 5 funerals but I've yet to miss the Memorial Service in DC. His disregard of the 134 Fallen Officers, their families and departments is beyond comprehension. IT IS A DISGRACE!!!



Sincerely,

Sgt. Richard G. Desmond

Camden NJPD/Retired



President/1994 - Present

Camden County Emerald Society



Past National President/2002-2005

National Conference of Law Enforcement Emerald Societies