April 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 4

The BLUES 1

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FOUNDED IN 1984 

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MICHAEL BARRON 

founder & publisher 


editor-n-chief 

REX EVANS 

senior editor 

JESSICA JONES 

creative editor 

RUSTY BARRON 

outdoor editor 

DR. TINA JAECKLE 

contributing editor 

DARYL LOTT 


SAM HORWITZ & JOHN SALERNO 

contributing editors 

BILL KING 


OUR CONTRIBUTORS 


light bulb 

OFFICERS ON GHOST PATROL 

warstory 

D.W, WILLIAMSON 

aftermath 

DANIEL CARR 

PAUL COBLER 

BILL CAREY 

JESSICA SEAMAN 

SUSAN SMILEY 

DENISE LAVOLE 

SARAH RANKIN 

LEONARD SIPES 

MISSY MORRIS 

BILL CAREY 

SALVADOR HERNANDEZ 

HAYLEY FELAND 

ALISA PRIDDLE 

contributing writers 

The BLUES is published monthly by Kress-Barr, LLC, PO Box 2733, League City Texas 77574. The opinions 

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4 The BLUES The BLUES 5

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK 

yrs. 

Welcome First Time Readers 

If you’re reading our magazine 

for the first time, or just 

found us on the YUMPU International 

website, welcome to The 

BLUES. 

Our magazine was founded 

back in the 80’s as a local 

newspaper serving the law 

enforcement community in the 

Houston Texas area. Later the 

newspaper expanded statewide 

and was delivered to police 

agencies across Texas. 

In 2020, a new version of The 

BLUES was born as an all-digital 

magazine filled with articles 

from award winning writers as 

well as our familiar War stories 

and Aftermath columns. 

By the end of 2023, The BLUES 

was distributed to over 27,000 

police agencies across the 

country and with over 200 pages 

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The last two month’s issues 

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each, another major milestone 

for The BLUES. We are growing 

by leaps and bounds and we’re 

delighted to welcome all our 

new readers. 

In this month’s issue, we feature 

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With just over 50 years serving 

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FROM THE SENIOR EDITOR’S DESK 

yrs. 

Congrats NMPD 

You showed America what heroes look 

like and saved lives in the process. 

Well it has happened again. 

Another school shooting. Another 

group of children and 

educators, murdered. This time, 

not a Public School, but a Private 

Christian Based School, 

one that the shooter attended. 

Speaking of the shooter – 

never mind. She doesn’t deserve 

my time or attention. 

Next up, the Nashville Metropolitan 

Police Department. Is it 

just me, or do police departments 

with the word “Metropolitan” 

affixed to them seem to 

really have their s**t together? 

Friend, Nashville has set the bar 

and they set that bar high! Right 

where it should be. 

When you research multiple 

school shootings, Law Enforcement 

fails most of the time. 

That’s right, this is coming from 

me. One of the staunchest Law 

Enforcement Supporters EVER. 

Because, I am one. Not only am 

I one, but I also have over a 

decade of experience as an ISD 

(School District) Police Chief. 

I got to share with you, I was 

absolutely impressed with the 

way the responding Nashville 

Police Officers responded. They 

conducted themselves professionally, 

tactically and without 

fail. They completed the most 

immediate tasks at hand: 

• They responded quickly. 

• They acted fast. 

• They responded decisively. 

(Lethal / Deadly) 

If you can’t respond the way 

Nashville MPD did, you’re in the 

wrong damn business. GET OUT. 

We don’t need you. Why? Because, 

indecisiveness and lack 

of speed and lethality have NO 

place in Law Enforcement, especially 

when responding to an 

active school shooter incident. 

Additionally, if you respond to 

an Active Shooter in a school 

environment and you walk 

inside that campus and there’s 

gunfire, the time to negotiate is 

OVER. It has passed. If there’s 

gunfire in a school you might as 

well understand, a child or an 

educator is dying. You must DO 

SOMETHING instantly. 

Rapid, decisive action is a 

must. Coordinated, unified incident 

command is imperative. In 

this tragedy, Nashville Metropolitan 

Police excelled. Even the 

folks over at ALERRT can take 

a note or two away from the 

Body Worn Camera Footage. I 

know I sure as hell did. 

Lastly, this is NOT a gun issue. 

CHIEF REX EVANS 

A firearm, no matter the style, 

type, caliber or whatever, is just 

a paper weight until someone 

picks the damn thing up. This is 

not a paper weight problem. It’s 

a PEOPLE PROBLEM. The value 

of human Life has deteriorated 

to nothing. No one cares about 

anyone and to take a life means 

absolutely nothing to a large 

swath of people. 

The removal of paperweights 

won’t do a damn thing. It just 

means those who are consumed 

with causing harm, will simply 

find another means with which 

to deliver that harm. Knives. 

Swords. Fire. Smoke. Rocks. 

Homemade explosives. A motor 

vehicle. And the list goes on and 

on. 

Look, we cannot solve this 

sickening issue overnight, no 

matter what we do. That being 

said, no matter where we go as 

a society from here, we’ve got 

to change as a society or one 

thing is for sure…. 

We won’t be a society. Because, 

we’ll all be gone. 

Over 2.5 Million Views 

February & March Issues! 



BILL KING 

monthly blog 

Can we finally stop 

arguing about masks? 

A few months into the COVID 

pandemic, public health authorities 

began to encourage, and in 

some cases, mandate, the wearing 

of masks to reduce the virus’ 

transmission. It seemed like a 

logical proposition, after all, 

doesn’t everyone working in an 

operating room wear one? 

But actually, prior to COVID, 

most of the research had concluded 

that masks did little 

to reduce the transmission of 

respiratory viruses. In this 2010 

Cambridge paper, researchers 

reviewed twelve studies on the 

efficacy of masks. The authors 

concluded, “While there is some 

experimental evidence that 

masks should be able to reduce 

infectiousness under controlled 

conditions, there is less evidence 

on whether this translates to 

effectiveness in natural settings. 

There is little evidence to support 

the effectiveness of face 

masks to reduce the risk of infection.” 

(Emphasis added.) 

Indeed, the consensus of opinion 

in public health agencies in 

the early days of the pandemic 

was that masks were not effective 

in preventing transmission of 

the virus. In February 2020, then 

U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome 

Adams, posted on Twitter that 

masks “. . . are NOT effective in 

preventing general public from 

catching #Coronavirus.” Until 

April 2020, the guidance from 

the CDC and the WHO was that 

no one other than the healthcare 

workers should wear masks and 

Fauci was advising friends in 

emails that wearing masks while 

traveling was unnecessary. 

But in the late spring of 2020, 

as COVID cases began to soar, 

the sentiment of public health 

authorities began to shift and 

soon all were recommending 

masks and even calling for mask 

mandates. The supposed justification 

for the change was that 

the science had “evolved.” But 

when public health authorities 

began to change their tune in the 

spring of 2020, there had been 

no change in the science behind 

the transmission of respiratory 

viruses. There had been no new 

studies that showing that masks 

would be effective in controlling 

the spread of COVD. 

What evolved was not the 

science, but the group think of 

public health authorities. The 

impression I got at the time, 

and still believe was the case, 

was that as cases began to soar 

in 2020, public health authorities 

began throwing everything 

including the kitchen sink, and 

masks, at trying to control the 

virus and to convince the public 

to wear masks, intentionally 

yrs. 

BILL KING 

exaggerated their effectiveness. 

But they did not do so out of 

malice, just the hubris that as 

the “experts” they were entitled 

to stretch the truth for what 

they perceived as in the public’s 

interest. 

As the pandemic wore on, 

more and more research papers 

were released, with most finding 

some benefit from masking. 

I read through many of those as 

they were released. Most found 

a very small benefit from masking, 

but all were either lab tests 

under tightly controlled protocols 

or observational studies. 

None were random, double-blind 

trials. Because it is impossible 

to control for other variables in 

observational studies, the small 

differences the studies found 

were meaningless. Also, many of 

the studies reeked of confirmation 

bias. 

Recently the debate over masks 

was reignited with the publication 

of a Cochrane1review, which 

found “Wearing masks in the 

community probably makes little 

or no difference to the outcome 

of influenza/COVID‐19 like illness 

compared to not wearing 

masks.” 

One might have hoped that the 

Cochrane analysis would have 

put the argument over masks 

to bed once and for all. But that 

proved not to be the case as 

many public health authorities 

doubled down on their masking 

recommendations. At a Congressional 

hearing after the Cochrane 

study was released, CDC Director 

Rochelle Walensky even continued 

to argue in favor of mask 

mandates in schools, something 

I always thought was particularly 

ridiculous. 

But the push-back on the Cochrane 

review was surprisingly 

tepid and mostly met with derision 

and ridicule. The reaction 

made it clear that the tide has 

turned on masks, even in the 

scientific community. 

One of the best discussions on 

the efficacy of masks I have read 

was a post on FactCheck.org. In 

that article, Professor Benjamin 

Cowling2, an epidemiologist 

at the University of Hong Kong, 

said, “there is good mechanistic 

evidence from laboratory studies 

that masks should have an effect 

on transmission. . . but evidence 

from randomized trials has not 

been consistent with a large 

effect of masks on transmission, 

but has been consistent with a 

small effect of masks on transmission.” 

That is close to where I come 

down. It only makes sense that 

any kind of barrier that keeps 

two people from breathing on 

each other must reduce the 

number of viruses that are transmitted. 

But we will never know 

whether that reduction is enough 

to make any meaningful difference 

in an infection spreading. 

The real world is not a lab 

and is just too messy to tease 

what effects masks may have. 

They clear did little to stem the 

spread of COVID. 

There is some evidence that a 

person can protect themselves 

from a respiratory infection by 

wearing an N-95 mask if they 

wear it correctly and rigorously, 

something that is quite difficult 

to maintain. So, masking may 

make some sense for people 

with special health risks. 

But regardless of where the 

“experts” are on masking, the 

American public has moved on. 

A recent Gallup poll found that 

70% of Americans have completely 

abandoned wearing 

masks. I very rarely see anyone 

wearing a mask these days outside 

of a healthcare setting. 

I think the Cochrane review 

makes it clear that there was 

never enough definitive evidence 

to justify governments mandating 

masking, and especially 

not for children. Hopefully those 

days are now behind us and in 

the future whether to mask up 

or not will be entirely a personal 

choice. 

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GUEST COMENTARY 

police law news 

yrs. 

Daniel Carr 

Hero Nashville Cops 

Whoever fights monsters. 

It’s been nearly a week since 

the shooting at The Covenant 

School in Nashville, TN. The national 

conversation and Twitter 

discourse has been more about 

the predictably divisive politics 

and related social issues around 

transgender and gun rights than 

about the six victims of this abhorrent 

act. 

WHAT IS IMPORTANT? 

When a tragedy like this occurs 

there is what’s important and 

then the sport of political debate 

that follows. 

Here is what actually matters: 

Six people - three students and 

three school employees were 

unnecessarily slaughtered by a 

violent maniac. 

The murderer deserves no good 

will or sympathy. None. 

The school had an emergency 

plan and applied it - which saved 

lives. Preparation is important. 

The police officers risked their 

lives by entering the school 

quickly, tactically, courageously, 

and killed the monster. The 

response from Nashville police 

should be studied and copied by 

all police leaders/trainers. This 

was the literal ideal response 

from police to a horrific situation. 

FIRST THOUGHTS 

There are a lot of anti-police 

activists who claim that police 

are unnecessary or ineffective to 

keep communities safe. These 

Dishonest Critics often point to 

Uvalde. Now, there is no more 

pointing to Uvalde - without also 

pointing to Nashville. 

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT. 

The response from Nashville 

police department officers was 

so efficient and effective that the 

body cam footage will be used 

as an example in law enforcement 

trainings for years. 

The officers entered the 

school quickly and methodically 

searched the school without 

hesitation. During the search they 

heard gunfire coming from the 

second floor - they immediately 

ran up the stairs and towards the 

gunfire. Not knowing if they were 

heading straight into an ambush. 

There is no amount of training 

or mental preparation that can 

fully get someone ready to act 

with courage and competence in 

a situation like this, but sometimes 

police officers are brave 

enough to just say “fuck it” and 

shake hands with the devil. 

As police officers closed in on 

the offender (who was in the process 

of shooting at arriving police 

vehicles) they engaged and ended 

this nightmare quickly. 

There is no necessity to negotiate 

with terrorists who are in the 

midst of a killing spree. 

“ASSAULT WEAPONS” BAN 

Almost immediately President 

Biden conducted a press conference 

and made public remarks on 

this tragedy. After his jokes about 

how much he likes ice cream (I’m 

not joking, watch it here). Biden 

immediately called for lawmakers 

to pass the “assault weapons” 

ban. 

There is no such thing as an 

“assault weapon” or “assault rifle”. 

It is a made-up term that has 

zero meaning in reality. The “AR” 

in AR15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle. 

But the parlance of our times is 

that “assault weapon” means an 

AR15 or similar-looking rifle. 

STATS 

According to Pew Research, in 

2020, there were 580 people who 

were killed in an incident involving 

an “assault weapon”. That 

represented 3% of all U.S. gun 

murders. 

Given the above data - “AR” 

type weapons are used in approximately 

580 murders per 

year. To put that into perspective, 

3400 Americans drown each 

year. Approximately six times as 

many people lose their lives in 

water accidents each year then 

are killed by these “scary looking” 

rifles. 

HOW MANY? 

In 2021 Forbes estimated that 

there were over 20 million “assault 

weapons” in the U.S. and 

the NRA agreed with that figure. 

But, in reality, one knows the 


exact number of these weapons 

that exist in our country - except 

that there are tens of millions in 

American hands. 

BANNED 

A ban on “assault weapons” 

would likely stop the manufacturing 

and sales of new weapons. 

But would not have any effect on 

the ones already in circulation. 

The reasonable cynic would 

suggest that if 20 million ARs are 

in the country, then if a criminal 

wants to get one, they probably 

can. A ban on new weapons 

would/could not stop that. 

Would it have worked - for this 

case? 

President Biden called for an 

“assault weapons” ban right after 

this shooting. Therefore, some 

nexus must exist between The 

Covenant School shooting and a 

ban. So, let’s explore this logic. 

The offender was in the school 

for fourteen minutes before the 

police killed her. Instead of having 

two rifles - let’s say she was 

equipped with a backpack full of 

handguns or one handgun with 

a few extra magazines. Could 

she have still killed six people in 

fourteen minutes? Yes, of course. 

I think everyone acknowledges 

that. 

So, then, a reasonable person 

must ask the question - what is 

the purpose of an “assault weapons” 

ban? 

DAY OF VENGEANCE 

A transgender activist group 

has called off a planned Trans 

Day of Vengeance rally that was 

set for April 1, 2023, in Washington, 

DC - due to a “credible threat 

to life and safety.” 

The Trans Radical Activist 

Network (TRAN) had planned 

the event prior to The Covenant 

School shooting. 

Any event advertised as a “day 

of vengeance” is a bad idea. Everyone 

needs support but call it 

something else. Also, no individual 

or group should be threatened 

due to the criminal actions of a 

single person. 

I am honestly not sure who the 

trans community thinks are out 

to get them? The Club Q shooter 

(who killed 5 and injured 19 

people) is “non-binary” (according 

to the attorney) and The Pulse 

nightclub shooter (who killed 

49 and injured 53) was a radical 

Muslim. Christians may have an 

ideological opposition to some 

LGBTQ issues - but there is no 

evidence that they are attacking 

or killing members of the trans 

community. 

In 2020 even Trump-appointed 

Supreme Court Justice Neil 

Gorsuch wrote the opinion that 

extended protections to cover 

sexual orientation and gender 

identity - under Title VII of the 

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which 

makes it illegal to discriminate). 

HATE CRIME 

In this case a transgender 

shooter targeted a Christian 

school. It is that simple and we 

should be honest about the facts. 

This was a hate crime, and it 

should be investigated as such. It 

appears that the religion/belief 

system of the victims was a motivating 

factor in the crime. 

The mainstream media and 

Left-wing activists have been 

telling trans people that they are 

constantly “under attack”. A few 

days before this school shooting 

Cenk Uygur (of The Young Turks) 

encouraged trans people to 

purchase firearms and exclaimed 

that they were in serious physical 

danger from “right wing lunatics”. 

Yeah, that video clip aged 

worse than a 2007 episode of 

“The Pickup Artist” during #metoo. 

THIS ISN’T UVALDE. 

I have covered the school 

shooting in Uvalde more than just 

about any other topic the last 

year. This might be an unpopular 

opinion, but the cops in Uvalde 

were not cowards. They were 

overwhelmed, undertrained, and 

the leadership was dysfunctional 

and borderline criminal. 

The cops in Uvalde entered the 

school quickly. There is a real difference 

between a shooter that is 

out in the open and reloading and 

a shooter that is barricaded and 

possibly holding child hostages. If 

we do not recognize that difference 

- it’s dishonest or ignorant. 

If the shooter in Uvalde was 

confronted by police in an open 

area - they likely would have 

killed it immediately. 

If the shooter in Nashville was 

barricaded in a classroom with 

child hostages - it is unknown 

how quickly the police would 

have been able to resolve the 

situation. However, a reasonable 

guess is quicker than 77 minutes. 

*To clarify. The entire response 

to Uvalde was problematic and 

incompetent. It is a textbook 

lesson to police of what not to 

do. The failure was not a lack 

of “courage” but a lack of leadership, 

preparation, equipment, 

communication, and tactical 

competence. The police response 

in Uvalde was wholly unacceptable. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

There is still a place for the 

“warrior” culture in policing. No 

one calls a social worker to kill a 

monster. 

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AROUND THE COUNTRY 

yrs. 

NASHVILLE, TN. 

Another Tragedy Strikes a Christian School in Nashville. 

Three students and three adults were shot and killed minutes before 

Nashville Metro Police rushed in and took out the shooter. 

NASHVILLE — In a stately stone 

building on a hill, the Covenant 

School was a private academy designed 

as an escape from the bustle 

of Nashville and a haven where 

students could learn and grow, 

with a curriculum that reflected the 

Christian values of the families who 

sent their children there. 

Katherine Koonce, the head of 

school, had a zeal for learning and 

saw in students’ potential they did 

not see in themselves. “You’ve got 

it,” she would tell a struggling student. 

Mike Hill, a custodian, found 

fulfillment in work that his daughter 

said he absolutely loved. And there 

were bright students like 9-yearold 

Evelyn Dieckhaus, “a light for 

her family,” her pastor said. 

That carefully built sense of security 

was punctured on Monday 

when an armed assailant breached 

the campus, opening fire at random 

students and staff members. The 

community surrounding the Covenant 

School was now wrestling 

with a horrifying reality: Dr. Koonce, 

Mr. Hill and Evelyn were all dead, as 

were two other 9-year-old students 

and a substitute teacher who had 

been fatally shot in the attack. 

“Our hearts are completely broken,” 

Evelyn’s family said in a short 

statement released on Tuesday. “We 

cannot believe this has happened.” 

As investigators try to piece together 

a motive for the attack, the 

authorities praised the actions of 

the Nashville police officers who 

rushed into the school, saying they 

moved swiftly in pursuing and fatally 

shooting the assailant. 

The authorities said on Tuesday 

that the 28-year-old perpetrator 

had legally purchased seven 

firearms recently — including the 

three used in the shooting — and 

was being treated by a doctor for 

an emotional disorder. Chief John 

Drake of the Metropolitan Nashville 

Police Department said that the assailant’s 

parents had felt that their 

child “should not own weapons” 

and believed that their child did not. 

Tennessee does not have what is 

known as a red flag law that would 

allow the authorities to temporarily 

confiscate guns from those found to 

be in danger to themselves or others, 

and the Republican-controlled 

State Legislature has steadily loosened 

restrictions on owning guns. 

Still, Chief Drake said that if the 

police had known that the perpetrator 

was suicidal or intended to hurt 

others, “then we would have tried 

to get those weapons.” 

Even with the uncertainty over 

what motivated the attack, the 

magnitude of the loss was clear as 

relatives, friends and people who 

knew the victims expressed their 

grief. 

The other children who were 

killed were identified as William 

Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, whose 

father is the pastor of Covenant 

Presbyterian Church, the church 

connected to the school. Cynthia 

Peak, 61, was the substitute teacher 

killed. 

Hannah Williams, who knows the 

Scruggs family, struggled to wrap 

her head around the trauma that 

those closest to the victims were 

now enduring. 

“This family did not deserve this,” 

Ms. Williams wrote on a post on 

Facebook. “No family does. They 

deserve to wake up from this nightmare 

with Hallie by their side.” 

In a video statement on Tuesday 

evening, Gov. Bill Lee said that Ms. 

Peak was a close friend of his wife, 

Maria. “Cindy was supposed to 

come over to have dinner with Maria 

last night,” he said. He described 

the anguish caused by the shooting 

— “the emptiness, the lack of 

understanding, the desperate desire 

for answers, the desperate need for 

hope,” he said. 

“We’re enduring a very difficult 

moment,” Mr. Lee said. “Everyone is 

hurting, everyone.” 

Nashville has weathered turbulence 

and heartache in recent years. 

Pictured are: Top Row - William Kinney, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and Hallie Scruggs. 

Bottom Row - Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, and Cynthia Peak. 

There were floods and a deadly 

tornado. In 2020, a man consumed 

by bizarre conspiracy theories detonated 

a van filled with explosives on 

Christmas morning, killing himself 

and severely damaging a swath of 

downtown. 

But this was different, as it kindled 

in the city a level of terror 

that other communities had faced 

amid recurring mass shootings, 

but Nashville had not. In a post on 

Twitter not long after the shooting, 

Mayor John Cooper said, “Nashville 

joined the dreaded, long list of 

communities to experience a school 

shooting.” 

The Covenant School, which was 

founded in 2001 as a ministry of the 

Covenant Presbyterian Church, has 

about 200 students attending its 

campus in an affluent area of Nashville, 

where streets overwhelmed 

by the city’s rush of development in 

recent years give way to tree-covered 

hills. 

Dr. Koonce, the head of school 

since 2016, had previously worked 

at Christ Presbyterian Academy, a 

private school just five miles away. 

There, she nurtured a passion for 

working with students who had 

learning disabilities. 

“She has always been a woman 

who is deeply passionate about 

kids having a love of learning,” said 

David Thomas, a longtime friend of 

Dr. Koonce’s and a director of family 

counseling at Daystar Counseling 

Ministries in Nashville. 

On the morning of the shooting, 

students sang “Amazing Grace” in 

the chapel and practiced saying 

“jambo” — a traditional Swahili 

greeting — with a missionary doctor 

who was visiting the school. 

“It was just such a sweet interaction 

with those kids,” said Dr. 

Britney Grayson, the visiting doctor, 

a pediatric surgeon from Kenya. 

“Everything was normal about our 

day. It went exactly like we thought 

it would — better than expected.” 

She left shortly before the shooting, 

stirring conflicting feelings: She 

knew she avoided witnessing the 

shooting, but wondered if she could 

have been in a position to help. 

Dr. Grayson said she had operated 

on children with gunshot wounds 

before, including one child who was 

injured in a school shooting in the 

United States. “It’s like, ‘Why wasn’t 

I still there?’” she said. “And in the 

very next breath, you think, ‘Well, 

I might be dead, too.’ I don’t know 

that I’ll ever be able to process 

those conflicting thoughts.” 



yrs. 

NASHVILLE SHOOTER 

Taken down in less than 14 minutes 

by Nashville Metro PD. Well done Nashville. 

Nashville, Tennessee, remains 

in mourning and details continue 

to emerge in the Covenant 

School mass shooting Monday, in 

which three teachers and three 

9-year-old students died. The 

shooter was killed by police. 

Nashville police on Tuesday released 

six minutes of body cam 

footage from officers confronting 

the shooter and about two 

minutes of video from security 

cameras that show the shooter 

walking in school hallways. 

About 14 minutes elapsed between 

the first 911 call about an 

active shooter at the school and 

police confirming the shooter’s 

death after an exchange of gunfire 

on the second floor. 

Police identified the shooter 

as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a 

former school student, and said 

Hale identified as transgender. A 

motive remains unknown. 

Here is what we know about 

the shooting: 

This is taken from news reports 

and a USA TODAY review of 

school security video footage released 

by Nashville police. Times 

are approximate. 

Nashville Metro Officers Michael Collazo and Rex Englebert 

who acted fast and took the suspect out minutes after they 

arrived. These two officers are heroes. 

9:54 a.m. 

The shooting suspect is seen in 

a campus security video driving a 

Honda Fit in the parking lot of the 

Covenant School, a private elementary 

school that is part of the 

Covenant Presbyterian Church in the 

neighborhood of Green Hills. 

9:57 a.m. 

Hale sends an Instagram message 

to Averianna Patton, a former classmate. 

Hale writes: “I’m planning 

to die today. You’ll probably hear 

about me on the news after I die.” 

Hale also writes: “My family 

doesn’t know what I’m about to do. 

One day this will make more sense. 

I’ve left more than enough evidence 

behind. But something bad is about 

to happen.” 

Patton calls the Suicide Prevention 

Help Line and Nashville police. 

10:11 a.m. 

A video camera records 

the shooter firing through 

a set of side entrance 

glass doors from outside. 

The shooter, carrying two 

assault-style weapons 

and a 9mm handgun, 

climbs through the broken 

glass and enters the 

school. 

10:13 a.m. 

Nashville Police receive 

a 911 call of an active 

shooter inside the Covenant 

School. 

Security video shows the 

shooter carrying a weapon 

in a school hallway. 

10:18 a.m. 

Video shows the shooter entering 

a church office. 

10:19-10:21 a.m. 

Video shows the shooter, with 

weapon raised, walking in school 

hallways. 

The following is based on news 

reports and a USA TODAY review of 

police body camera footage from 

the Metro Nashville Police Department. 

Times are approximate. 

As police officers arrive, the 

shooter fires from a second-floor 

window at police vehicles below. 

10:25 a.m. 

Officers enter the building and 

check first-floor rooms on their way 

inside. 

10:26 a.m. 

Officers head to the second floor, 

taking two flights of stairs. 

10:26:30 a.m. 

Officers find the shooter near a 

window in a second-floor “lobby-type 

area.” The shooter fires 

at them. Two officers return fire, 

hitting the shooter. 

10:27 a.m. 

Police confirm the shooter is dead. 

10:28 a.m 

Police escort remaining kids from 

building. 



HUNTSVILLE, AL. 

yrs. 

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Two Huntsville Police Department Officers were both shot responding 

to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex 

in Alabama. Officer Garrett Crumbly died later that night. 

HUNTSVILLE, AL – One police 

officer was killed and another was 

badly injured while responding to 

a domestic violence complaint at 

an apartment complex in north 

Alabama on Tuesday, March 25. 

According to the Huntsville Police 

Department, officers found a woman, 

who had been shot, shortly after 

they arrived at the 4600 block of 

Governors House Dr. at 4.45 pm. 

Officers Garrett Crumby and 

Albert Morin were tending to a 

woman and two young children 

when an armed man attacked them 

and locked himself in an apartment, 

according to state attorney general 

Steve Marshall. Both had initially 

been transported to Huntsville Hospital 

in Alabama with life-threatening 

injuries. Crumby died at 10.30 

pm and Morin’s situation is still critical 

after he underwent emergency 

surgery. The unnamed woman has 

non-life-threatening injuries and is 

being treated in a hospital. 

Crumby, according to state attorney 

general Steve Marshall, has 

been a member of the force for 

three years. Prior to that, he worked 

for the Tuscaloosa police for eight 

years. “He is the first Alabama police 

officer to fall to gunfire this year, 

but the third to be shot in the line of 

duty,” Marshall said, as per Fox54. 

“Our part of the country has been 

reminded again this week of the 

pure heroism of those who make up 

the thin blue line—the dividing line, 

at times, between life and death 

for the citizens that they swear an 

oath to protect,” Marshall continued, 

adding, “These two law enforcement 

officers responded to a 

domestic violence call this evening, 

knowing full well that they would 

be placing their lives on the line in 

defense of their fellow man. We 

must never take their service and 

sacrifice for granted,” per Fox News. 

“This is a devastating loss for our 

department, the Huntsville community 

and the State of Alabama,” 

Police Chief Kirk Giles stated, as per 

Fox, adding, “We send our heartfelt 

condolences to the officer’s family 

as they mourn their loved one who 

made the ultimate sacrifice. As we 

grieve with our fallen officer’s family, 

we have another officer fighting 

for his life. Please keep all our 

officers and the entire department 

in your prayers.” 

Mayor Tommy Battle said in a 

statement, “We are heartbroken. 

Words cannot express our loss. 

We have been overwhelmed by the 

show of love and support from our 

community, and we stand united 

with our police officers and their 

OFFICER GARRETT CRUMBLY 

families in this tragic moment.” 

People from all over the world 

are sending the officers prayers and 

support, including Governor Kay 

Ivey who tweeted, “I am devastated 

to learn the news that two Huntsville 

police officers were shot in 

the line of duty this evening. I ask 

the people of Alabama to join me 

in prayer for these heroes and their 

family, friends and community. @ 

HsvPolice” A user said, “Prayers to 

our brave officers.” Another user 

mentioned, “This news is sickening! 

Thoughts and prayers covering both 

officers, their families and their 

fellow officers!” 

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yrs. 

BATON ROUGE, LA. 

Two Police Officer Pilots Killed in Crash of Police Helicopter. 

By Paul Cobler 

The Advocate 

CORPORAL SCOTTY CANEZARO 

BATON ROUGE, LA — The 

crashed Baton Rouge Police Department 

helicopter and bodies 

of two officers were discovered 

by law enforcement only after a 

family member of one of the victims 

called to request a search 

roughly eight hours after the 

incident occurred, according to 

the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s 

Office. 

Sheriff’s deputies searched a 

rural area between North Winterville 

Road and Bueche Road 

after receiving the call at 10:48 

a.m. Sunday and discovered 

the crashed helicopter and two 

deceased officers, according to 

a news release. Soon after the 

discovery, BRPD was notified, the 

WBRSO release says. 

Sgt. David Poirrier, 47, and Cpl. 

Scotty Canezaro, 38, were killed 

after the helicopter’s tail rotor hit 

a tree, causing it to crash upside 

down around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, 

according to a preliminary FAA 

report. BRPD said the helicopter 

was assisting with a pursuit. 

BRPD spokesman L’Jean McKneely 

Jr. acknowledged the delay 

Monday evening and said BRPD is 

investigating why it occurred. 

“That’s all part of the investigation,” 

McKneely said. “We’re 

working with the Baton Rouge 

airport, the FAA, we’re checking 

different things out to see why 

there was such a lapse in time.” 

The man who was fleeing 

from officers in the lead up to 

the crash has been arrested and 

booked on charges related to 

their deaths, according to the 

WBR sheriff’s office. 

Deandre Bessye, a 23-year-old 

from Baton Rouge, was booked 

in the West Baton Rouge Parish 

Jail on two counts of manslaughter, 

one count of aggravated 

flight from an officer and 

one count of obstruction of a 

highway of commerce, according 

to the news release. 

SERGEANT DAVID POIRRIER 

BRPD officers were pursuing 

Bessye, who was driving a 2014 

Ford Mustang, when the chase 

crossed into West Baton Rouge 

Parish on Interstate 10 around 2:27 

a.m., according to the sheriff’s 

office. The chase, which reached 

speeds of 135 mph, was terminated 

by BRPD near the intersection 

of U.S. Hwy. 190 and Bueche Road, 

according to the sheriff’s office. 

Bessye was taken into custody 

by the U.S. Marshals Task Force on 

Sunday afternoon, according to a 

sheriff’s office spokesman. 

Bessye will also be booked in 

East Baton Rouge Parish on one 

count of hit and run and one 

count of aggravated flight from an 

officer. 



MCALESTER,OK. 

Oklahoma Police Officer Joseph Barlow has died following 

a head on crash during a funeral procession for a fellow 

officer. 

yrs. 

MCALESTER, OK. (KXII/Gray 

News) - An Oklahoma police 

officer has died following a 

crash during a funeral procession 

for one of the department’s 

captains. 

According to the McAlester 

Police Department, officer 

Joseph Barlow was involved 

in a head-on collision with 

a pickup truck on March 17 

while escorting Capt. Richard 

Parker’s body from Tulsa to 

Wetumka. 

Martin Rodriguez was driving 

a black Ford F-250 truck 

with one passenger, failed to 

stop for the procession and 

swerved to avoid hitting a 

stopped vehicle, according to 

Glenpool PD. 

Glenpool PD said the truck 

then crossed the center median 

and struck the McAlester 

police vehicle head-on. 

Barlow had to be extracted 

from his patrol unit and was 

taken by ambulance to St. 

John Medical Center in Tulsa 

and underwent multiple surgeries. 

Tulsa County Jail records 

show Rodriguez was booked 

on misdemeanor complaints 

of no driver’s license in possession 

while driving, reckless 

driving, and a felony count 

of causing great bodily harm 

while driving without a driver’s 

license. 

Jail records show U.S. Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement 

placed a hold on Rodriguez. 

On Monday, the department 

announced that Barlow died 

from his injuries surrounded 

by family, friends and fellow 

law enforcement. 

Barlow served in the Army 

before joining the police force 

and was proud to service the 

McAlester community, according 

to the department. 

Last week, officials said that 

Parker died suddenly after 

serving the community for 

nearly 26 years. 

OFFICER JOSEPH BARLOW 

“We ask that you keep Parker’s 

and Barlow’s family and 

friends in your thoughts as 

they continue to cope with 

these recent tragedies,” the 

department shared. 

On Tuesday, police said the 

pickup driver, Martin Rivas Rodriguez, 

is facing manslaughter 

charges in the crash that 

killed Barlow. 

Copyright 2023 KXII via Gray 

Media Group, Inc. All rights 



EDMOND, OK. 

Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriff Jeremy McCain was killed in 

a tragic accident at a local school on March 10. 

yrs. 

DEPUTY JEREMY McCAIN 

An Oklahoma County sheriff’s 

office deputy who served 

at a local school died Monday 

morning more than a week after 

suffering injuries in an accident 

in which a security gate crushed 

him inside his patrol car, the 

Oklahoma County sheriff’s office 

announced. 

About 6:50 p.m. March 10, 

Jeremy McCain, 36, was leaving 

Oklahoma Christian School in 

east Edmond when his patrol 

vehicle struck a partially opened 

security gate that pierced the 

car’s windshield and pinned the 

deputy against the driver’s seat, 

the sheriff’s office said. 

McCain, an 11-year veteran of 

the sheriff’s office, suffered a 

broken neck. Two off-duty medical 

professionals and Edmond 

police immediately rendered aid. 

McCain was rushed to OU Medical 

Center. 

“It’s with a heavy heart that we 

have to share with you that deputy 

Jeremy McCain has passed 

after a valiant fight for his life,” 

the sheriff’s office announced 

Monday on social media. 

After the accident, Sheriff 

Tommie Johnson III told reporters 

last week that medical personnel 

saved McCain’s life three 

times. 

“This is someone who’s invested 

their life, invested their time 

in this community, in these kids, 

in this administration, the teachers 

and students, and you see it 

coming around full-fold because 

they support him just as much,” 

Johnson said. 

McCain was described as a 

single father of a boy with autism. 

He was a strong and positive 

community contributor who 

knew the names of each student 

at school. 

In a letter during his fight for 

life, McCain’s family expressed 

gratitude to the first responders, 

the school and Oklahoma residents. 

“Many people have reached out 

to offer help In many ways,” they 

wrote. “The support from our 

fellow Oklahomans has shocked 

us in more ways than one. Oklahoma 

has always been our 

home. and we now know why 

Oklahomans are truly incredible.” 

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HEAR from high-ranking policy leaders including: 

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• Eric Hysen, CIO, DHS (invited) 

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REGISTER TODAY at BorderSecurityExpo.com. 



yrs. 

HERMANN, MO. 

A Missouri police officer was fatally shot and a second officer 

was seriously wounded in a shootout at a convenience store. 

DETECTIVE SERGEANT 

MASON GRIFFITH 

HERMANN, Mo. — A Missouri 

police officer was fatally shot 

and a second officer was seriously 

wounded in an overnight 

shooting that was followed by 

an hourslong police standoff 

with the suspect, authorities 

said. 

The Missouri Highway Patrol 

announced early Monday that 

Detective Sgt. Mason Griffith 

with the Hermann Police Department 

died of his injuries at 

a hospital after being shot at a 

convenience store in the small 

town about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. 

The highway patrol said a 

second Hermann officer Adam 

Sullentrup who was also shot, 

remains hospitalized in serious 

condition. Highway patrol 

spokesman Cpl. Kyle Green 

told Fox affiliate KTVI of St. 

Louis the wounded officer was 

brought to a hospital in the city 

for treatment. 

NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis 

reported the highway patrol 

identified the shooting suspect 

as Kenneth Lee Simpson, 35, 

of Eureka, Missouri, and that 

police were involved in an apparent 

manhunt near a house in 

Hermann along Highway 19, not 

far from the convenience store 

where the shooting happened. 

Police surrounded the home 

and yelled at the alleged gunman 

to come outside. Officers 

earlier had searched near 

a motel in Hermann, where 

Simpson and his girlfriend may 

have rented a room Sunday, the 

Post-Dispatch reported. 

About 2 p.m., the highway patrol 

said the suspect exited the 

home and was taken into custody 

by agency SWAT officers. 

Online Missouri court records 

show Simpson faced previous 

criminal charges involving 

drugs, weapons offenses, 

assault and property damage. A 

St. Louis County judge issued a 

warrant for his arrest in August 

when Simpson failed to show 

up in court in a drug possession 

case, the Post-Dispatch reported. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson 

offered condolences to slain 

officer’s family. 

“Hermann Police Department 

Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith 

will never be forgotten, and 

Missouri will always be grateful,” 

Parson tweeted. “Teresa 

and I are praying for Mason’s 

family, friends, and fellow law 

enforcement officers.” 

Hermann, about 40 miles 

west of St. Louis, is the county 

seat of Gasconade County 

and has a population of about 

2,100. 

The Associated Press 



yrs. 

DEKALB COUNTY, IN. 

Indiana Trooper James R. Bailey was struck and killed 

while attempting to lay down stop sticks on I-69. 

DEKALB COUNTY, IN. — Funeral 

arrangements are in the works 

for an Indiana State Master 

Trooper James R. Bailey of Auburn, 

who was struck and killed 

by a vehicle in a crash on Interstate 

69 just south of Auburn late 

Friday afternoon. 

Bailey, 50, of Auburn, Indiana, 

served with the Indiana State Police 

for more than fifteen years. 

The preliminary investigation 

by the Indiana State Police indicates 

that at approximately 4:30 

p.m. Friday, Trooper Bailey was 

assisting other troopers on I-69 

with traffic backup as a result of 

weather-related vehicle crashes 

near the 326 mile marker south 

of Auburn. 

At that time, Trooper Bailey 

became aware of an individual 

driving at a high rate of speed 

evading an officer from the Fort 

Wayne Police Department on 

I-69 approaching his location. 

Trooper Bailey attempted to 

de-escalate that vehicle pursuit 

by deploying stop sticks. 

Trooper Bailey was struck by 

the suspect vehicle and critically 

injured. Emergency medical 

care was rendered at the scene 

and he was rushed to a nearby 

hospital, where he succumbed to 

his injuries. 

The suspect driver involved 

in this incident, Terry Dewaine 

Sands II, 42, of Marion, IN, was 

taken into custody and has been 

incarcerated in the DeKalb County 

Jail on a preliminary charge 

of Resisting Law Enforcement 

Causing Death to Law Enforcement 

Officer, a Level 2 Felony. 

But stepping into help is something 

Trooper Bailey never failed 

to do. 

Back In 2010, he and his wife 

Amy helped save an elderly man 

who had collapsed in a Fort 

Wayne parking lot. The two were 

having lunch at a restaurant 

in the Dupont Crossing Center. 

Although he was off duty at the 

time, he had driven his squad 

car. 

As they were leaving the parking 

lot and heading toward 

Coldwater Road, bystanders 

who witnessed an 87-year-old 

man collapse near his truck saw 

Trooper Bailey’s vehicle and 

waved him down. 

“They allow us to drive it off 

duty, and had I not been in that 

I may not have been flagged 

down,” Bailey told WANE 15 in 

INDIANA STATE MASTER 

TROOPER JAMES R. BAILEY 

2010. 

The Baileys, a state trooper 

and a nurse, immediately began 

performing CPR on the man. 

“We then provided team-CPR. 

My wife provided the breaths, 

and I provided chest compressions 

until Fort Wayne Fire, it 

was the number 16 I believe, 

arrived,” he recalled. 

Once medics got there, they 

took over for the Bailey’s and 

the man’s pulse came back. That 

immediate CPR helped save the 

man’s life. 

While many referred to them 

as heroes, Bailey told WANE 15 

that they were just doing their 

jobs. 

“Really it’s what we do, it’s 

what we are trained to do, and 

that’s why we get into this profession.” 

On Saturday, a memorial using 

Trooper Bailey’s patrol car sat in 

front of the entrance to Indiana 

State Police Post No. 22 at 5811 

Ellison Road on Fort Wayne’s 

southwest side. Over the weekend, 

community members 

dropped off flowers and notes 

that now sit on the squad car’s 

windshield. 

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb 

issued a statement after Trooper 

Bailey’s death: 

“Our prayers are with Master 

Trooper James R. Bailey’s family, 

fellow troopers, and all of 

Indiana State Police as we learn 

of his death in the line of service. 

His legacy will live on, and his 

memory will never be forgotten. 

Janet and I send the family our 

condolences for the loved ones 

of Master Trooper Bailey.” Gov. 

Holcomb said. 

“This is a tremendously sad 

day for the entire Indiana State 

Police family. We will band together 

as we always do in support 

of Trooper Bailey’s family, 

friends and co-workers”, said 

Indiana State Police Superintendent 

Douglas G. Carter. 

On Saturday, Jerry Vandeveer, 

president of the Law Enforcement/Firefighters 

Memorial of 

Allen County, said the organization 

will be adding Trooper Bailey’s 

name to the Law Enforcement 

monument at 1001 N. Wells 

St. by summer 2023. 

Trooper Bailey will also be 

honored at the 2023 Police Officer 

Memorial Ceremony on May 

12, Vandeveer said. 

Trooper Bailey is survived by 

his wife, son, and daughter. 



yrs. 

CHICAGO, IL. 

Chicago Police Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso 

was killed in the line of duty on March 1in Chicago. 

CHICAGO, IL. — Snow began to 

fall Thursday morning as officers 

carried the flag-draped casket of 

Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez 

Lasso outside a Far Southwest 

Side church after his funeral. 

Vásquez Lasso was killed in the 

line of duty March 1. Prosecutors 

have said an 18-year-old shot 

the officer in front of a playground 

full of children during a 

chase. Steven Montano has been 

charged with murder. 

Vásquez Lasso had been with 

the Chicago Police Department 

for five years, and he was married, 

officials have said. 

The officer loved to salsa, often 

taking his wife out dancing, fellow 

officers and friends recalled 

during his funeral services at 

St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 

7740 S. Western Ave. He was 

known for being so well-mannered 

that his wife’s friends 

teased her about how polite he 

was. 

Another officer joked that 

Vásquez Lasso showed up late 

to a class on his first day at the 

police training academy, getting 

the cadets in trouble with their 

trainer. But they quickly formed 

a bond, he told mourners at the 

funeral, his voice sometimes 

cracking as he recalled how 

Vásquez Lasso referred to him as 

a “beso” — a friend. 

Outside, where many officers 

and others gathered to honor the 

officer, it was cold and quiet. 

Vásquez Lasso was killed responding 

to a domestic violence 

incident in Gage Park, officials 

said. 

Montano ran from responding 

officers, including Vásquez Lasso 

who chased him on foot, police 

and prosecutors said. 

When they were just a few 

feet apart, Montano looked back 

at Vásquez Lasso, turned toward 

the officer and racked the slide 

on his pistol, prosecutors said 

during a bond court hearing 

Friday. 

Montano pointed his gun at 

Vásquez Lasso, and both fired 

shots, the prosecutor said. Montano 

shot five times, hitting 

Vásquez Lasso in his head, arm 

and leg, the prosecutor said. 

Vásquez Lasso fired twice, hitting 

Montano in his “mouth area,” the 

prosecutor said. 

Other officers who arrived to 

help arrested Montano, who 

tried to run away again despite 

being wounded, officials said. 

Officers tried to save Vásquez 

Lasso, giving him care and putting 

him into a squad car before 

OFFICER ANDRÉS MAURICIO 

VÁSQUEZ LASSO 

transferring him to an ambulance, 

the prosecutor said. He 

was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, 

where he was pronounced 

dead. 

Vásquez Lasso’s wife, Milena 

Estrepa, wrote an emotional 

tribute to her husband on Facebook, 

sharing some of their 

wedding photos, a picture of the 

couple with their dog and a picture 

of Vásquez Lasso in uniform 

standing with Estrepa next to a 

police SUV. 

“It will never be a farewell; 

it will be a see you later to my 

favorite person, my best friend, 

my partner in travels and adventures 

that will always be present 

in my heart. To the best human 

being God could have given me.” 

Estrepa wrote in Spanish. 

“Your chivalry until the last 

day, your infinite love, nobility, 

happiness, will always be in my 

memories. I thank you for every 

minute that God allowed me to 

share with you. I wish I’d hugged 

you tighter that Wednesday 

morning before I took off, given 

you more goodbye kisses if only 

I’d imagined that was the last 

time, I would see you alive. 

“You gave your life doing what 

you loved most. Every day you 

went to work with a smile from 

ear to ear. 

“Thank you for being the best 

husband, dog dad, son, brother, 

uncle, cousin, friend. You leave 

us with an irreparable hole in 

our hearts. 

“Rest in peace, my love. Nalah 

and I will miss you every second 

of our lives. You are and always 

will be a hero. ALWAYS REMEM- 

BERED, NEVER FORGOTTEN.” 

We are ready for 2023! Experience the only first responder owned and 

operated THEME studio in the Country! 10 years strong! We are Family! 

We look forward to seeing you soon! 



yrs. 

DALLAS, TX. 

Veteran Dallas officers could get an extra $40K if they 

agree to work 2 additional years. 

By Bill Carey 

Police1 

DALLAS — Dallas will soon begin 

to pay veteran police officers 

a one-time payout of $40,000 if 

they stay on the job for another 

two years to reduce attrition. 

Officers who have at least 28 

years of service would be eligible 

for the one-time payouts. 

Officials believe this will keep at 

least 70 officers on the force, The 

Dallas Morning News reported. 

“More and more officers are 

reaching that threshold of being 

able to afford to leave with 

their pensions, and they’re deciding 

to,” Deputy Assistant Chief 

William Griffith said. “So we’re 

trying to encourage them to stay 

with us a little longer because 

we want that experience and we 

want that seniority.” 

At the beginning of March, the 

department had 3,058 officers, 

according to police data. Griffith 

said 220 officers are eligible for 

the incentive. 

The incentive program is expected 

to start in May and comes 

as the department fell short 50 

officers of its goal to hire 250 

new officers in the last fiscal 

year. The department also lost 

approximately 30 more officers 

than the 205 anticipated departures. 

To get the money, officers have 

to work at least 444 days over 

the two-year span. Overtime 

is not counted. Times when an 

officer must go on leave due 

to unforeseen health or family 

circumstances would be cases 

where the two-year limit could 

be extended. 



yrs. 

DENVER, CO. 

Denver School Board votes unanimously to return 

SROs back to high schools after shooting. 

By Jessica Seaman 

The Denver Post 

DENVER — Denver’s school board 

voted unanimously Thursday to 

allow armed police back into the 

city’s high schools, a decision that 

comes a day after two administrators 

were shot at East High School 

and nearly three years after the 

board decided to remove officers 

from buildings. 

The Board of Education suspended 

its policy barring school resource 

officers through June and directed 

Superintendent Alex Marrero to 

work with Denver Mayor Michael 

Hancock to “externally fund” two 

armed police officers and as many 

as two mental health workers at 

all high schools for the rest of the 

academic year. 

“The Board of Education will 

request that the Denver Police Department 

ensure every armed police 

officer is appropriately trained 

in the use of firearms, de-escalation 

techniques, policing in a school 

environment, knowledgeable of 

the school community they intend 

to serve and skilled in community 

policing,” the seven-member board 

wrote in the memo to the superintendent 

approved Thursday. 

The school board directed Marrero 

to develop a long-term “safety 

operational plan” and submit it by 

June 30. That will entail a series 

of community meetings to gather 

feedback. 

“The end of this needs to be a 

very multifaceted approach to solve 

this complex problem,” DPS board 

President Xochitl “Sochi” Gaytan 

said at a news conference. 

On Wednesday, Marrero said he 

will station two armed officers 

from the Denver Police Department 

at East for the rest of the academic 

year. He has also said he is “committing” 

to have an armed officer 

at each of Denver’s comprehensive 

high schools despite the fact that 

doing so “likely violates” school 

board policy, according to a letter 

he sent to directors. 

“However, I can no longer stand 

on the sidelines,” Marrero wrote in 

the letter to the school board. “I am 

willing to accept the consequences 

of my actions.” 

The superintendent’s decision 

was supported by Mayor Michael 

Hancock and comes after police say 

a student shot and wounded two 

administrators inside the school as 

they performed a daily search of the 

teen for weapons. The shooting was 

the second to occur at East in about 

a month. 

Junior Luis Garcia,16, died earlier 

this month after he was shot outside 

of the high school in February. 

Ever since then, East students and 

parents have called for tighter security. 

East students and parents have 

called for officers in school, as well 

as for the district to find other ways 

to improve safety, such as investing 

in community programs or adding 

metal detectors. Students have also 

advocated for more gun legislation. 

“Why have we charged underpaid 

educators with pat downs?” said 

parent Lynsee Hudson Lang, who 

has a son who attends East and 

attended the school board meeting 

in the morning. 

“I am grateful they are looking 

towards meaningful steps,” she 

said, adding that she was looking 

for more information about the 

decision. 

The school board voted in 2020 to 

remove the Denver Police Department’s 

resource officers following 

the protests over the murder of 

George Floyd, an unarmed Black 

man killed by a white police officer 

in Minneapolis. 

Members have argued that police 

officers in schools are harmful to 

students of color and contribute to 

the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Michael Eaton, the former head of 

the district’s Department of Safety, 

said he disagreed with the 2020 

vote and supported Marrero’s decision 

to add police back to schools. 

“We just can’t quantify the deterrent 

and the effectiveness an armed 

officer has in preventing these 

types of incidents,” said Eaton, who 

served as chief of the department 

for more a decade and left in November. 

38 The BLUES The BLUES 39


WARREN, MI. 

Michigan Police Commissioner defends his officers’ 

hospital transport of unresponsive baby in patrol car. 

yrs. 

IHIA 

29th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 

August 6 - 11, 2023 OKLAHOMA CITY 

By Susan Smiley 

The Macomb Daily 

WARREN, Mich. — Warren Police 

Commissioner William Dwyer 

said his officers made a “split 

second decision” Saturday to drive 

a 4-month-old baby that was not 

breathing to a local hospital instead 

of waiting for the fire department’s 

EMS unit to arrive and he stands by 

that decision. 

The infant was pronounced dead 

at the hospital. 

“I fully support the heroic actions 

taken by these officers in an attempt 

to save a child’s life,” said Dwyer. 

“The officers did nothing wrong and 

utilized their training, experience 

and common sense to get the child 

to the hospital as quickly as possible. 

“The officers never stopped lifesaving 

measures from the time they 

arrived on the scene until they got 

to the hospital.” 

The March 18 incident began at 

9:38 a.m. with a 911 call reporting 

a baby not breathing on the 1900 

block of Rome Avenue near Nine 

Mile and Dequindre roads. According 

to Dwyer, officers began arriving on 

the scene at 9:40 a.m., attempted to 

administer CPR to the baby there, 

then quickly decided to drive the 

female infant 2.8 miles to Ascension 

Macomb-Oakland Hospital at 11 Mile 

and Dequindre roads. 

“The total time 

elapsed was three minutes 

and seven seconds 

from the time the first 

officers arrived at the 

residence to the time 

the child was at the 

hospital,” said Dwyer. 

During a Tuesday 

press conference held 

in Dwyer’s office, the 

commissioner showed 

footage from the three 

officer’s body cameras 

who were involved 

in the transport and discussed the 

protocol between police and fire 

first responders in these situations. 

Several times during the transport 

the officer administering CPR kept 

saying “she’s still warm” and “c’mon 

baby.” 

“You will note that the Warren 

police officer was performing chest 

compressions and CPR all the way 

to the hospital,” said Dwyer. “The 

officers arrived at the hospital at 

about the same time it would have 

taken the fire department to respond 

at the scene.” 

Dwyer said the officers and 

dispatchers involved in Sunday’s 

incident will take part in a wellness 

program this week. All Warren 

police officers, he said, are trained 

in CPR. 

The death of the baby is under 

investigation to try and determine 

what led to the child not breathing. 

Dwyer had no comment on the 

investigation other than saying it is 

open and ongoing. 

He said reports from television 

media Monday of an internal 

investigation regarding the officers 

who transported the baby are 

false. A meeting between Dwyer 

and Warren Fire Commissioner 

Wilbert “Skip” McAdams has been 

scheduled to discuss protocol and 

communication between the two 

departments when these types of 

incidents arise. 

“We are going to talk about what 

transpired and why this information 

got out the way it did get out,” said 

Dwyer. 

AUGUST 

7 - 11 

Case Presentations/ 

Training For: 

• Detectives 

• Crime Analysts 

• Prosecutors 

• Investigators 

• Crime Scene 

Investigators 

• Coroners 

• Medical Examiners 

IHIA 

CLICK HERE 

OR SCAN 

THE CODE 

BELOW TO 

LEARN MORE 

Member 

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Before 4/30/2023 

$515 

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$595 

INTERNATIONAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION 



yrs. 

DINWIDDIE, VA. 

Video released after seven Virgina deputies were charged with second 

degree murder over the in-custody death of a suspect. 

By Denise Lavoie and 

Sarah Rankin 

Associated Press 

DINWIDDIE, Va. — A large 

group of sheriff’s deputies and 

employees of a Virginia mental 

hospital pinned patient Irvo 

Otieno to the ground until he 

was motionless and limp, then 

began unsuccessful resuscitation 

efforts, newly obtained surveillance 

video shows. 

The footage, which has no 

audio, shows various members 

of the group struggling with a 

handcuffed and shackled Otieno 

over the course of about 20 minutes 

after he’s led into a room 

at Central State Hospital, where 

he was going to be admitted 

March 6. For most of that duration, 

Otieno is on the floor being 

restrained by a fluctuating group 

that at one point appeared to 

reach 10 people pressing down 

on various parts of his body. 

The death of the 28-year-old 

man has led to second-degree 

murder charges against seven 

deputies and three hospital 

workers and an outcry from his 

family, who has said he was 

brutally mistreated, both at the 

state hospital and while in law 

enforcement custody for several 

days earlier. Attorneys for many 

of the defendants have said they 

will vigorously fight the charges. 

Relatives of Otieno were shown 

video from the hospital last week 

by a prosecutor, Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s 

Attorney Ann Cabell 

Baskervill, who had said that 

she planned to publicly release it 

Tuesday. 

But attorneys for at least two of 

the defendants sought to block 

the video’s release, arguing that 

it could hinder a fair trial. The 

Associated Press and other news 

outlets obtained it and other 

footage through a link included 

in a public court filing made by 

Baskervill. 

According to timestamps included 

in the footage, an SUV 

carrying Otieno arrived at the 

hospital just before 4 p.m. March 

6. By 4:19 p.m., a different camera 

shows him being brought into a 

room with tables and chairs. He 

is hauled toward a seat before 

eventually slumping to the floor. 

An increasing number of workers 

put their hands on him, 

holding him down as he appears 

to start to move on the floor. 

Otieno’s body is difficult to see at 

times, obscured by someone on 

top of him or someone standing. 

“He certainly did not deserve to 

be smothered to death, which is 

what happened,” Baskervill said 

in court Tuesday. The workers 

were holding him down, “from 

his braids down to his toes,” she 

said. 

By the 4:39 p.m. timestamp, 

someone is taking his pulse and 

he appears unresponsive. Soon 

after, as Otieno’s body lies still, 

someone appears to administer 

two injections. By 4:42 p.m., 

CPR appears to be underway. 

Life-saving efforts continue for 

over a half-hour until the workers 

step back from Otieno’s body, 

which is draped with a sheet. 

Final autopsy findings have not 

yet been released, though Baskervill 

has said multiple times that 

he died of asphyxiation. Defense 

attorneys have raised the possibility 

that the injections contributed 

to his death, though she 

disputed that Tuesday, saying he 

was already dead when the shots 

were administered. 

The prosecutor initially charged 

the 10 defendants through a process 

known as a criminal information. 

On Tuesday, a grand jury 

in Dinwiddie County signed off on 

second-degree murder charges 

for all 10. 

Also Tuesday, a judge granted 

bond for two of the deputies and 

one hospital employee after hearing 

arguments from Baskervill 

and their defense attorneys. 

Caleb Kershner, an attorney for 

Deputy Randy Boyer, said in court 

that Otieno had been “somewhat 

combative” at the jail and hospital. 

He said Boyer did not realize 

Otieno was in any danger as he 

was being restrained because 

Boyer was working near his legs. 

“Clearly, there was a significant 

need to restrain this man given 

the mental health issues that 

were going on,” Kershner said. 

Jeff Everhart, an attorney for 

Deputy Brandon Rodgers, said 

his client had been trying to help 

by moving Otieno to his side. But 

Baskervill said the video shows 

Otieno was moved on his side 

only when someone from the 

hospital came in and told him to 

roll him over. 

The Associated Press sought 

comment about the video from 

defense attorneys for all the other 

defendants who have obtained 

counsel. 

Rhonda Quagliana, an attorney 

for one of the hospital employees, 

Sadarius Williams, said in an 

emailed statement that her client 

was innocent of the charges. She 

said he had only minimal physical 

contact with Otieno and did 

not apply lethal force during the 

incident. 

Douglas Ramseur, who represents 

another hospital employee, 

Wavie Jones, asked the 

judge Tuesday to implement a 

gag order in the case, arguing 

that the release of the video and 

subsequent media attention had 

damaged the defendants’ ability 

to get a fair trial. The judge, who 

granted bond for Jones, declined 

to grant the gag order. 

Other defense attorneys did not 

immediately respond to emails or 

phone calls. 

Last week, Otieno’s family 

spoke at a news conference after 

seeing the footage, which they 

called heartbreaking and disturbing. 

They have equated his treatment 

to torture and called on 

the U.S. Department of Justice to 

intervene in the case. 

The family is being represented 

by Ben Crump, a prominent 

civil rights attorney who also 

represented the family of George 

Floyd. Crump and the family, who 

previously indicated support for 

the video being made public, 

planned to hold a news conference 

later Tuesday. 

Charges against the seven deputies 

were announced last Tuesday. 

In a news release Thursday 

announcing the charges against 

the three hospital employees, 

Baskervill said additional charges 

were pending. 

Reprinted from POLICe1 



yrs. 

WASHINGTON, DC. 

FENTANYL FACTS: It’s the leading Cause of Death 

for Americans 18-49 according to NIDA. 

By: Leonard Sipes 

The National Institute on Drug 

Abuse (NIDA), is gearing up for 

National Drug and Alcohol Facts 

Week 2023 to be held March 20- 

26. 

81,230 drug overdose deaths 

occurred during the 12 months 

from May 2019 to May 2020, the 

largest number of drug overdoses 

for a 12-month interval ever 

recorded for the U.S. 

Fentanyl is now the number 

one cause of overdose deaths in 

the country, surpassing heroin by 

a large margin. 

FENTANYL FACTS 

Fentanyl is a strong synthetic 

opioid that has been used in 

clinical settings since 1968. It is 

often used during surgery and 

for pain management. 

Only two salt-sized grains of 

fentanyl can kill someone. 

Most of the fentanyl trafficked 

by the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels 

is being mass-produced at 

secret factories in Mexico with 

chemicals sourced largely from 

China. 

In 2021, the DEA issued a Public 

Safety Alert on the widespread 

drug trafficking of fentanyl in 

the form of fentanyl-laced, fake 

prescription pills. 

Most offenders connected to 

the justice system have histories 

of substance abuse or mental 

illness or emotional disorders 

making them highly suspectable 

to the power of fentanyl. The 

drugs offenders take seem to become 

more powerful with every 

passing decade. 

Per the DEA, violent crime 

rates showed a disturbing increase, 

with murder, aggravated 

assault, and other violent crimes 

on the rise. Drug trafficking is 

a known contributor to violent 

crimes in America. 

81,230 drug overdose deaths 

occurred during the 12 months 

from May 2019 to May 2020, the 

largest number of drug overdoses 

for a 12-month interval ever 

recorded for the U.S. 

Fentanyl is the leading cause 

of death for Americans ages 18 

to 49. 

Fentanyl is now the number 

one cause of overdose deaths in 

the country, surpassing heroin by 

a large margin. 

Over 150 people die every 

day from overdoses related to 

synthetic opioids like fentanyl, 

about 55,000 yearly. 

Drug overdose deaths in the 

U.S. increased 28.5% between 

April 2020 and April 2021, according 

to the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention 

(CDC), with three out of four 

overdose deaths involving synthetic 

opioids. 

Fentanyl and other synthetic 

opioids are the most common 

drugs involved in overdose 

deaths. Even in small doses, it 

can be deadly. 

What does Fentanyl look like? 

Fentanyl is typically available 

in two main types: powder and 

liquid. Powdered fentanyl can be 

made to look like other drugs. 

It is often pressed into pills that 

look exactly like prescription 

pills, such as Percocet or Xanax. 

These drugs are brightly colored 

like chalk and candy, potentially 

making them more 

attractive to children and young 

people. Although these substances 

may resemble candy, don’t be 

fooled—they are deadly. It is important 

for parents to be aware 

of this new fentanyl disguise and 

to keep it away from children. 

Drug users generally don’t 

know when their heroin is laced 

with fentanyl, so when they 

inject their usual quantity of heroin, 

they can inadvertently take a 

deadly dose of the substance. In 

addition, while dealers try to include 

fentanyl to improve potency, 

their measuring equipment 

usually isn’t fine-tuned enough 

to ensure they stay below the 

levels that could cause users to 

overdose. 

The fentanyl sold on the street 

is almost always made in a clandestine 

lab; it is less pure than 

the pharmaceutical version and 

thus its effect on the body can 

be more unpredictable. 

Heroin and fentanyl look identical. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 

that is 50-100 times stronger 

than morphine. Pharmaceutical 

fentanyl was developed for 

pain management treatment 

of cancer patients, applied in a 

patch on the skin. Because of its 

powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl 

is also diverted for abuse. 

Fentanyl is added to heroin to 

increase its potency or be disguised 

as highly potent heroin. 

Many users believe that they 

are purchasing heroin and actually 

don’t know that they are purchasing 

fentanyl – which often 

results in overdose deaths. 

Drugs may contain deadly levels 

of fentanyl, and you wouldn’t 

be able to see it, taste it, or 

smell it. It is nearly impossible 

to tell if drugs have been laced 

with fentanyl unless you test 

your drugs with fentanyl test 

strips. 

There is no 100 percent accurate 

way to test for fentanyl in a 

drug. 

Test strips are inexpensive and 

typically give results within 5 

minutes, which can be the difference 

between life or death. 

Even if the test is negative, take 

caution as test strips might not 

detect more potent fentanyl-like 

drugs, like carfentanil. 

There is something that helps 

in the unfortunate scenario of an 

overdose — a drug called Naloxone 

or Narcan. It’s a medicine 

that can be given to a person to 

reverse a fentanyl overdose. Multiple 

naloxone doses might be 

necessary because of fentanyl’s 


potency. 

According to U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP), the 

amount of fentanyl seized by the 

agency skyrocketed from 2020 to 

2022. In the year ending September 

2022, CBP seized a record 

14,700 pounds of fentanyl, compared 

with 11,200 pounds in 2021 

and 4,800 pounds in 2020. 

In the first nine months of FY 

2022 (October through June), 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

law enforcement agencies 

in San Diego and Imperial 

counties (CBP Field Operations 

and Border Patrol) seized 5,091 

pounds of fentanyl – which 

amounts to about 60 percent 

of the 8,425 pounds of fentanyl 

seized around the entire country. 

SIGNS OF OVERDOSE 

Recognizing the signs of opioid 

overdose can save a life. Here are 

some things to look for: 

• Small, constricted “pinpoint 

pupils.” 

• Falling asleep or losing consciousness 

• Slow, weak, or no breathing 

• Choking or gurgling sounds 

• Limp body 

• Cold and/or clammy skin 

• Discolored skin (especially in 

lips and nails) 

POLICE OFFICERS EXPOSED 

TO FENTANYL 

In the late 2010s, some media 

outlets began to report stories 

of police officers being hospitalized 

after touching powdered 

fentanyl, or after brushing it 

from their clothing. 

Topical (or transdermal; via 

the skin) and inhalative exposure 

to fentanyl is extremely unlikely 

to cause intoxication or overdose 

(except in cases of prolonged 

exposure with very large 

quantities of fentanyl), and first 

responders such as paramedics 

and police officers are at minimal 

risk of fentanyl poisoning 

through accidental contact with 

intact skin. 

A 2020 article from the Journal 

of Medical Toxicology stated that 

“the consensus of the scientific 

community remains that illness 

from unintentional exposures is 

extremely unlikely, because opioids 

are not efficiently absorbed 

through the skin and are unlikely 

to be carried in the air.” 

CONCLUSIONS 

The fentanyl crisis is an international 

undertaking. As with all 

emergencies, no one wants to 

take responsibility. 

“Mexico’s president said Friday 

that U.S. families were to blame 

for the fentanyl overdose crisis 

because they don’t hug their kids 

enough. 

The comment by President 

Andrés Manuel López Obrador 

caps a week of provocative 

statements from him about the 

crisis caused by the fentanyl, a 

synthetic opioid trafficked by 

Mexican cartels that has been 

blamed for about 70,000 overdose 

deaths per year in the United 

States. 

López Obrador said family 

values have broken down in the 

United States, because parents 

don’t let their children live at 

home long enough. He has also 

denied that Mexico produces 

fentanyl. 

On Friday, the Mexican president 

told a morning news briefing 

that the problem was caused 

by “a lack of hugs, of embraces.” 

“There is a lot of disintegration 

of families, there is a lot of 

individualism, there is a lack of 

love, of brotherhood, of hugs and 

embraces,” López Obrador said 

of the U.S. crisis. “That is why 

they (U.S. officials) should be 

dedicating funds to address the 

causes.” 

I have no idea how to solve the 

problem of fentanyl. It’s easy to 

suggest drug treatment (which 

normally has to be administered 

multiple times) but there’s not 

enough money being directed to 

a crisis as potent as fentanyl. 

After fentanyl, there will be 

even more potent drugs coming 

onto the market. There always 

are. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR LE 

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr. - 

Thirty-five years of speaking for 

national and state criminal justice 

agencies. Interviewed multiple 

times by every national news 

outlet. Former Senior Specialist 

for Crime Prevention for the Department 

of Justice’s clearinghouse. 

Former Director of Information 

Services, National Crime 

Prevention Council. Post-Masters’ 

Certificate of Advanced Study- 

Johns Hopkins University. 



Hiring Incentives 

CONSIDERING A LATERAL? 

Moving to another agency can be trading up. Just be sure your 

decision is made with sound reasoning and careful consideration. 

By Missy Morris 

I had already served a year at 

a juvenile probation department 

in Southern California before 

moving north with my fiancé for 

his post-doctoral program. Then 

I had to start over at the bottom 

with a second probation department. 

After roughly another 

year, I was picked up as a police 

officer and sent to the academy 

with six others to represent our 

new agency. 

My first attempt at becoming 

a police officer was a dismal 

failure – one that ended with me 

being “allowed to resign” from 

the field training program in lieu 

of termination. I was devastated. 

As I cried ugly-faced tears at my 

locker, the female sergeant told 

me, “Go home and be a wife.” 

Her not-so-subtle implication 

was that I would probably be 

better at that than trying to be a 

cop. 

The joke was on her. I had been 

married less than a year and that 

commitment was also circling 

the drain. 

TRAINING TRAUMA 

There was, though, one more 

thing she didn’t know about. 

During the prior weekend, one 

of my teammates had tried to 

sexually assault me as we were 

cramming for a big test. Luckily, 

I managed to kick the guy off 

me and run as fast as I could 

down the street before anything 

truly heinous could transpire, 

but I was shocked, horrified and 

deeply ashamed I might have 

done something to make this 

man think his advances would 

be reciprocated. To my regret, I 

told no one about the attempted 

assault. 

After the incident, it was obvious 

to my team that my demeanor 

had changed. The stress 

of having to smile and work with 

the guy was an enormous hurdle 

for me to try to get over alone. 

Needless to say, the trauma was 

a big blow to my self-confidence. 

I can’t blame my washing out 

during field training entirely 

on that one traumatic incident, 

though of course, it was a big 

part of what happened. Still, I 

was doing my best to fail the 

training program all on my own. 

Safety mistakes, forgetfulness, 

crumbling under pressure, and 

plain old fear and insecurity all 

contributed to my defeat. I accept 

responsibility for failing. But 

the fact that two other female 

yrs. 

officers had openly made bets on 

how long it would take for them 

to get me to quit made it sting 

even more. 

In retrospect, it’s very clear that 

particular department and I were 

not a compatible fit. I was unwelcome, 

discouraged and deeply 

immature in handling the adversity 

I was facing. Instead of rising 

above the small expectations my 

coworkers had for me, I dug a 

deeper hole to crawl into. At that 

time, I wasn’t so much thinking 

about switching departments as 

I was considering leaving law enforcement 

altogether. That didn’t 

last long, though. 

SEASONS FOR CHANGE 

Five weeks after leaving that 

department, I accepted an officer 

position with the police department 

of the city next door. The 

new PD had exactly zero females 

in supervision or management, 

and one single newly promoted 

woman detective. I did not have 

high hopes my welcome would 

be any more kind at the new job. 

But hey – I didn’t have an income, 

and I needed one. I wasn’t picky. 

Instead, I became determined. I 

was going to pass the FTO program 

despite the gossip about 

me already spilling over from my 

old department. 

My hard work paid dividends. I 

passed that training program on 

time and with no issues. Not too 

long after that, I became a Field 

Training Officer myself. I even 

worked a special assignment 

during the three-and-a-half 

years I was there. I liked it there. 

It was a much better fit, as they 

say. 

There was one small problem 

during my tenure. The agency 

was in the very expensive, and 

somewhat exclusive, San Francisco 

Bay Area. I had a toddler by 

then. I was trying to afford parttime 

daycare, work the graveyard 

shift, pay astronomical rent, and 

make a 12-mile commute that 

took 40 minutes each way on a 

very good day. Even with copious 

amounts of overtime, there was 

no possibility of a white picket 

fence during my entire career. 

And as my daughter neared 

kindergarten age, I couldn’t stop 

thinking about the gang-infested 

public schools in the neighborhoods 

I could afford. 

So once again, I made the decision 

to move police departments. 

I was still in my twenties, not so 

entrenched in life that another 

fresh start would be overly disruptive. 

Age, family commitments 

and friendships had not nailed 

my feet to the floor quite yet. The 

difference was this time, it was 

my choice to leave and start over. 

My fourth career move in law 

enforcement was to a suburb 

of our state capital. This time, in 

switching departments I took a 

23% pay cut but gained a 44% 

break on my living expenses. 

Before I even started, I bought a 

small house, reconnected with 

people I already knew in the area, 

and thoroughly investigated the 

culture of my new department. 

REASONS FOR CHANGE 

In selecting a fresh start, I 

knew I would be relegated back 

to weekends and nights for shift 

options. That was fine. My daughter 

was young and didn’t yet 

need rides to and from school or 

activities. And since I was respected 

as a training officer in 

my previous department, I could 

afford to be more selective in my 

next agency of choice. Having 

been with two probation departments 

and two police departments, 

I had compiled a list of 

workplace needs and wants if 

I was going to uproot my little 

family and make a go of it two 

hours away. 

I mentioned police culture. This 

is a giant factor in fit and feel for 

employees. A police department 

and sheriff’s office may appear 

similar on the surface, but they 

operate on different planes – 

often with very different types of 

calls. The hallmarks of a sheriff’s 

office often include rural areas 

with sparse backup, coroner 

body retrievals, deputies who 

live and work in the community, 

and usually a more relaxed 

attitude toward petty crime and 

punishment. In contrast, police 

departments tend to see more 

frequent and higher-profile 

crime, fancier equipment, vocal 

citizen scrutiny and less of 

a family atmosphere than their 


county counterparts. Knowing 

your own personality and what 

type of policing you prefer can 

help narrow your search for a 

new law enforcement home. 

DEPARTMENT CULTURE 

Besides the cost of living, 

child-raising opportunities, and 

department feel and culture, I 

also wanted to find a healthy 

agency to settle in for the long 

haul. The PD I had my eye on 

offered a competitive salary, 

though not the highest in the 

area. They offered top-tier health 

benefits and retirement vesting. 

Liability mitigation for officers 

and strong policy commitment 

were standard. The agency was 

one of the very early subscribers 

to Lexipol’s policy management 

solution – and later, to Lexipol’s 

Cordico mobile wellness app. 

Perhaps one of the best perks 

was the department’s commitment 

for all employees and retention 

of quality people were touted 

constantly. At my agency, I felt 

respected and wanted – not 

like I was just a person getting 

through my shift to get a paycheck 

and get out. 

THE LONG HAUL 

Finally, my choice of a new 

police department hinged on 

the potential for longevity. Was 

there room for growth, advancement, 

or promotion? What about 

special assignments? And as a 

female, I wanted an environment 

that saw my differences as 

a possible asset and not just as 

a placeholder for a demographic 

audit. I wanted to feel, well, 

wanted. 

My grandfather worked for 

Coca-Cola for 56 years, until the 

day he died of a heart attack at 

his front door. His funeral was 

packed with coworkers. I remem- 

is installed. Will a move deliver 

enhanced quality of life for you 

and your family? 

I spent 22 years at my last 

agency before retiring as a patrol 

lieutenant. I made lifelong 

friends, raised two kids in a safe 

community, bought a modest 

home, and enjoyed the opportunity 

to be a motorcycle cop for 

over five years. 

My final choice was my best 

choice. I wish it had not taken me 

so many attempts to get it right. 

Still, it was all part of my journey. 

Each of us has a different 

path to take. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Missy Morris started in public 

safety as a juvenile probation 

worker after graduating from 

University of California Santa 

Barbara in 1991 with a degree 

in behavioral psychology. She 

to personal growth. This ber wondering what it must have moved to the San Francisco Bay 

appealed to me the most. Training 

and continuing education of your life at one workplace. I quickly transitioning to police 

been like to spend more than half Area to work in probation before 

LET’S GET TRAVELING! 

were a priority for the department. 

Just about everyone was 

thought it had to be comforting, 

yet confining. I would never know 

work. She spent three years with 

the Palo Alto and Mountain View 

afforded an opportunity to learn 

home and away at conferences. 

had rotations and expansions. 

– just two generations removed, 

same company their entire lives. 

make the hard decision to start 

police departments as a patrol 

22 years of her 28-year career at 

eventually becoming the multicity 

team leader and serving 

more about their career, both at 

Special assignments were shorter 

than six years and regularly evaluate your circumstances and in critical incident negotiations, 

The medium-sized department 

hardly anyone works for the 

There are sound reasons to 

over. After all, switching departments 

officer. She spent the following 

the City of Roseville. Missy worked 

Your Dream Vacation Begins... 

from the moment you start planning! 

And what better way to begin than with a professional who has 

can be trading up. Just seven years on the state board of 

also cared about its employees. 

This was something I had be sure your decision is made hostage negotiators. Missy feels 

most likely been there, done that, and knows how to get you the 

not experienced in my previous with sound reasoning and careful 

her greatest assignment was a 

best experience for your budget. 

jobs. Every shift began with a 

paid, one-hour workout period. 

Peer support was plentiful 

and promoted. Group and family 

activities outside of work were 

consideration. Take stock of 

what’s important to you in your 

career. What factors are you 

running from or running to? Make 

sure the negative aspects of 

five-year stint as a traffic motor 

officer riding a BMW and working 

fatal accidents. She held several 

special assignments before retiring 

in 2020 as a lieutenant. Missy 

scheduled regularly. A citywide your current agency are not just now works with the Lexipol Professional 

Services Team, working 

mentorship program was encouraged, 

temporary or political in nature – 

Rudy Rodriguez 

with time allotted for likely to flip-flop in the opposite closely with Cordico wellness 

(903) 941-8024 

it. Best of all, mental wellness direction when new leadership solution. 

rurodriguez@cruiseone.com 

50 The BLUES Veteran Owned Business The BLUES 51


yrs. 

ACROSS THE US 

GA. PD’S ELECTRIC MOTOR- 

CYCLES OFFER QUICK PATROL 

RESPONSE IN HARD-TO-REACH 

PLACES. 

By Bill Carey 

Police1 

DULUTH, Ga. — The Duluth Police 

Department is increasing the 

use of their electric motorcycles 

by adding them to crime patrols. 

The police department initially 

received the bikes for community 

policing but realized their patrol 

capabilities both on and off the 

road, Fox 5 reported. 

“We can go to a lot of places 

you can’t get to in a car,” said 

officer Randy Samuel. The department 

has three Zero electric 

motorcycles. The bikes can 

go about 80 miles when fully 

charged. 

Samuel is part of the Duluth 

Police Department’s bike community 

policing unit. He says the 

electric motorcycle gives him 

opportunities to get to know the 

people that he serves. 

“The first thing a person asks 

is, ‘Where did you come from? 

I didn’t hear you coming,’” said 

Samuel. The primary responsibility 

is patrolling the parks. 

In addition to trails, Samuel 

can maneuver through crowds 

and traffic when responding to 

emergencies. 

“Rush hour, I can take my 

bike on the sidewalk and get to 

where I want to go,” said Samuel. 

STANDOFF WITH OVER 100 

SHOTS FIRED AT CALIF. LE 

ENDS AFTER MORE THAN 48 

HOURS. 

By Salvador Hernandez 

Los Angeles Times 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY — A man 

who fired more than 100 bullets 

at pedestrians and law enforcement 

officials with a high-powered 

rifle and held deputies at 

bay for two days was found dead 

after barricading himself in a Valinda 

home, officials said. 

Deputies with the Los Angeles 

County Sheriff’s Department 

used armored vehicles to block 

bullets from hitting neighboring 

homes, and residents near 

where the man had barricaded 

himself were forced to evacuate 

their homes as the tense standoff 

continued into Sunday in the San 

Gabriel Valley. 

The suspect was identified 

Monday by sheriff’s officials as 

45-year-old Brandon Ursa. No 

more details about Ursa were 

released. 

The suspect was found inside 

the home Sunday after killing 

himself, L.A. County Supervisor 

Hilda Solis said on Twitter. 

Deputies were called to Wing 

Lane and Azusa Avenue on Friday 

afternoon after getting reports 

of an assault with a deadly 

weapon, officials said. 

Armed with a high-powered 

rifle, a man fired at deputies as 

they arrived in the area, authorities 

said. Deputies returned fire, 

and the man barricaded himself 

inside a home at the 16900 block 

of Wing Lane, said Chief Jorge 

Valdez of the Los Angeles County 

Sheriff Department. During his 

communication with negotiators, 

the suspect gave no clear indication 

why he had opened fire 

Friday, Lt. Calvin Mah said during 

the press conference. 

One woman was injured, but 

not shot, in the incident. 

Ten families in the neighborhood 

were displaced over the 

weekend, as crisis negotiators 

and the sheriff’s Special Enforcement 

Bureau tried to end the 

standoff. 

The families were placed at a 

nearby hotel, but it was unclear 

when they may be able to return 

to their homes because of the 

ongoing investigation, officials 

said Sunday. 

Lt. Tom Giandomenico, of the 

sheriff’s Special Enforcement 

Bureau, said more than 100 shots 

were fired from the home. 

Officials cut holes through the 

roof of the home to get cameras 

inside the house, hoping to get 

a look at the situation. Deputies 

also sprayed pepper spray 

into the home, hoping to make 



the gunman uncomfortable and 

make it more difficult for him to 

shoot out of the house, Giandomenico 

said. 

Officials said the gunman was 

alone inside the home, but despite 

constant contact with crisis 

negotiators, the situation remained 

tense through Sunday. 

“I could tell you at 2 o’clock 

in the morning [Sunday], he was 

still cussing and sending text 

messages about his ability to 

want to put harm on us and our 

personnel,” Giandomenico said 

at a press conference Sunday. 

The home belonged to a girlfriend 

of the gunman, he said. 

By 4 p.m. Sunday, deputies 

entered the home and found Ursa 

dead inside, Valdez said. 

An official cause of death has 

not yet been determined, officials 

said, but investigators said 

an examination of Ursa’s body 

found cuts to his wrists that 

appeared to have been self-inflicted. 

FL K-9 DEPUTY AMBUSHED 

DURING SEARCH, SHOT 3 

TIMES 

Investigators said Cpl. Matt 

Aitken underwent surgery for 

gunshot wounds to his neck, leg, 

and hand. 

A Pinellas County, FL, sheriff’s 

deputy is being treated at the 

hospital after being ambushed 

and shot three times Sunday 

night by a fleeing suspect during 

a burglary call, police said. 

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s 

Office said Cpl. Matt Aitken and 

K9 Taco responded to a report of 

a car burglary. The pair spotted 

a suspect 

near 

a church 

and began 

tracking 

him. A 

sergeant 

joined the 

search, 

KMPH reports. 

Investigators 

said as the deputies entered a 

fenced backyard and turned a 

corner, the suspect, Zion Bostick, 

opened fire, hitting Aitken three 

times. The suspect then fired 

three more times at Sgt. Jake 

Viano. The sergeant returned fire, 

killing Bostick. 

At a news conference Monday, 

investigators said Aitken 

underwent surgery for gunshot 

wounds to his neck, leg, and 

hand. 

FLORIDA OFFICER CRITICAL, 

SUSPECT DEAD BY SUICIDE, 

POLICE SAY. 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville 

police officer was shot 

while in the Duclary neighborhood 

Saturday morning and is 

hospitalized in critical condition. 

The suspect reportedly died by 

suicide, News4JAX reported. 

Details surrounding the shooting 

have not been released, but 

multiple sources told the news 

outlet Saturday afternoon that 

the suspect died by suicide after 

opening fire on the officer. 

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office 

tweeted, “#JSO is on scene of 

an officer-involved incident off 

yrs. 

Morse Ave. One officer has been 

shot and transported with critical 

injuries. Morse Ave. is closed 

between Firestone Rd. & Skylar 

Jean Dr. Please avoid the area. 

The officer’s immediate family 

has been notified.” 

Officials said additional information 

will be forthcoming, 

according to the news outlet. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Lenny Curry 

responded to JSO’s tweet. 

“As @JSOPIO continues their 

work, I continue to monitor 

reports and ask the people of @ 

CityofJax to keep this wounded 

officer in their prayers. God bless 

the entire JSO family for all they 

do to keep our community safe,” 

the mayor wrote. 

The Fraternal Order of Police 

tweeted: “Please keep our officer 

and family in your prayers. We 

need a miracle.” 

At the time of publication, the 

circumstances surrounding the 

shooting have not yet been released. 

IT’S LIBERAL MAYHEM,’ FOR- 

MER CORRECTIONS OFFICER 

SAYS OF STATE PRISONS. 

By Hayley Feland 

Bryan Milliron, who served as a 

corrections officer at the Stillwater 

prison for 32 years, retired 

last summer but is speaking out 

after a string of inmate assaults 

on corrections officers. 

A total of eight corrections officers 

were recently assaulted at 

Oak Park Heights and Stillwater 

prisons, in addition to six other 

staff who were assaulted at Rush 

City in early February in two separate 

incidents, the Department 

of Corrections (DOC) confirmed 

to Alpha News. 

“I wasn’t surprised. It’s liberal 

mayhem,” Milliron said. “It’s 

going to happen again. It’s not a 

matter of if but when.” He explained 

that staff are not even 

allowed to call prisoners inmates 

anymore; they have to call 

them “incarcerated persons.” 

“They need to do something 

different. I just don’t know if we 

are going to get anything different 

than what we have right 

now,” Milliron said. 

He criticized the lack of activities 

for inmates. “Idol time in 

prison is bad, bad news,” he said. 

A spokesperson acknowledged 

that many activities were limited 

during the COVID-19 pandemic 

but said programming has 

“greatly expanded lately.” 

Milliron told Alpha News that 

DOC has weakened punishments 

for inmates who assault staff. 

This combined with being shortstaffed 

means prisoners “know 

they can get away with it,” he 

said. 

“If you were an inmate who 

assaulted a staff member, before 

you used to get 720 days in segregation. 

Now the max is usually 

a year, so basically, it’s been cut 

in half,” he said. “It used to be if 

a guy did three days in segregation, 

then one more day would 

be added to their sentence — it’s 

a lot less now. That isn’t given 

out as a punishment like it used 

to.” 

He told Alpha News that while 

the number of inmates housed 

by DOC has increased over the 

last 30 years, the number of 

officers hasn’t kept pace. “The 

leadership at the facilities is so 

bad,” Milliron said. 

Aaron Swanum, the information 

officer with DOC, told Alpha 

News that the wardens of the 

prisons will be moved soon. “At 

the end of March, the current 

warden at Stillwater will transfer 

to our Shakopee facility, the 

warden at Oak Park Heights will 

transfer to Stillwater, and the 

current Shakopee warden will 

transfer to Oak Park Heights,” he 

said. 

“The moves are all made with 

thought and purpose to best 

align the strengths of each 

warden with the facilities’ various 

and ever-changing needs,” 

Swanum said. 

Swanum confirmed that solitary 

confinement for a staff 

assault can occur for up to one 

year. 

“Those responsible for assaults 

on our staff will be fully held 

to account for their unacceptable 

actions. Punishment for 

assaulting a Corrections Officer 

can include internal discipline 

conviction within the DOC — including 

time in Restrictive Housing 

— and potential felony-level 

charges for Assault on a Corrections 

Officer. Restrictive housing 

placement is up to one year,” he 

said. 

Dominique Antoine Jefferson, 

who is incarcerated at Oak Park 

Heights, was recently charged 

with first-degree assault for a 

Jan. 15 attack on a corrections 

sergeant that left her with permanent 

vision loss. 

“Our top priority is the safety 

of everyone in our facilities,” 

said DOC Commissioner Paul 

Schnell. “We are working very 

hard right now to prevent these 

incidents from happening while 

ensuring those who commit 

these senseless, violent acts are 

held accountable.” 

Milliron thinks many of these 

issues could be resolved with 

“better training and better leadership.” 

“I’d like to see changes made to 

help. I hate to see people being 

injured,” he said. 

Milliron now works with Correctional 

Peace Officers Foundation. 

If a corrections officer is injured, 

killed, or facing hardship, 

CPOF will support the families 

of the officers. 

This article originally appeared 

at Alpha News. 

EVERY LAPD UNDERCOVER 

OFFICER’S INFO RELEASED; 

CHIEF MICHEL MOORE ADMITS 

GAFFE AS THREATS RISE. 

LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement 

officers generally do not 

like to have their names or 

photographs depicted in a public 

forum as a measure of safety 

for themselves as well as their 

family members from would-be 

miscreants. This explains why 

officers with the Los Angeles Police 

Department are fuming after 

the agency recklessly released 

information involving undercover 

personnel. 

LAPD did not freely offer details 

about their employees. 

They were compelled to disclose 

names, badge numbers, and 

photos of more than 9,000 offi- 



cers, except for those assigned 

to specialized units as a result 

of a demand via the California 

Public Records Act. The request 

came from a citizen journalist. 

Although LAPD was not supposed 

to release the names of 

undercover personnel or those 

involved in sensitive positions, 

the agency carelessly included 

the identifying information 

as well as images of personnel 

working undercover assignments, 

which was a major gaffe, 

officials acknowledged. 

“We made a mistake. We 

made a big mistake,” Los Angeles 

Police Department Chief Michel 

Moore told FOX 11 Los Angeles 

during an interview. 

“I deeply regret that this mistake 

happened. I understand 

personally, given my own death 

threats and on matters of me as 

a public figure and my family has 

endured as a chief and even before 

that, how troubling this can 

be to a member of this organization, 

and even more so to those 

that are involved in sensitive and 

or confidential investigations,” 

Moore said. 

As a result of the information 

dump, some anti-police websites 

are having a field day and criminally 

targeting LAPD officers. 

“We have people who have 

taken the list and are now criminally, 

we believe, making threats 

against the safety of officers, 

calling for a bounty and awarding 

a bounty for individuals who 

would go out and kill a cop,” 

Moore explained. 

“Two things that we’ve messed 

up on. One, we should have told 

our people when we reached a 

settlement and we should have 

told them about the basis for 

it,” said Moore. “Secondly, when 

we provided the list, we made 

a mistake in that we did not 

identify all the individuals in the 

organization who were involved 

in sensitive undercover investigations 

that should have been kept 

from them.” 

“I’ll stand by what I’ve said. I 

have no reason to lie. I believe 

when you when we mess up, we 

need to own it,” said Moore. 

“Owning it” has not appeased 

rank and file officers. Many are 

fuming. Detective Jamie McBride 

said, “This is serious. This is not 

a mistake. This is reckless.” 

The Los Angeles Police Protective 

League (LAPD officers’ union) 

has filed a complaint against 

Chief Moore and an unnamed 

police administrator for the release 

of that information, according 

to McBride. 

Moreover, LAPPL is also demanding 

that Twitter and Google 

remove information from their 

yrs. 

platforms that are threatening 

the personal safety of police 

officers, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported. 

According to FOX 11, an untold 

number LAPD officers said they 

are considering filing a lawsuit 

against the department for, 

“putting our lives at risk.” 

Furthermore, the release of 

information involving undercover 

personnel has undoubtedly 

compromised several ongoing 

investigations. 

“A lot of bad guys are not 

going to jail since investigations 

will need to be aborted, and 

some informants are likely in 

danger,” according to a longtime 

undercover detective. “Whoever 

is responsible for this utter 

failure should be demoted, at the 

very least.” 

SUSPECT DIES AFTER JUMP- 

ING OUT OF STOLEN CHP UNIT. 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. – 

A male suspect driving a stolen 

patrol unit and leading California 

Highway Patrol officers in a vehicle 

pursuit through the Antelope 

Valley before jumping out of the 

moving vehicle has died. A video 

of the police chase by a local 

news outlet captured the thief 

driving the stolen CHP car before 

slowing down and jumping out 

at around 46 mph, which caused 

his death. 

CHP officers were initially 

called to reports of a reckless 

driver on the I-5 freeway near 

Castaic just before noon on 

Tuesday. The unnamed suspect 

then crashed his own Toyota Corolla 

into another vehicle. When 

CHP officers arrived to investigate, 

the suspect jumped into 

a responding officer’s unit and 

sped away, FOX 11 Los Angeles 

reported. 

During the 90-minute chase 

filmed by the news helicopter 

SkyFOX, one of the stolen cruiser’s 

tires popped off at around 

77 mph after running over police 

spike strips as it headed eastbound 

on the 138 Freeway. 

Shortly after, the stolen car’s 

driver side door opened, and the 

suspect leaped out of the vehicle 

while it was still traveling at 

about 46 mph. The suspect’s feet 

hit the road and he immediately 

slammed backward. 

During a live broadcast, viewers 

were able to see the suspect 

crash to the ground. However, 

FOX 11 froze the picture frame 

just before his head smashed 

into the highway as it was later 

re-aired. The local reporter 

said it was simply too graphic to 

show. 

The abandoned CHP unit continued 

on without a driver and 

is seen knocking down a utility 

pole before coming to rest in a 

ditch on the side of the road. 

The suspect was transported 

to a local hospital where he was 

pronounced dead, the CHP confirmed. 

His identity has not yet 

been released. 

CONNECTICUT SUSPECT 

DROWNS AFTER JUMPING 

INTO LAKE WHILE TRYING TO 

EVADE POLICE. 

WATERBURY, Conn. – A Connecticut 

suspect drowned in a 

lake after fleeing on foot from a 

stolen vehicle while police officers 

were giving chase, authorities 

said. 

The sequence of events began 

about 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday 

when a patrol officer discovered 

a reported stolen vehicle parked 

on a street in Waterbury. The car 

was occupied by four individuals, 

according to a press release 

issued by the Waterbury Police 

Department. 

As police approached the stolen 

vehicle, four suspects bolted 

from the automobile. Two of 

them — aged 14 and 16 — were 

quickly captured and taken into 

custody. The additional two 

suspects ran into a wooded area 

and were seen jumping into 

Lakewood Lake, reported Aol. 

com. 

One of them, a 17-year-old, 

eventually returned to shore and 

was arrested. However, police 

said the fourth suspect, also 17, 

“went under the water and could 

no longer be seen.” 

The Waterbury Fire Department 

responded and assisted 

officers with the search. Rescue 

workers entered the lake in an 

attempt to locate the missing 

suspect, but they were unsuccessful, 

according to police. 

Finally, a volunteer dive team 

responded and recovered him. 

The teen was transported to 

a local hospital where he was 

pronounced dead shortly after 3 

p.m. 

Police have not released the 

names of the four individuals 

who fled from the stolen vehicle, 

but they are all Waterbury residents 

who have previously been 

arrested. 

All three surviving teens were 

charged with theft and interfering 

with police. The 17-year-old 

who died was a student at Crosby 

High School in Waterbury, 

WFSB reported. 

The suspect’s death investigation 

is being conducted by the 

Connecticut State Police. 

DATA OFFERS CLUES IN FINAL 

MINUTES OF FLIGHT BEFORE 

BATON ROUGE PD HELICOPTER 

CRASH. 

By Paul Cobler 

The Advocate, Baton Rouge 

BATON ROUGE, La. — In the 

moments before a Baton Rouge 

Police Department helicopter 

crashed, killing the two officers 

aboard, it rapidly ascended as 

high as 1,300 feet and see-sawed 

between speeds of 40 mph, 102 



mph, and 30 mph, according to 

publicly available flight data. 

The data, from tracking website 

Flightaware, lends credence 

to what fellow pilots and friends 

of Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. 

Scotty Canezaro have been saying 

since the crash: Something 

must have happened before the 

helicopter’s tail rotor struck a 

tree, because the pilots would 

not have intentionally been flying 

low enough for that to happen. 

An initial report by the Federal 

Aviation Administration said the 

rotor striking the tree caused the 

helicopter to crash land upside 

down. However, the FAA and the 

National Transportation Safety 

Board are conducting a more 

thorough investigation to gather 

more information about what 

happened before that. 

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson 

said investigators will study 

data from an on-board flight 

tracker that broadcasts and 

records information about an 

aircraft’s location, altitude and 

ground speed every second. 

Investigators have also removed 

the wreckage from the scene to 

study it. 

Knudson said the agency’s 

investigation will focus on three 

areas: 

— The licenses, ratings and 

training activities of the pilots, 

and information like their activities 

over the 72 hours prior to 

the crash and their sleep history 

before the incident. 

— The aircraft’s maintenance 

and history and any indicators of 

pre-crash failure. 

— The operating environment 

that morning, meaning the 

weather and communications. 

A preliminary report will be 

issued in the next two to three 

weeks, while the full analysis 

could take a year or two. 

Several pilots told The Advocate 

it’s impossible to know 

what went wrong until the federal 

investigation is completed. 

But they said the sharp changes 

in speed and altitude could have 

resulted from a mechanical failure 

or clouds causing the pilot to 

become disoriented. 

Poirrier, 47, and Canezaro, 38, 

were killed when the helicopter 

they were piloting in pursuit of 

a hit-and-run suspect crashed 

sometime after 2:30 a.m., according 

to the FAA. 

Deputies with the West Baton 

Rouge Sheriff’s Office searched 

a field between North Winterville 

Road and Bueche Road after 

receiving a call from a family 

member from one of the victims 

requesting a search at 10:38 a.m., 

according to the agency. The 

crashed helicopter was discovered 

in the field and BRPD was 

notified shortly after, according 

to the sheriff’s office. 

SUDDEN CHANGES 

The helicopter took off from 

the Baton Rouge Metropolitan 

Airport at 2:26 a.m. to support a 

high-speed chase taking place 

on the ground below, according 

to BRPD and the Flightaware 

data. 

The data is not continuous; it 

maps points in time every 15-20 

seconds. 

yrs. 

The weather in the Baton 

Rouge area was mostly cloudy, 

with 7 mph winds from the 

south. The cloud ceiling, or the 

height above the ground to the 

lowest layer of clouds, was 

900 feet, according to National 

Weather Service readings from 

the airport. 

For most of the roughly 12 

minutes of the flight tracked by 

Flightaware, the helicopter did 

not show any major, sudden 

changes in speed or altitude. At 

the lowest tracked point, it was 

still roughly 300 feet up — well 

above the tree line. 

But the changes became much 

more abrupt just after 2:35 a.m. 

Over the next two minutes, the 

speed dropped from 84 mph to 

56 mph in 16 seconds; rose from 

67 mph to 98 mph in 20 seconds; 

and soared from 40 mph to 102 

mph in 17 seconds. 

Over that same two minutes, 

the aircraft swiftly gained altitude, 

going from about 400 feet 

to 1,300 feet up. That’s when the 

data stops. 

At the end of the flight, the 

helicopter also rapidly changed 

directions; it was headed west, 

south, east and north all within 

the last few minutes, the data 

says. 

MULTIPLE FLIGHTS 

The final flight was the helicopter’s 

fifth in 24 hours, according 

to Flightaware. The four 

flights before the fatal crash 

covered: 

— A 17-mile flight from the 

Baton Rouge airport to southeast 

East Baton Rouge Parish from 

7:29 a.m. to 7:39 a.m. Saturday. 

— A 16-mile return flight to the 

Baton Rouge airport from 1:31 

p.m. to 1:39 p.m. Saturday. 

— A 61-mile flight over much 

of the city of Baton Rouge from 

7:48 p.m. to 8:29 p.m. Saturday. 

— A 43-mile flight near the 

Baton Rouge airport and around 

some of the city from 10:55 p.m. 

to 11:26 p.m. Saturday. 

All told, the helicopter had 

traveled 137 miles in 24 hours. 

It’s not clear how much of that 

time Poirrier and Canezaro were 

flying; the department has two 

other helicopter operators. 

MINNEAPOLIS COUNCIL 

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES 

AGREEMENT TO REVAMP PO- 

LICING. 

EDITOR: Another WOKE plan 

by a Leftist City run by Liberals. 

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis 

City Council Friday morning 

unanimously approved a sweeping 

plan to reform policing that 

aims to reverse years of systemic 

racial bias. 

The 11-0 vote means that the 

public will soon be able to see 

the 144-page settlement agreement 

between the city and the 

Minnesota Department of Human 

Rights, which sued the city in 

the wake of the 2020 murder of 

George Floyd by a Minneapolis 

police officer. 

“This is the legacy of George 

Floyd,” City Council President 

Andrea Jenkins said shortly 

before the council voted on the 

agreement, which restricts a 

host of aggressive police tactics, 

seeks to reduce officer misconduct, 

and support the wellness 

of cops on the street. 

Some examples: 

— Officers will longer be allowed 

to pull over a driver solely 

for mechanical issues like a broken 

tail light. 

— The smell of marijuana 

won’t be enough to justify a 

search and frisk. 

— Officers will have a duty to 

intervene if they see a fellow 

officer breaking the rules. If they 

fail to do so, they could be disciplined 

as severely as the officer 

breaking the rules. 

A late-morning news conference 

was planned by Mayor 

Jacob Frey, Minnesota Human 

Rights Commissioner Rebecca 

Lucero and other officials. 

The plan amounts to a fouryear 

roadmap, City Attorney 

Kristyn Anderson told council 

members Friday, although she 

acknowledged that the rules — 

and enforcement power of the 

agreement — will likely remain 

in place for years beyond. 

An “independent evaluator” 

will be hired and given a $1.5 

million budget to oversee the 

plan’s implementation. 

City Public Safety Commissioner 

Cedric Alexander said some 

27 full-time employees will be 

required in the effort. 

The plan comes amid an ongoing 

federal investigation into 

similar concerns over the police 

department. That Department of 

Justice investigation could lead 

to a similar roadmap under the 

jurisdiction of federal courts. 

If that anticipated federal 

consent decree should materialize, 

it would supersede the plan 

approved Friday, but wouldn’t 

weaken it, officials have said. 

TWO MEMPHIS OFFICERS 

SHOT, CRITICALLY WOUNDED 

IN SHOOTING DURING FOOT 

PURSUIT 

By Associated Press 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Memphis 

police officers and a suspect 

were wounded in a shooting 

during a foot chase in the 

city, authorities said. 

The shooting occurred after 

officers responded to a report of 

a person with a gun at a convenience 

store shortly before 7:30 

p.m. Thursday, the Tennessee 

Bureau of Investigation said in a 

statement. 

The two officers and the suspect, 

who was outside the business 

before the chase began, all 

were transported to hospitals for 

treatment, the bureau said. 

The officers and the suspect 

were in critical condition following 

the shooting in the Whitehaven 

neighborhood, the Memphis 

Police Department said on 

Twitter. 

The bureau said it has launched 

an investigation at the request of 

Shelby County District Attorney 

General Steve Mulroy. The bureau 

typically investigates shootings 

involving police officers in Tennessee. 

Have a news story you’d 

like to share with 

The BLUES? 

Send it to: 

bluespdmag@gmail.com. 



yrs. 

Alan Helfman, Our LifeTime Achievement Award Winner, 

was presented the Heroes Award by the Houston Assist 

the Officer Foundation, at their ATO Heroes Gala. 

Alan Helfman’s irrepressible enthusiasm 

for helping worthy causes 

has landed him one award after 

another. Just last month, the Houston 

Police Officer’s ATO-Assist the 

Officer foundation award Alan the 

Heroes Hero Award at their annual 

Blue Gala. 

Alan has held 102 fundraisers, 

raised over $14 million and personally 

donated over $4 million. 

The BLUES presented him with 

our first ever Lifetime Achievement 

Award and earned him a coveted 

spot on our cover, which by the 

way joined hundreds more in the 

upstairs wall of their River Oaks 

dealership. 

We felt there was no better recipient 

than Alan for award given 

he has produced over 100 fundraisers 

and given over $1 million of his 

own money to the Houston Police 

Department (HPD) over the years. 

“My passion for the HPD is helping 

the widows pay the bills and stay in 

their homes, helping the guys who 

are hurt or sick—it’s really good 

money.” 

That’s just one of many Houston 

charities that he has supported. 

One way he consistently helps others 

is by donating cars. 

“My father and mother, Jack and 

Elaine Helfman, were my inspiration 

in giving,” said the native Houstonian 

about the founders of the 

Helfman car dealership. “They gave 

away three cars a year. Last year 

with the pandemic, I said, ‘Game 

on!’ and gave away eight—two to 

the HPD, two to the Houston Fire 

Department (HFD), one to Houston 

Methodist Hospital, one to Ronald 

McDonald House, one to Rice 

University, and one to the Houston 

Community College.” 

As president of his family’s group 

of five Helfman Auto Dealerships—a 

family affair including the Helfman, 

Feldman and Wolf families—the 

gift of cars seems a natural. But it’s 

only part of Alan Helfman’s largesse. 

He puts on exciting fundraising 

events (two a month for the 

past 25 years before the pandemic), 

which are typified by 12 performers, 

sometimes Astros and Rockets 

cheerleaders, and his own band! 

“We dance and sing, jump, and 

three hours later, we’ve raised more 

than $100,000.” 


SHERIFF GRADY JUDD 

POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, FLORIDA 

By Dr. Tina Jaeckle 

POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, FLORIDA 

His “Tell it Like it is Demeanor” 

I first encountered Sheriff Grady Judd 

years ago when I met my brother in Lakeland, 

Florida for lunch. Sheriff Judd was 

sitting at another table and before we left 

the restaurant my brother approached 

Sheriff Judd and shook his hand to thank 

him for his leadership and service. I clearly 

remember thinking that Sheriff Judd had 

a bigger than life personality but was also 

gracious and kind. A rare combination. 

Growing up in the Central Florida area and 

attending college in Polk County, I was 

already quite aware of the dedication and 

commitment of Sheriff Judd to his community 

and his employees. In the years since 

that brief encounter, I now view Sheriff 

Judd as all of that and much more. He is 

strong, direct, morally solid, and the greatest 

advocate of simply doing the right thing. 

His Christian faith remains at the center of 

his life and leadership approach. Sheriff 

Judd has become a national icon in many 

ways for his no nonsense and unquestionable 

dedication to “getting the bad guys” 

and keeping his county safe which is no 

small feat. Polk County is the fourth largest 

county in the state of Florida, with approximately 

2,010 total square miles, and is the 

ninth most populated county with an estimated 

population of 715,000. Polk County 

encompasses 17 municipalities, the largest 

being Lakeland, and is located in Central 

Florida, with Tampa to the west and Orlando 

to the east. The Polk County Sheriff’s 

Office currently employs approximately one 

thousand sworn deputies, including detention. 

Although Sheriff Judd is well known for 

his press conferences, Judd gained significant 

publicity as a sheriff with his “tell it 

like it is” demeanor. In 2006, after a traffic 

stop resulted in a deputy and his K-9 dog 

shot and killed, deputies shot and killed the 

suspect, shooting him 68 times. Asked by a 

reporter about the number of shots, Judd 

responded, “That’s all the bullets we had, 

or we would have shot him more.” 

According to his public bio, Judd started 

62 The BLUES The BLUES 63 


working for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office 

(PCSO) in 1972 as a dispatcher. As the first 

employee under the age of 21 in the department, 

he was required to get his father to 

purchase his ammunition. At the age of 27, 

he attained the rank of captain, supervising 

44 employees, all of whom were older 

than he. He was elected as the sheriff 

of Polk County in 2004, and re-elected in 

2008, 2012, and 2016. In the 2020 election 

campaign, Judd ran unopposed. He has 

served as an adjunct professor at the University 

of South Florida and Florida Southern 

College. Judd also served as president 

of the Florida Sheriffs Association (2013– 

2014) and president of the Major County 

Sheriffs of America (2018–2019). He is a 

commissioner on the Marjory Stoneman 

Douglas High School Public Safety Commission. 

Judd served as an active member 

of the Bartow Rotary Club since 1994, and 

was a member of the Board of Directors for 

the club from 1996–1999. In 2020, Judd was 

appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump 

to serve a three-year term on the Coordinating 

Council on Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention. While the Office 

of Sheriff in Polk County is non-partisan, 

Judd frequently endorses Republican political 

candidates. In a 2022 news conference, 

Judd referred to Republican Florida Governor 

Ron DeSantis as the “greatest governor 

in the United States of America.” 

Kathleen Dias, contributing author for 

Police1, published an article on December 

25, 2022 titled “America’s favorite sheriff 

talks about cops, criminals and his 50-year 

career” and highlighted Judd’s incredible 

journey. The following are excerpts from 

this excellent interview. 

Judd defies stereotypes. He’s a family man 

celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary 

in a career field littered with divorce. He’s a 

plainspoken communicator who set about 

repairing relationships with the community 

and media (while occasionally horrifying 

the politically correct). He’s a passionate 

protector of his community, the constitutional 

rights of his constituents and the 

safety of his deputies. In a world where 

“Florida man” is social media shorthand for 

bad choices, he’s an advocate for common 

sense, modern training and advanced education. 

Plus, he’s the kind of boss whose 

deputies collaborated to surprise him with 

a replica of his first patrol car to celebrate 

50 years of service. 

WHAT’S CHANGED AND WHAT STAYED 

THE SAME OVER 50 YEARS 

“What’s stayed the same?” Judd echoed 

the question. “Serving and protecting people. 

The core mission has not changed. It is 

a much more drug-induced society we are 

policing, with a higher percentage of drug 

addiction and suicide.” In Florida, as in 

much of the nation, overall crime has fallen 

while violent crime has increased. “What 

used to be fist fights now involves guns and 

knives,” Judd said. “And sometimes I wonder 

how we even solved crime before there 


was so much technology. The first thing we 

do is run to tech - cell pings, surveillance 

cameras, DNA matches instead of fingerprints. 

The ability to solve crime, to deter 

crime, has been remarkably improved.” 

Judd continued, “It is MUCH easier to apprehend 

criminals now than early in my career. 

People know there are security cameras 

and such, even inside houses. Social 

media has improved communication with 

the community; they want to be involved. 

When I came to work in the sheriff’s office, 

there was one teletype computer. Everything 

else was hand-filed. Now everything 

is computerized and there’s instant feedback.” 

He paused. “Now is a pretty exciting 

time. I’m blessed.” 

education made Judd a believer. He convinced 

the sheriff he worked for then to 

create a tuition reimbursement program 

for the department. Now sergeants and 

lieutenants in Polk County need to finish a 

bachelor’s degree; captains and above need 

a master’s degree. “I’ve seen the manifestation 

of professionalism. Education makes 

the difference,” Judd said. “We’ve created a 

culture here of both education and responsiveness.” 

Judd added that he sends his 

people to “finishing schools” – advanced 

specifically designed to develop leadership 

and communications skills. “Any success 

that I’ve had, I first give credit to God, my 

wife, and then the men and women of the 

sheriff’s office,” Judd said. “I’m just the 

coach. They do the heavy lifting.” 

ABOUT THOSE PRESS CONFERENCES 

Judd is famously informative and blunt 

when he speaks to the press. He’s announced 

BOLOs filled with Dr. Seuss references 

and pet-adoption videos filled with 

cute kittens. When the nation was in the 

throes of civil unrest and riots, he calmly 

called out bad cops and warned rioters 

and looters to stay out of Polk County, all 

in less than five minutes. “I’ve spent a lifetime 

studying the art and science of public 

safety and communicating. You can’t have 

one without the other,” Judd said. “Law 

enforcement agencies have spent a lot of 

THE VALUE OF EXPERIENCE AND EDU- 

CATION 

When Judd speaks of his experience, he’s 

speaking from an extensive background, 

beginning as a dispatcher. He worked his 

way through the department, holding every 

rank between the emergency call takers 

console to being elected sheriff for the 

first time in 2005. He comes down firmly 

on the side of formal education in the current 

debate over qualifications for modern 

law enforcement. “I started a police science 

program at community college, right 

out of high school. Change was coming; I 

knew that police had to be more educated 

to progress LEAA (Law Enforcement Assistance 

Act of 1965) and LEEP (Law Enforcement 

Education Program) federal funds 

provided a full ride for me through a master’s 

degree at Rollins College. Those programs 

have expired but they planted seeds, 

and one of them was me.” 

Experiencing the positive results of higher 



. 

time not communicating with their bosses: 

the people who pay taxes. They’ve also 

spent a lot of time not communicating with 

the press, trying to keep information confidential.” 

He continued, “I taught college 

classes as an adjunct for years; I’ve learned 

how to communicate. So, when I became 

sheriff, I decided we’re gonna quit fighting 

with the media. We’re going to use (Florida’s) 

very liberal public records laws to 

our advantage instead. We give the best 

information we have, as fast as possible. 

As soon as I know anything, I tell the public, 

here’s what we know, right now. As we 

know more, we’ll give you more.” 

It wasn’t a popular decision at first. “It 

panicked people at first,” Judd said. “But 

we’re going to tell people the truth.” And 

it worked the way he intended. “Animosity 

between us and the media immediately 

dissipated. They no longer think we must 

be hiding something. And it’s spreading! I’m 

a trailblazer, but we built this trust with the 

media, with the public, with social media. 

We have 95 million views on TikTok alone,” 

Judd said. “You’ve gotta talk to people like 

you’re sitting in their living room, drinking 

a glass of iced tea. I say if you mess up, 

then dress up, fess up and fix it up. Then the 

public will see us as real people, and they 

can relate. You’ve gotta love ‘em, treat them 

with mutual respect. If you’re a jerk to people, 

you can’t be surprised when they’re a 

jerk to you.” 

One unusual place that regard for public 

trust takes Judd’s policy is a consistent 

rejection of body-worn cameras for his 

deputies. He believes that it’s far too expensive, 

but more importantly, a violation of 

the public’s right to privacy and a discouragement 

to witness participation in criminal 

investigations. Instead, he reminds the 

public frequently that they all have cell 

phones with cameras and he invites them 

to record anything they want that his deputies 

do or say, for free. 

ADVICE FOR YOUNG OFFICERS AND 

SEASONED ONES, TOO 

Judd’s best advice for officers is what 

they’re not told in police academies: simply 

to remember that most folks are decent, 

hard-working people. “For young 

officers to follow rules and policies, they 

must be appropriately trained. They go 

from tragedy to tragedy every day, and 

their supervisors have to tell them that 

this isn’t the whole world. The people you 

are not interacting with are good. They 

love you, they trust you, and even good 

people overreact when they’re scared. You 

stand in the gap for them,” Judd said. 

To reinforce this, Judd requires all command 

staff to belong to a civic organization 

of their choice - a service group, 

youth sports, or religious organizations, 

for example. He said, “Officers need interaction, 

to see good people in good settings, 

not hang out with just cops. That’s 

not an accurate worldview.” 

Judd knows from personal experience 

how critical it is to maintain a balanced 

perspective about the people in his county. 

He has suffered losses personal and 

professional during his tenure; the day 

after this interview, a very young Polk 

County deputy died in a heartbreaking 

shooting during a warrant service. The 

emotion in his voice during that press 

conference was raw. Nevertheless, he remembers 

that he may be speaking about 

a bad person, but he’s speaking to good, 

hard-working people who count on him 

and his department. 


ON A HEALTHY MARRIAGE IN A HARD 

CAREER FIELD 

Few marriages make it to 50 years; fewer 

still make it that far in a law enforcement 

family. Judd married Marisa, his high 

school sweetheart, at a time when there 

was no overtime pay or comp time. They 

worked opposite shifts and saw each other 

for only a few hours each week. When 

he worked undercover assignments, they 

might go for days without contact, in an 

era before cell phones. His advice for those 

who would get married and stay married is 

typically direct: Choose a spouse carefully. 

Have clear communications and expectations. 

Be absolutely loyal and dedicated to 

the person you choose. “And,” Judd added, 

“if God is not in the center of your life, 

nothing else is going to work.” “It takes a 

special family, not a special person, to be 

a successful law enforcement officer. They 

have to be willing to donate to the community,” 

Judd said. “It’s a team at work and it’s 

a team at home, “ Judd added. 

VISION FOR THE FUTURE 

Judd believes that the future will bring 

better, safer communities through new advances 

in technology. “It’s hard to commit 

crimes successfully now,” he said. “I think 

technology will take us to a different level 

yet. As law enforcement officers, we need 

to understand that customer service with 

urgency is mandatory while being careful 

to preserve peoples’ privacy rights”. He 

has served the people of Polk County for 

50 years and says he anticipates continuing 

to work for them as long as he remains 

healthy. “What you see is what you get with 

me,” Judd said. “At home, at work, in front 

of the camera. My director of communications 

calls me the Happy Warrior. When 

they put me in the ground, I want them to 

say, ``He loved his community and left it 

better than he found it. He loved his family 

more than his community, and he loved 

his God more than them all.’ If they can say 

that, I’ll be a happy man.” 

America’s favorite sheriff talks about 

cops, criminals and his 50-year career (police1.com) 

Sheriff Grady Judd | Polk County 

Sheriff’s Office (polksheriff.org) 

GRADY JUDD PRESS CONFERENCES 

The Best 

of 

The Best. 

2020 

2021 



new products 

yrs. 

PepperBall 

INTRODUCING THE PEPPERBALL VKS PRO 

The new PepperBall VKS PRO is the ULTIMATE 

multi-payload, long-range, semi-automatic, 

non-lethal launcher. With its exceptional accuracy, 

and easy to handle design, the VKS PRO mirrors the 

AR-15 platform, can be used with both a hopper and 

a magazine and offers a disposable 88g cartridge 

option. 

The VKS PRO offers many features including: 

• Twist lock barrel technology that can easily 

switch from magazine to hopper fed on the fly; no 

need to remove the hopper to use the magazine. 

• Flip up sights that allow the user to adjust 

their sight based on windage and/or elevation. The 

sights can be used alone for a low-profile view, 

flipped down and moved out of the way or can be 

combined with an optic to co-witness. 

• 14-inch micro-honed barrel that is designed to 

accurately shoot both round and VXR finned long 

distance PepperBall projectiles. 

• Ambidextrous QD sling mount that allows for a 

wide range of motion, enabling versatile launcher 

handling for both left and right-handed users. 

• M-LOK handguard allowing for advanced 

modularity past the 1913 picatinny rail system. 

Machined to mil-spec dimensions and built with 

aircraft grade aluminum, the new handguard is 

lightweight yet robust enough to handle any optional 

accessories to enhance the performance of 

the VKS PRO. 

• Adjustable folding fore grip that improves 

handling but also can fold down and get out of 

the way so the VKS PRO can be utilized in all high 

stress deployment situations. 

The VKS PRO is available from Pepper- 

Ball. For more information or to request a 

demo, visit pepperball.com. 



new products 

yrs. 

FIRST Cash Back 

Save Money Buying Hunting 

and Fishing Gear with FIRST 

By Rusty Barron 

I discovered a great way to always 

get my hunting and fishing gear 

cheaper, anytime of the year I decide 

to buy it. Two of the retailers 

on the new FIRST Cash Back app 

are Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, 

and both offer 5.4% cash back on 

every purchase when you check 

out using your FIRST app. This is a 

brand-new offering from The BLUES 

that we are beta testing and will 

soon be available to everyone. I 

wanted to explain how easy it is 

to use and once you do use it, you 

will find over 300+ other retailers, 

restaurants, and other places you 

normally shop & dine with, and you 

can save money every time with 

them too. Once you download the 

app for $1.99 there will be no more 

costs to use it, only savings. You 

will use the app as your form of 

payment just like you would with 

your credit card. When you download 

the app, you will load your 

favorite card credit that will be 

actually paying for the purchase and 

in addition to you still getting your 

miles or credits that your favorite 

credit card gives you, you will also 

be earning additional cash back 

from the 300+ merchants because 

you are a First Responder or family 

member of a First Responder. 

So here is how it works. Let’s 

say you are at Bass Pro Shops and 

purchase $117.07 worth of stuff. You 

proceed to the cashier and when 

they give you the total, you pull out 

your phone, 

open the app 

and click 

on Bass Pro 

Shops logo in 

your favorites 

and tell the 

cashier you 

will be paying 

with a digital 

gift card. 

Then you type 

into the app 

the amount of 

the purchase, 

1-1-7-0-7 and 

hit next button. 

Instantly 

there is a 

digital gift 

card shown 

on your app 

that you show the cashier. They 

scan the barcode, and the transaction 

is completed. It’s that quick 

and easy. Then you’ll notice you’re 

getting back $6.32 from Bass Pro 

because you are a First Responder, 

and it stays in your “available cash” 

on your app until you choose to use 

it at any of the 300+ merchants in 

the app. So, every time you use the 

app to pay for your purchase you 

will earn more cash back and at 

any time you can use your available 

cash to pay for all or part of your 

next purchase through the app. It is 

really the same as pulling out your 

credit card and handing it to the 

cashier but by using the FIRST app, 

you are earning cash back. I find 

this a very cool benefit for you and 

your family members, and it is all 

because you are a First Responder 

and a FIRST member. Bass Pro and 

Cabela’s offer 5.4% cash back and 

that is about the average across all 

the merchants in the app. Some 

more, some less and it is always 

shown next to the brand name how 

much they are offering. I can’t wait 

until we are ready to launch it to 

everyone and if you want to be 

added to the list of those First in 

line to get the app or even be one 

of our Beta Testers, click on the link 

below. 

SIGN UP HERE 


always there to serve. always there to honor. 

yrs. 

APRIL 

2-6 TEXAS POLICE CHIEFS ASSOC. CONF. FT. WORTH, TX 

4-6 3-Day New Detective and New Criminal Investigator By LLRMI Ft. Worth, TX 

11-12 Managing the Property and Evidence Room *BY PATC Hoover, AL 

17-21 Field Training Officer Certification *BY PATC Texas City, TX 

18-19 Managing the Property and Evidence Room *BY PATC Texas City, TX 

24-25 Advanced Internal Investigations: Legal & Practical Issues *BY PATC Las Vegas, NV 

24-25 Arrest, Search and Seizure - Best Practices *BY PATC Las Vegas, NV 

24-28 5 Day Cellular Technology and Forensics (CTF) Certification-LLRMI Urbana, IL 

24-28 5 Day Homicide and Death Investigation By LLRMI Franklin, IN 

24-28 Detective and New Criminal Investigator *BY PATC Texas City, TX 

24-28 Use of Force Conference and Certification By LLRMI Clermont, FL 

25-27 Hands-On Vehicle Fire/Arson Investigation By LLRMI Upper Darby, PA 

25-27 Violent Crime Symposium 2023 Wilmington, DE 

25-29 NYTOA PATROL TACTICS TRAINING CONFERENCE /EXPO VERONA, NY 

26-28 Human Trafficking *BY PATC Las Vegas, NV 

MAY 

1-5 Detective and New Criminal Investigator *BY PATC Rio Rancho, NM 

1-5 2023-LEIU/IALEIA ANNUAL TRAINING EVENT LAS VEGAS, NV 

2-3 Managing the Property and Evidence Room *BY PATC Salina, KS 

2-4 Sexual Deviant Offenders *BY PATC Desloge, MO 

9-11 GREAT LAKES LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CONFERENCE GRAND RAPIDS,MI 

9-11 2023 North American Use of Force Symposium: Lessons Learned Scottsdale, AZ 

10-11 BORDER SECURITY EXPO SAN ANTONIO,TX 

10-11 Basic Drug Investigation By LLRMI Geo, TX 

16 Advanced Search & Seizure by Blue to Gold (Live Stream Available) Lufkin, TX 

17 Duty to Intervene by Blue to Gold (Live Stream Available) Lufkin, TX 

17 Real World De-Escalation by Blue to Gold (Live Stream Available) Lufkin, TX 

22-24 Cellular Technology, Records, and Analysis Southlake, TX 

22-24 Pat McCarthy’s Street Crimes - Real World Training Arlington, TX 

22-26 Advanced Homicide Investigation/Violent Crime course Anchorage, AL 

JUNE 

5-7 Leadership 101 - Professionalism Defined (TX New Sup.) McKinney, TX 

6-8 Reid Technique of Inv. & Advanced Interrogation Denton, TX 

12-16 OTOA ANNUAL CONFERENCE SANDUSKY, OH 

13-16 Reid Technique of Inv. & Advanced Interrogation Austin, TX 

18-22 IABTI IST CONFERENCE PONTE VEDRA, FL 

19-23 Detective and New Criminal Investigator *BY PATC Denton, TX 

26-29 NSA NATIONAL SHERIFF’S CONFERENCE GRAND RAPIDS,MI 

27-28 37TH ANNUAL POLICE SECURITY EXPO ATLANTIC CITY,NJ 

28-JULY3 NASRO ANNUAL CONFERENCE AURORA,CO 

JULY 

11-14 Cognitive Interviewing and Analytic Interviewing Humble, TX 

13-14 Child Abuse Investigations Denton , TX 

17-18 Proactive Leadership Humble, TX 

17-21 Basic Instructor 1014 Texas City, TX 

18-21 Reid Technique of Inv. & Advanced Interrogation Houston, TX 

24-27 53rd Annual Texas Narcotic Officers Association Training Conf. San Marcos, TX 

1-4 Reid Technique of Inv. & Advanced Interrogation Kileen, TX 

2 De-Escalation #1849 Texas City, TX 

7-11 Interview & Interrogation for New Detectives BY LLRMI Georgetown, TX 

7-11 Rolling Surveillance presented by LCI Services Texas City, TX 

8-11 Reid Technique of Inv. & Advanced Interrogation Dallas, TX 

14-16 Pat McCarthy’s Street Crimes - Galveston, TX 

14-18 Detective and New Criminal Investigator *BY PATC League City, TX 

15-18 Chop Shop Investigations presented by LCI Services Texas City, TX 

16-17 Leadership for Front-Line Supervisors Denton, TX 

18 Statement Analysis® Interviewing Techniques Dallas, TX 

22-23 Overdose Investigations Course Georgetown, TX 

28-31 National Internal Affairs Investigators Assoc (NIAIA) 

Annual Training Conf 

Fort Worth, TX 

11-15 Force Science Certification Course Houston, TX 

19-21 WZ Criminal Level I Investigative Interviewing Techniques McKinney, TX 

19-22 Reid Technique of Investigative Interviewing 

& Advanced Interrogation 

Denton, TX 

21-22 Homicide Investigations Seminar Denton, TX 

22 WZ Criminal Investigative Interviewing Techniques 

Advanced Workshop 

22 WZ Criminal Level II - Advanced Interviewing Techniques 

Workshop 

25 Bulletproof Courtroom Testimony by Blue to Gold 

(Live Stream Available) 

McKinney, TX 

McKinney, TX 

Fort Worth, TX 

25-27 Proactive Leadership Waxahachie, TX 

25-29 Detective and New Criminal Investigator *BY PATC Crowley, TX 

26 Advanced Search & Seizure by Blue to Gold Denton, TX 

27 Advanced Traffic Stops by Blue to Gold Denton, TX 

28 Advanced Criminal Investigations by Blue to Gold Denton, TX 

SEPTEMBER 

OCTOBER 

AUGUST 

SEPTEMBER 

GSX 2023 CONFERENCE - DALLAS, TX 

IACP - SAN DIEGO, CA 

Send your calendar listings to: 

bluespdmag@gmail.com 

saturday, may 13, 2023 

Support our law enforcement heroes by participating in the 17th annual 

National Police Week 5K (NPW5K) on Saturday, May 13, 2023. 

Between a devastating pandemic, intense public scrutiny, and heightened 

civil unrest, the challenges our officers face continue to grow. Whether 

you’ve witnessed this firsthand or as a police supporter, the NPW5K is your 

opportunity to help revive the camaraderie that our community needs now 

more than ever. 

This May, join the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) and LEO supporters 

across the globe as we kick off National Police Week by running or walking in 

honor of, and with, our law enforcement heroes. For more information, please 

visit nationalpoliceweek5k.com or contact Amy Herrera at 5k@odmp.org. 

nationalpoliceweek5k.com . odmp.org 


yrs. 

TCPA Invites 

You To 

Join Us! 

Texas Crime Prevention Association 

48th Annual Conference 

July 9 - 13, 2023 

Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront 

2055 Summer Lee Dr. 

Rockwall, Texas 75032 

TCPA invites public safety personnel, crime 

prevention practitioners, and organizations 

with crime prevention products or services to 

network at the largest event in the southern 

U.S. focused on suppressing criminal activity! 

Register Online Today! 

tcpa.wildapricot.org/conference 


HONORING OUR FALLEN HEROES 

POLICE OFFICER ANDRES M. VASQUEZ LASSO 

MASTER TROOPER JAMES R. BAILEY 

CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT, ILLINOIS 

END OF WATCH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023 

AGE: 32 TOUR: 5 YEARS BADGE: N/A 

Police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso was shot and killed while responding to a domestic incident at 4:45 pm 

in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue in the Gage Park neighborhood. Officers were responding to a 

call about a man chasing a woman down the street with a gun. One group of officers went to the residence 

while other officers located the subject on foot. They were able to engage with the subject, but he fled from 

the officers. Shots were exchanged as Officer Vasquez Lasso pursued the subject, and both were wounded. 

Officer Vasquez Lasso was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. 

Officer Vasquez Lasso had served with the Chicago Police Department for five years and was assigned to the 

Eighth District. He is survived by his wife, mother, and sister. 

INDIANA STATE POLICE, INDIANA 

END OF WATCH FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2023 

AGE: 50 TOUR: 15 YEARS BADGE: 7858 

Master Trooper James Bailey was struck and killed by a fleeing vehicle on I-69, south of Auburn, while attempting 

to deploy spike strips at about 4:30 pm. Trooper Bailey was performing traffic control duties as the result of several 

crashes on the interstate when he was notified of a vehicle pursuit involving the Fort Wayne Police Department. 

The pursuit entered on I-69 toward Trooper Bailey’s location. The fleeing vehicle was traveling at a high rate of 

speed and struck Trooper Bailey as he attempted to deploy spike strips near mile marker 326. He was transported 

to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. 

Trooper Bailey had served with the Indiana State Police for 15-1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, son, and 

daughter. 

80 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE The MAGAZINE BLUES 81


DETECTIVE SERGEANT MASON GRIFFITH 

DEPUTY SHERIFF JEREMY MCCAIN 

HERMANN POLICE DEPARTMENT, MISSOURI 

END OF WATCH SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023 

AGE: 34 TOUR: 12 YEARS BADGE: 503 

Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith was shot and killed at Casey’s Convenience Store at 115 Highway 19 in 

Hermann around 9:30 pm. Sergeant Griffith and another officer were responding to a disturbance at a convenience 

store. When the officers arrived, a shootout occurred. Both officers were shot. One officer is in serious 

but stable condition. Sergeant Griffith succumbed to his injuries at Hermann Area District Hospital. 

Sergeant Mason had served with the Hermann Police Department for over 12 years and was the part-time 

Chief of Police of the Rosebud Police Department and Reserve Deputy Sheriff of the Gasconade County Sheriff’s 

Office. He is survived by his wife, two sons, mother, and father. 

OKLAHOMA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, OKLAHOMA 

END OF WATCH MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 


Deputy Sheriff Jeremy McCain succumbed to injuries received when his patrol car struck a gate at the Oklahoma 

Christian School at 4680 E 2nd Street in Edmund at 6:50 pm. He was leaving the school campus 

when his patrol vehicle struck a partially opened gate while driving less than 10 miles per hour. The gate 

crashed through his front windshield and pinned him in the vehicle. He was transported to OU Medical Center 

where he succumbed to his injuries 10 days later. 

Deputy McCain had served with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office for 11 years. He is survived by his son. 



PATROLMAN JOSEPH BARLOW 

POLICE OFFICER GARRETT CRUMBY 

MCALESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT, OKLAHOMA 

END OF WATCH MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 


Patrolman Joseph Barlow succumbed to injuries received on March 17th, 2023, when he was struck headon 

while escorting a funeral procession for a member of his department who had passed away. The procession 

was traveling on Highway 75, near 151st Street S in Glenpool, when the pickup truck crossed the center 

line and struck his patrol car head-on. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his 

injuries three days later. 

Patrolman Barlow was United States Army veteran and served with the McAlester Police Department for over 

one year. 

HUNTSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ALABAMA 

END OF WATCH TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023 

AGE: N/A TOUR: 11 YEARS BADGE: N/A 

Police Officer Garrett Crumby was shot and killed while responding to a shots fired call at the 4600 block of 

Governors House Drive at 4:45 pm. A female called 911 and reported that she had been shot. When Officer 

Crumby and another officer responded, they were ambushed by the subject. Both officers were transported 

to Huntsville Hospital where Officer Crumby succumbed to his wounds. The other officer remains in critical 

condition. The subject was taken into custody and charged with capital murder of a law enforcement officer. 

Officer Crumby had served with the Huntsville Police Department for three years and previously served with 

the Tuscaloosa Police Department for eight years. 



CORPORAL SCOTTY CANEZARO 

SERGEANT DAVID POIRRIER 

BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LOUISIANA 



Corporal Scotty Canezaro and Sergeant David Poirrier were killed in a helicopter crash in a field off North Winterville 

Road, near U.S. 190 at Erwinville, at about 2:26 pm. The crew of the Robinson R-44 helicopter was 

sent to assist in the pursuit of a fleeing vehicle around 2 am. While in flight, the helicopter’s tail rotor struck a 

tree before crashing into a field. 

Corporal Canezaro had served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for 16 years and was assigned to the 

Air Support Unit. 

BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LOUISIANA 



Sergeant David Poirrier and Corporal Scotty Canezaro were killed in a helicopter crash in a field off North Winterville 

Road, near U.S. 190 at Erwinville, at about 2:26 pm. The crew of the Robinson R-44 helicopter was 

sent to assist in the pursuit of a fleeing vehicle around 2 am. While in flight, the helicopter’s tail rotor struck a 

tree before crashing into a field. 

Sergeant Poirrier had served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for 17 years and was assigned to the 

Air Support Unit. 


WORDS BY OFFICERS ON GHOST PATROL 

Ghost patrol: The scariest 

things cops have 

seen on the beat. 

By Police1 Staff 

Most cops will tell you they’ve 

seen it all. It’s the nature of the 

job to be exposed to virtually 

everything America has to offer 

– from the weird to the hilarious 

to the disturbing. But what about 

the paranormal? 

We asked our audience to 

share the scariest, strangest, or 

most unexplained thing they’ve 

seen in their career, and their 

stories were downright spooky. 

Check out our roundup of the 

best responses, and if you think 

you can top these, share your 

story with us bluespdmag@ 

gmail.com. 

A DIFFERENT KIND OF EVIL 

Several years ago, I took a 911 

call for a family reporting their 

teenage daughter was possessed. 

They claimed no possibility 

of drugs or a history of 

mental health issues (which I, 

of course, didn’t believe for a 

second). Family members were 

holding her down and I could 

hear two people screaming at 

each other in the background. I 

asked the caller to tell whoever 

was yelling at her to stop. The 

caller said, “It’s her.” I responded 

that I knew it was her but 

whoever was yelling at her at 

the same time to stop. The caller 

again said “It’s her. Both voices.” 

I kid you not, it was the creepiest 

thing I have ever heard. I have 

been doing this for 25 years and 

have heard many things, I know 

of man’s inhumanity and the 

horrible things people do to each 

other, but this - this was a different 

kind of evil. I was clearly 

hearing a young girl screaming 

at the same time an adult male 

was yelling back. I couldn’t 

understand either language but 

they were clearly two different 

voices. The family swore both 

voices were coming from her, at 

the same time. It made my skin 

crawl. The lieutenant listened to 

the tape later and he looked at 

me and said “Do you ever wonder...” 

Yes. Yes, I do. — Meredith 

Scheirman. 

CELL #1 IS EMPTY 

I’ve seen a lot of things in my 

career, things that would make 

a citizen doubt my sanity. From 

being dispatched to chase a 

UFO to responding to calls of 

ghosts. But the most unusual 

thing that happened to me was 

witnessed by several officers 

and a dispatcher. One evening I 

had brought in a guy for domestic 

violence and as he was a bit 

rowdy I was joined in booking by 

the sergeant and another patrolman. 

I’m in the process of booking 

Mr. Tuffguy when I glanced 

into cell #1. There was a guy in 

there, short haircut, glasses, and 

a white t-shirt just staring at 

us. I ignored him because I didn’t 

want him to start banging on the 

window demanding a phone call 

or something. 

So I finish the booking process 

and escort Mr. Tuffguy to his cell, 

walking past cell #1. The guy in 

the cell just stood there never 

saying a word or moving. We 

all then leave booking and go 

about our business. Sometime 

later sergeant asks me to check 

the paperwork for the prisoners 

to see if any were ready to 

transport to the county jail. I 

grab the paperwork and go into 

booking to do a headcount. Cell 

#1 is empty. I panic and tell the 

sergeant who also panics, and 

he and I begin to make phone 

calls to the detectives to see if 

they had moved the guy or had 

released him. They all say they 

didn’t go into booking at all. I 

then checked the computer and 

paperwork again and the headcount 

was accurate, no one had 

been placed in cell #1. 

We go to the dispatch office to 

check the surveillance video for 

booking. We rewind the footage 

to where I can be seen booking 

my prisoner. We fast forward 

to the point in the video where 

we all walk out. As soon as we 

walk past the door the guy in 

#1 “blinks” out of existence. We 

were all freaked out by the occurrence 

believe you me! When 

we tried to transfer the video to 

a DVD and USB drive the guy in 

the cell did not appear. We still 

hear and see stuff every now and 

then and prisoners in the detox 

tank can be seen talking to 

someone in the direction of cell 

#1 even though it appears empty. 

To this day I’m wary of going into 

booking alone. — Marco Castillo. 

WELFARE CHECK 

Answered a welfare check call 

one night late, between 0230- 

0300 on an elderly woman who 

lived next door to the caller and 

had not been seen for some time. 

This night we were having a bad 

thunderstorm without the rain. I 

get to the complainant’s house 



to speak to her first, wondering 

why she called at this time. She 

tells me the lady next door is in 

her 90s, lives alone and she has 

not seen her in weeks. She explained 

that she has called, went 

over and knocked on her door 

but the lady will not answer. I 

start thinking she is probably 

deceased and has been for some 

time. The car has a 3-inch layer 

of dust on it, the mail is piling 

up and no lights are on. First, 

I walked to the side door and 

knock on the door with my flashlight, 

knocking loud enough an 

elderly person with some hearing 

should hear it. After a few 

minutes of no response, I turn 

around and walk to the backyard 

looking at the windows and 

find everything okay. The complainant 

is with me and is saying 

she doesn’t know of any relatives 

of the lady. I’m sure by now that 

she is probably deceased. 

I walk to the front of the house 

and notice that her blinds are 

up on the front windows and 

I can see a glow from inside. I 

am however not tall enough to 

look into the windows which are 

probably 7 feet off the ground. 

The complainant runs next door 

and grabs a bucket for me to 

stand on. I get on the bucket and 

bingo I can see the living room. 

The glow was from the TV which 

was on a blue screen and is 

bright enough I didn’t need my 

flashlight to see in. I looked first 

at the floor to make sure she had 

not fallen there, couch, recliner, 

everything was empty. The telephone 

home base was blinking 

red with the missed calls and 

voicemails. From the living room 

was a hallway that was dark 

and I couldn’t see down. Using 

my flashlight I could only see an 

open door down the hall. Still no 

signs of life. 

I turned around and told the 

complainant that everything 

looked ok and nothing was 

disturbed. I turned back around 

and an elderly woman is looking 

back at me with her face right 

up next to the glass. I couldn’t 

breathe; it felt as if I had been hit 

in the chest by a bat. I fell backward 

and off of the bucket. I hit 

the ground hard and the complainant 

rushed to me. I pushed 

her off as she was trying to help 

me up and I ran back up on the 

bucket. My heart was pounding 

but I had to see. Instinct had my 

hand on my gun the other was 

up on the window. I looked back 

inside and saw a frail elderly 

woman standing in the hallway 

wearing a long nightgown with 

her back to me. She turned her 

head to the side and looked at 

me out of the corner of her eye 

and slowly walked out of view 

and down the dark hallway. That 

unnerved me. 

I got down and looked at the 

complainant who was standing 

there with a puzzled look 

on her face. All I could say was 

I saw her. By now the wind had 

picked up and it began to rain. 

I began to walk back to my car 

by the road and I turned back to 

the complainant and said, don’t 

come back here. I got into the 

car and drove to the PD. I never 

found out about the lady who 

lived there, the complainant 

didn’t call back and the house 

now has different tenants inside. 

Some things are better left 

alone. — Chuck Pheil. 

NO SCENT 

Over twenty years ago I took 

an alarm call at the old PTA 

building across the street from 

a courthouse in Austin, TX. The 

alarm had already gone quiet 

when I showed up with a senior 

officer. We found an unsecured 

door slightly open on the east 

side, so he posted me there 

while he finished the perimeter 

and other officers arrived. I was 

staring right at the door when 

the alarm activated again and 

the door slammed shut in my 

face, loudly. The senior officer 

ran back to my position and 

asked why I closed the door. I 

told him I didn’t. 

We called for K9 and the dog 

arrived shortly. I went in with K9 

to clear the building. We found 

nothing, but the entire time 

the dog was acting very hinky 

like someone was in the building, 

but he wasn’t picking up a 

scent. We secured the building 

and a keyholder showed up. He 

said, “Well you know the place 

is haunted, right?” There was 

a secretary who worked there 

for about 30 years and after she 

died, she keeps showing up for 

work. Papers fly off the desks, 

doors close, sightings, the works. 

We both told the keyholder the 

next alarm call there was all his. 

— Joel Pridg. 

CLARK HALL 

I was working at a college that 

claims to be haunted. My partner 

and I didn’t believe any of it. 

We go into Clark Hall which has 

classrooms and start propping 

doors open with desks. This is 

around 0200 hours. We already 

walked through and made sure 

the building was empty. Only 

two stairwells donut wasn’t hard 

to do. 

We are on the third floor. I 

finished my door and wedged a 

desk in between the door and 

the frame. When I finish, I shake 

it to make sure it’s in there pretty 

secure. I go over to help my buddy 

with his door when behind 

me the door I was working on 

opens and the chair desk combo 

flings across the room and the 

door slams. He takes off running, 

jumping landing to landing. I still 

don’t think he’s ever gone in that 

building again. — Walter Sonnenberg. 

BURGLARY IN PROGRESS 

Called to a burglary in progress 

(daytime). The owner was in 

the kitchen and heard someone 

run upstairs to the third floor (old 

house and wooden stairs). 

Set up a perimeter around the 

house. I came up with K9. Just as 

I gave K9 warning a perimeter 

officer saw a hand pull a curtain 

back on the top floor and relayed 

the info to me. 

Thinking surely, we would be 

making an apprehension with K9, 

sent my partner in. Long story 

short, nobody was found. 

Officer was 100% certain he 

saw what he saw. The homeowner 

was confident he heard 

the running up of 12 steps. — 

Josh David. 

JUST SAYING ‘HELLO’ 

A couple of years back I was 

patrolling around 0300-0400. 

I drive by a small airport in my 

jurisdiction that is in the middle 

of the woods which has several 

hangars and one main office 

building. I drive by it a few times 

a night, as it has been burglarized 

in the past. On this night, I’m 

driving by and hear an audible 

alarm sounding from inside. I 

was not dispatched and did not 

receive any other calls about 

it. I call it in and walk up to the 

building which is completely 

dark and not occupied. Every 

point of entry is secure, so I am 

now waiting on the key holder 

to let me in to clear the inside. I 

figure a loose door, the wind, etc. 

tripped the alarm. The keyholder 

comes out with his wife in a 

couple of minutes and they open 

the door for me. I clear the entire 

office, a garage, etc. Nothing is 

disturbed. The keyholder is confused, 

as the alarm is not a motion 

alarm nor an alarm system. 

The keyholder explains to me 

that the alarm is coming from a 

cash register that was opened 

inside of the office. The cash 

register could only be opened 

by pressing a hidden button, 

which I’ll say was extremely 

well hidden without going into 

too much detail. The only people 

who knew where the button was 

located was, he, his wife, and his 

deceased father. He told me the 

cash register closes and locks 

and without pressing this button, 

it couldn’t possibly open. It was 

not an oversight neither, as I had 

driven by several hours before 

and heard nothing. The money 

was not disturbed; however, the 

register was all the way opened. 

The keyholder smiled and told 

me that his father had created 

and owned the airport before he 

passed away and that airplanes 

and this place, in particular, 

were his passion and life’s work. 

The keyholder told me that he 

believes his father does things 

like that to bring his family to 

the airport just to say ‘hello’ and 

make his presence known. I don’t 

have any other explanation for it. 

— Billy Bravo 


WORDS BY OFFICER D.W. WILLIAMSON, NOW RETIRED 

So fed up with WOKE crap, I quit. 

I’m so fed up with all this 

WOKE bullshit, that I finally just 

quit my job after 30 years with 

my department. 

No longer can you just find the 

bad guys and put them in jail. 

According to the most recent 

memo from our chief, “we must 

be sensitive to the identities chosen 

by our citizens and refer to 

them with the proper pronouns.” 

Man, screw all that. If you 

break the law, you’re going to 

jail and the last thing I’m going 

to worry about is what you want 

to be called. 

But times have changed, especially 

when you book someone 

at the jail. Regardless of what’s 

on the individual’s birth certificate, 

you must ask them what 

sex they are currently ‘identifying 

with” and they will be held 

in a cell with others who share 

the same identity. The jailers are 

trained to use the correct pronouns 

and refer to the detainees 

as such. 

Well screw all that. This world 

has lost its ever-loving mind. I 

so sick of all this gender identity, 

WOKE bull shit. God decided 

your sex at birth and no matter 

what you say or how many surgeries 

you have, nothing is going 

to change that. What’s written 

on your birth certificate is what 

you are. PERIOD. 

But that’s just MY OPINION. And 

since this is AMERICA I’m entitled 

to my OPINION and express my 

feelings as I see fit. But I’m sure 

the LGBTQ+ community will go 

crazy and probably picket your 

office if you elect to publish this 

story. (Which I’m pretty sure you 

won’t.) Most people wouldn’t 

dare say anything negative for 

fear of being cancelled. Whatever 

the hell that even means. 

But as cops, we are trained to 

put bad guys in jail. Oh wait, I’m 

sorry, we put ‘bad persons’ in 

jail. It’s just stupid and I’m fed up 

with it all. 

I will say however, regardless 

of who you are and what gender 

you identify with, you should 

not be discriminated against or 

be bullied. Whether I or anyone 

else for that matter, agrees with 

your choices, you have a right to 

make those choices. It’s America 

and you have a right to be whatever 

or whoever you want to be. 

Man, woman, or neither. Totally 

up to you. 

BUT. You do not have the right 

to force others to endorse or 

agree with your choices. There 

is NO law that says I must use 

proper pronouns when addressing 

you. If you don’t like what 

I have to say, then walk away. 

Ignore me. Same for me. If I don’t 

like what you stand for or what 

you choose to be, I respect that, 

but I’ll walk away. 

There are so many problems in 

this country right now that need 

addressing and worrying about 

whose feelings we hurt isn’t one 

of them. But that’s exactly what 

my department wanted me to 

do. 

Go to a training class and learn 

how to be more attentive in how 

I address people. They ordered 

us to attend a 40-hour course, 

designed to teach me the correct 

‘pronouns’ when I say ‘freeze 

asshole.” 

That is the most ridiculous 

waste of time i have ever heard 

of. So rather than bow down to 

these stupid beliefs, I just retired 

and moved to the country 

where men are men and women 

are women. 

The restrooms in the country 

are clearly marked and there 

are NO Gender-Neutral choices. 

Just MEN and WOMEN. 

And unlike California, in Texas 

when you are born, the hospital 

checks off what gender 

God gave you...Male or Female. 

You don’t get to decide the sex 

in Texas. 

And as Forest says, “that’s all 

I have to say about that.” 

EDITOR: There was some 

discussion among the BLUES 

staff as to whether this Warstory 

was suitable to publish. 

Our policy for the past 39 years 

was to publish all War stories 

so long as they didn’t slander 

anyone, mention anyone by their 

actual name without obtaining 

their prior permission or discriminate 

anyone or any group. And 

we don’t allow bullying or hate 

speeches. That said, every individual 

has a right to his/or her 

opinion and the right to express 

those opinions in either our 

Editorial or Letters to the Editor 

sections. In this case, the above 

writer asked to have his story 

published as a warstory. So, we 

accommodated his wishes. But 

it’s his warstory and his opinion. 

If you disagree with it, then write 

a Letter to the Editor or submit an 

Editorial. It’s what makes America 

great. The Right to Free Speech. 

It’s available to EVERYONE. 



A BADGE OF HONOR 

healing our heroes 

yrs. 

ONE MORE MOVE 

As First Responders, the physical 

and visual memories we 

store inside ourselves over our 

careers can lead to damaging 

impacts. These stored traumas 

below the surface can change 

the way we look and approach 

things. The way it changes our 

coping mechanisms can differ 

from person to person, but 

the dark road it leads us to is 

always the same. 

We have all come to the point 

where there is no hope, no escape, 

a place where we feel all 

is lost and the point of moving 

forward seems fruitless. Its 

Game Over…or CHECK MATE. 

Life is a like a game of Chess. 

We are placed into positions 

and roles, surrounded by 

Pawns, Knights, Bishops, Rooks 

and Kings. We have a strategy 

or outlook in life in which we 

hope takes us to a successful 

finish. Like Chess, one moment 

or movement in time can cause 

an extreme disruption in our 

path. 

When this occurs, we feel 

trapped, we can’t think logical, 

and all viable solution seems 

bleak. 

We are First Responders; 

we are never to be in a cornered 

position. It goes against 

all the training that has been 

engrained into us. Our brains 

muscle memory begins or 

loses all hope. This is because 

we sometimes need to put 

the training aside and look at 

things from a different view. 

We are conditioned to make 

spilt second decisions and 

choices in a moment when we 

are under pressure. We need to 

learn to condition our minds to 

look at certain situations and 

objective in a more objective 

way. 

A painting in Paris depicting 

the Devil and a King playing 

Chess titled “Checkmate” has 

been the source of much controversy 

for over a century. 

The Stories surrounding the 

painting has been debated by 

some, but heartfelt by many. It 

pictures the Devil smiling in his 

triumph as the King holds his 

head in despair. He had lost to 

the demand. The moves he had 

made cost him his victory, or so 

he thought. 

It has been said, after much 

study of the pieces on the 

board, a chess scholar evaluated 

the painting, he took his 

time going over each move that 

was made, he looked at it from 

a different perspective then 

the King and found, there was 

ONE MORE MOVE. This move 

would release the King from his 

checkmate, and he would be 

able to continue the game and 

possibly onto a successful WIN. 

SAMANTHA HORWITZ & 

JOHN SALERNO 

The moral of the story when 

you break it down. Demons 

will always be the first to call 

checkmate to make you feel 

you have no other alternatives. 

Sometimes it takes outside 

forces to look at our situations 

from a different angle to show 

us there is always another path 

to a successful outcome. 

We spent most of our lives 

being the caregivers to others. 

Our strength displayed behind 

a suit of armor which is unbreachable. 

We do this to provide 

pain relief for those who 

have been impacted by trauma. 

We can’t forget to sometimes 

allow others to help relieve our 

pain which we have suffered. 

Excepting or asking for help 

is not a sign we have lost, but 

a sign that Checkmate has not 

been called. 

THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE 

MOVE 

John Salerno 

Ret. NYPD Detective 

A Badge of Honor 


DARYL LOTT 

daryl’s deliberations 

yrs. 

Easter or the Paschal Mystery 

During the season of Lent, 

Christians celebrate the most 

important event on their calendar-Easter. 

The Church has 

its own terminology for Easter 

and its definition is as follows. 

The “Paschal Mystery” is a 

singular event that can never 

be repeated, undone, changed, 

corrected, substituted, equated, 

or superseded. It is present 

at all times and in all places, 

while transcending spacetime. 

It’s effects, such as 

granting sinners repentance, 

are universal and timeless. The 

death, burial, and resurrection 

of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, 

is the Paschal 

Mystery. 

Every story in 

the Christian Bible 

points to the 

Paschal Mystery. 

Every story cast 

His shadow and 

points to Jesus as 

God’s revelation 

and incarnation to 

man. One of these 

stories is found 

in the book of Hebrews, the 

ninth chapter. The article of 

faith described in Hebrews 

is the Ark of the Covenant. 

Of course, there are no photographs 

or contemporary 

drawings of the ark. Photography 

hadn’t been invented yet 

and drawn or painted images 

of the ark would have been 

forbidden under Jewish law. 

Although we don’t know exactly 

what the ark looked like, 

it was described by Moses and 

its contents were revealed in 

the epistle to the Hebrews, so 

we have a pretty good idea 

of what it looked like. The ark 

was looted from the Temple in 

Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar 

when he destroyed the Temple 

and took the Jews into the 

Babylonian captivity. Like the 

general theme of the Bible, the 

ark points to Jesus. 

One thing that the ark contained 

was a golden pot that 

held pieces of mana that God 

provided the Hebrews as they 

are left Egyptian bondage. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus 

refers to himself as “the Bread 

of Life.” Jesus was the fulfillment 

of God’s satisfying our 

DARYL LOTT 

hunger in the wilderness of 

life. 

The second item in the ark 

was Aaron’s rod with blossoms. 

This 

item refers to 

the authority 

of the priesthood 

from the 

tribe of Levi. 

The book of 

Hebrews refers 

to Jesus as our 

High Priest. 

He is sitting in 

Heaven giving 

God’s people 

direct access to the throne of 

God forevermore. 

The third item was the Ten 

Commandments written with 

God’s own hand. God’s written 

law is a gift of God. Mankind 

went for millennia having no 

written law. As opposed to 

the verbal law of kings, the 

written law gave us guidelines 

and showed us what was 

against the law. Jesus said 

that he fulfilled God’s Law, and 

we live under his grace for 

eternity. 

Finally, the ark had a gold 

lid that was referred to as the 

“mercy seat.” The mercy seat 

represented the High Priest’s 

great sacrifice on Yom Kippur 

or the Day of Atonement in 

which the sins of the people 

would be covered for another 

year. The mercy seat itself 

was empty except for the 

presence of God, but there 

were two angels who highlighted 

the empty mercy seat 

on either side of it. 

In the 20th chapter of the 

Gospel of John, the Easter 

Sunday morning scene is described 

by the “apostle whom 

Jesus loved.” Mary Magdalene 

peers into the tomb and 

sees the Paschal Mystery. The 

place where Jesus laid was 

empty. On either side of the 

seat where the body of Jesus 

should have been where two 

angels as was the case on 

the Ark of the Covenant. Mary 

wept. Then Jesus appeared 

and told Mary that he was ascending 

unto “my Father, and 

your Father, and to my God, 

and your God.” 

The fulfillment of the last 

great sacrifice on the mercy 

seat of God had taken place. 

Two angels on either side 

of the empty tomb made it 

crystal clear that Jesus was, 

indeed, the last sacrifice and 

that if we believe, we have 

the same Father and the same 

God. 

We do not know where the 

Ark of the Covenant is today, 

but we know what it represents 

and to whom it points. 

We do know that the book 

of Revelation, ninth chapter, 

points out that the Ark of the 

Covenant will be in God’s 

Temple in Heaven as an eternal 

reminder of God’s Law and 

Holiness, God’s Priesthood, 

God’s Provision, and most of 

all his eternal love, grace, and 

mercy. 

May the Paschal Mystery of 

Easter bless you this year and 

all the years to come. 



HONORING FALLEN HEREOS 

yrs. 

“Honoring our fallen heroes 

through running while providing 

financial support to the families 

of our fallen Heroes, 

First Responders injured in the 

Line of Duty and Safety 

Equipment to K9s in need.” 

Zechariah 

Cartledge: 

a True American Hero 

AS OF 1/29/23 

Total Grants Awarded to Injured First Responders: 42 

Total Amount Awarded: $377,500 

Total Funds Awarded to Families of Fallen Heroes: 34 

Total Amount Awarded: $272,301 

Funds/Equipment Awarded to K9 Officers: $29,682.32 

Total Amount of Grants Given: $669,483.32 

- - - - 

2023 Run Tracker: 

Total Miles Run in 2023: (as of 3/29/23): 58 

- Zechariah - 26 

- Jayden - 2 

- Andrew - 9 

- Giuliana - 3 

- Anthony - 4 

- Morgan - 13 

- Theresa - 1 

Total Miles Run in 2022: 325 




Overall Miles Run: 1,485 

Overall Miles Run (K9’s): 63 

- - - - - - - - - 

2022 Run Stats: 

Total Miles Run for 2022 Fallen LEO’s (Non COVID-19): 135 

Total Miles Run for 2022 Fallen Firefighters (Non COVID-19): 80 

Total Miles Run for Non-LODD/Suicide: 13 

Total Miles Run for 2022 Fallen Canada LEO’s: 3 

Total Miles Run in 2022 for Fallen COVID-19 Heroes: 18 

Total Miles Run for 2021 Fallen LEO’s: 21 

Total Miles Run for 2021 Fallen Firefighters: 2 

Total Tribute Runs by State/Country: 17 

States/Cities Zechariah has run in: 

Florida - Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Clearwater, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Orlando, Temple Terrace, Blountstown, 

Cocoa, Lakeland, Daytona Beach, West Palm Beach, Starke, Melbourne 

New York - New York City, Weedsport • Georgia - Cumming, Augusta, Savannah 

South Carolina - North Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Sumter • Pennsylvania - Monaca 

Illinois - Springfield, Naperville, Glen Ellyn • Texas - Houston (2), Fort Worth, Midland, New Braunfels, Freeport, Madisonville, 

Irving, Sadler, San Antonio • Kentucky - Nicholasville • Arkansas - Bryant, Hot Springs, Springdale, Prairie Grove 

Nevada - Henderson • Kansas - Overland Park • California - Mt. Vernon, La Jolla • Arizona - Mesa 

North Carolina - Concord, Raleigh • Virginia - Norton, Richmond • Tennessee - Bristol, Bartlett 

Oklahoma - Stilwell (2) • Delaware - Milford • Maryland - Towson • Minnesota - Arden Hills • Indiana - Sullivan, Spencer 

Mississippi - Grenada, Olive Branch • Missouri - Springfield, Rolla, Joplin • Iowa - Independence, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids 

District/Countries/Territories: 

Washington D.C. • Puerto Rico - San Juan 

100 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 

The BLUES 101


blue mental health 

Yet Another Mass 

School Shooting: 

Mental Health Consequences for Police Officers 

An analysis of many active 

shooter and mass-murder 

events has provided evidence 

that the killers had serious 

mental health problems and 

that this likely precipitated their 

assaults. Part of American society’s 

failure to properly address 

the issues of and care for 

people with mental illness is 

present in ineffective treatment 

laws that require someone to 

be a danger to themselves or 

others before they can be treated 

over their objection. This 

has served to create a national 

environment ripe for an increase 

in active shootings, and 

as a consequence, additional 

and more severe mental health 

stressors for law enforcement 

officers who must intervene. 

Although statistics on the 

number of mass school shootings 

appear to vary depending 

on the definition of these 

events, one thing is for certain, 

they are undoubtedly highly destructive 

for all involved. These 

are incredibly heartbreaking 

events that challenge the very 

core of who we are as decent 

human beings. For police officers, 

this can also create a 

state of moral injury or distress 

which increases the risk 

of developing post traumatic 

stress disorder. According to 

Litz et al, “Potentially morally 

injurious events, such as perpetrating, 

failing to prevent, or 

bearing witness to acts that 

transgress deeply held moral 

beliefs and expectations might 

be deleterious in the long-term, 

emotionally, psychologically, 

behaviorally, spiritually, and socially 

(what we label as moral 

injury).” 

“The more severe the violence, 

the more innocent the 

victim and the more the officers 

feel that they were helpless 

to respond — and maybe just 

sheer body count as a fourth 

ingredient — that’s going to 

produce a perfect storm of 

demoralization, anger and 

despair,” according to Dr. Laurence 

Miller, a clinical forensic 

and police psychologist. The 

traumatic effects for these 

officers are often long lasting 

for many years and can also 

include second-guessing about 

a department’s response and 

other factors which can cause 

turmoil within law enforcement 

agencies. 

The most recent school 

shooting in Nashville, Tennessee 

at The Covenant School, 

yrs. 


a private Christian campus, 

brings this topic once again 

into the light. The Metropolitan 

Nashville Police Department 

quickly and effectively stopped 

the threat. There is no doubt 

these officers are heroes; however, 

they were also potentially 

exposed to viewing the 

deceased children during the 

response. It is imperative to review 

the possible symptoms of 

moral injury and to offer suggestions 

for addressing these 

challenges. 

POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS OF 

MORAL INJURY 

1) Social and behavioral problems 

such as social withdrawal 

and alienation; aggression; 

misconduct; and sociopathy 

(behaviorally expressed as an 

inability to get along with others 

or abide by societal rules). 

2) Trust issues including the 

lack of trust in self or others. 3) 

Spiritual and existential issue 

including loss of religious faith; 

loss of trust in morality; loss of 

meaning; fatalism (behaviorally 

expressed as powerlessness 

or an attitude of resignation); 

and negative changes in ethical 

attitudes and behavior. 4) Psychological 

symptoms including 

depression; anxiety; anger; 

and impulse to seek revenge. 

5) Self-deprecating emotions 

and cognitions of shame and 

guilt; self-loathing (behaviorally 

expressed as self-blame, 

self-attack, and self-destructive 

behaviors); and feelings of 

being damaged. 6) Unwanted 

reexperience of morally injurious 

events of nightmares, 

flashbacks, and intrusive recollections. 

PROFESSIONAL HELP 

Blumberg (2022) explained 

that officers who identify any 

moral injury symptoms should 

seek assistance from peer 

support groups, as well as 

health professionals, familiar 

with the challenges of police 

work. Doing so will help them 

mitigate any cumulative effects 

of moral injury and associated 

future health complications. 

Police mental health professionals 

(e.g., psychologists, 

psychiatrists, and counselors) 

should partner with trainers 

and supervisors to educate 

officers about moral dilemmas 

that may arise during critical 

incidents and how the resultant 

moral injury can impact 

their health and well-being. 

They also should train officers 

to identify moral injury cues 

exhibited by themselves or their 

colleagues. Also, these specialists 

can conduct assessments 

and screenings to identify personnel 

who have a higher risk 

of experiencing moral injury 

and monitor these officers in 

a caring, nonjudgmental, and 

non-stigmatizing way. Such an 

approach would allow police 

departments to better mentally 

equip their personnel to deal 

with these dilemmas. 

Kent D. Drescher, David W. Foy, 

and Caroline Kelly, “An Exploration 

of the Viability and Usefulness of 

the Construct of Moral Injury in 

War Veterans,” Traumatology 17, 

no. 1 (March 2011): 8-13; William P. 

Nash and Brett T. Litz, “Moral Injury: 

A Mechanism for War-Related 

Psychological Trauma in Military 

Family Members,” Clinical Child 

and Family Psychology Review 16, 

no. 4 (December 2013): 365-75; and 

B.T. Litz et al., “Moral Injury and 

Moral Repair in War Veterans: A 

Preliminary Model and Intervention 

Strategy,” Clinical Psychology 

Review 29, no. 8 (December 

2009): 695-706; AMA J Ethics. 

2022;24(2):E126-132. doi: 10.1001/ 

amajethics.2022.126. 


NOT SO BRIGHT AWARD 

Light Bulb Award 

yrs. 

BIDEN IS A JOKE 

While the country was in shock at the loss of 3 more children and 3 

adults at another senseless school shooting, this idiot comes out joking 

about ice cream and claiming he’s someones husband. WTH. 

What the hell is wrong with 

this idiot. Nine people lost their 

lives in a horrific school shooting 

and this moron is joking about 

ice cream. Joe Biden is absolutely 

the worst president ever 

elected…PERIOD! 

There is simply no way to defend 

his actions no matter how 

hard you try. No way he should 

be the Leader of the Free World. 

Here’s what the media had to 

say: 

President Biden was criticized 

Monday for his response to the 

Nashville school shooting after 

he joked that he only made a 

public appearance because he 

heard there would be ice cream 

before discussing the tragedy 

that claimed the lives of three 

adults and three children at an 

elementary school earlier in the 

day. 

“My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. 

Jill Biden’s husband,” Biden said 

from the White House’s East 

Room in his first public appearance 

since a 28-year-old woman 

shot and killed three students 

and three teachers at a Christian 

private school in Nashville. “I 

eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate 

chip. I came down because I 

heard there was chocolate chip 

ice cream,” he continued. “By the 

way, I have a whole refrigerator 

full upstairs,” he added. “You 

think I’m kidding? I’m not,” Biden 

told the crowd. 

Biden later called the shooting 

“sick” and “heartbreaking” while 

demanding Congress do more 

to “stop the gun violence.” But 

critics went after the president 

for the inappropriate reaction 

and seemingly playful tone while 

addressing the tragedy. 

“To say that he misunderstood 

the moment would be an understatement,” 

former New Jersey 

Gov. Chris Christie told Fox 

News later Monday. “You know, 

the president is watching, you’d 

hope before he comes down 

there, the awful scenes from the 

shooting and the reactions of 

family members and friends of 

people in that school. And to be 

coming down, joking about the 

fact that he’s Jill Biden’s husband 

and looking for chocolate chip 

ice cream is hardly the way to 

start it,” Christie said. 

“There’s no way to talk about 

something like this except to say 

that for all of us who are parents, 

what we dread every day 

is the news about the health and 

life of our children,” he added. 

“And so there’s no room to joke 

in that circumstance at all. And 

certainly not from the President 

of the United States.” 

Authorities say a female shooter 

wielding two “assault-style” 

rifles and a pistol killed three 

students and three adults at The 

Covenant School, a Presbyterian 

school for about 200 students 

from preschool through sixth 

grade. The shooter was identified 

as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 

Nashville resident who identified 

as transgender. Hale died after 

being shot by police following 

the violence. Police said she was 

once a student at the school. 

Biden said he hopes the tragedy 

will inspire Congress to pass 

an assault weapons ban similar 

to the ban he helped pass in 

1994. That law enacted a 10-year 

ban on the manufacture, transfer 

or possession of “semiautomatic 

assault weapons” and “large 

capacity ammunition feeding 

devices.” It formally expired on 

Sept. 13, 2004. 

Christie said the president 

committed the “second-worst 

thing to do” in a circumstance 

like this one by invoking the 

political card while parents and 

students across the country 

grapple with the impact of the 

horrific shooting. 

“It’s not about playing politics,” 

Christie told Fox News host Martha 

MacCallum on “The Story.” 

“The second-worst thing to do 

after making a joke on a day like 

today is to play politics with it. 

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what 

the president did. He went back 

to the old playbook.” 

Christie, who is considering 

launching a 2024 GOP presidential 

bid, invoked his seven-year 

career as a prosecutor to further 

dismantle Biden’s call for 

an assault weapons ban, telling 

MacCallum, “There’s no lack of 

laws on the books to help us 

deal with gun violence. 

“We need to enforce those 

laws strictly,” he said. “We need 

to look at school safety. And 

dealing much more aggressively 

with having people at schools 

who can protect the children and 

the teachers and administrators 

who were at those schools,” he 

added. 

“Last but not least, we have 

to continue to look at the mental 

health problems in this country,” 

the former governor went on. “We 

continue to… stigmatize them in a 

way that makes people not want 

to come forward when they have 

the mental issues. We need to 

have a welcoming circumstance 

for people to come forward and to 

be treated. We don’t know the exact 

circumstances of this woman 

today that did this, but I’m willing 

to guarantee you, this is a woman 

who has some serious mental 

health issues,” he said. 


THE OPEN ROAD 

How Automakers Are Keeping ICE 

Vehicles Alive Despite EV Proliferation. 

EVs may have bigger budgets, but car makers have found ways to keep 

gas-powered icons on the road. 

By Alisa Priddle, 

MotorTrend Magazine 

Allocating resources is always 

tricky. We see automakers present 

cool concepts and want to 

know if they will put them into 

production, not a given because 

development dollars are 

stretched across a large portfolio. 

Sports cars, coupes, and 

convertibles often lose out to 

mainstream vehicles. Sedans for 

quite some time have faced an 

uphill battle against more popular 

SUVs. But a new divide has 

emerged: Is today’s vehicle-development 

money earmarked for 

a new or next-generation model 

with an internal combustion engine 

(ICE), or will it be spent on 

an electric vehicle? 

Headlines center around new 

EVs and the billions automakers 

are spending to create them. 

Electrics are consuming larger 

portions of capital budgets 

because, like it or not, that is 

where the industry is headed. By 

2035 many cities, states, countries, 

and regions will only allow 

the sale of zero-emission new 

vehicles, and it will in theory be 

achievable because pure EVs will 

be the only new options in most 

showrooms. 

Transitioning to an all-electric 

new-car fleet is expensive, with 

potential to suck all the oxygen 

out of a room. Present-day 

optics indicate vehicles with 

gas-powered engines are not 

getting much love or money and 

are now reduced to fighting for 

scraps before they are phased 

out of existence. 

It’s not, nor should it be, a case 

of ICE versus EV. It’s OK to love 

and buy the vehicles we grew 

up with and still embrace new 

electric cars hitting the market. 

We’re excited about electric 

full-size pickups, e-muscle cars 

from Dodge, cool offerings from 

the Korean companies, and quiet 

but powerful luxury/sports models 

from Porsche, Mercedes, and 

BMW, not to mention innovative 

offerings from startups like Rivian 

and Lucid. 

Our enthusiasm, however, 

cannot be at the expense of the 

ICE vehicles customers will keep 

buying for the rest of the decade. 

To remain competitive, automakers 

must continue to update their 

ICE fleet, finding more practical 

and prudent ways to stretch 

smaller budgets. 

Case in point: Ford’s commitment 

to many more years of 

pony car sales with the 2024 

Ford Mustang. The seventh-gen 

Mustang could have gone in 

several directions. Planning 

for it dates back to 2017, when 

all options were on the table: 

two-door, four-door, AWD, new 

platform, hybrid, pure EV, and 

conventional ICE. The Mustang 

team at every turn had to justify 

its decision to make a new ICE 

vehicle while Dearborn’s future 

is focused on EVs. The team kept 

what made Mustang successful 

to date then modified the 

existing platform, upgraded the 

turbo-four and V-8 powertrains, 

preserved the manual transmission, 

added a drift brake, skipped 

electrification, and gave the car 

a more retro look with a modern 

interior and advanced tech. 

In other words, Ford made a 

real business case to extend the 

life of the traditional Mustang 

coupe that’s already outsold by 

the Mustang Mach-E electric 

crossover. The EV will carry the 

volume torch, making it possible 

for the legacy car to continue. 

Across town, Chevrolet took 

the wraps off the 2024 Corvette 

E-Ray, which is still a gas-snorting 

mid-engine sports car but 

with a small electric motor up 

front for all-wheel drive and a 

quicker 0-60-mph time than the 

Z06. 

A pure electric Corvette will 

happen, but for now, Chevy 

engineers found a way to get 

more out of the existing C8. Like 

the Mustang, development was 

practical and frugal. The E-Ray 

uses the Stingray’s chassis and 

V-8 and the Z06’s wider bodywork 

and wheel and tire sizes. 

The batteries are stuffed into the 

tunnel between the seats. There 

was never a plan for a plug-in 

hybrid version—the E-Ray is a 

655-hp daily driver with an electric 

motor to boost performance. 

It can creep out of your neighborhood 

in electric stealth mode, 

but after 4 miles the 6.2-liter 

V-8 roars to life. 

GM also announced plans to 

spend almost $1 billion to build 

a sixth-generation small-block 

V-8 engine for its full-size 

trucks and SUVs. The investment 

sounds small against the $35 

billion it earmarked to introduce 

30 electric vehicles and build 1 

million EVs annually by 2025, but 

it ensures continued updates to 

ICE vehicles in the interim. 

Elsewhere in Detroit, Stellantis 

introduced the new Hurricane 

family of twin-turbo I-6 engines; 

only half its vehicles will 

be electric by 2030, so the other 

half needed better and more efficient 

ICE technology. The stellar 

new engine made its debut 

on the Wagoneer L family. 

The point: EV and ICE can happily 

coexist—and even thrive in 

the near term. Most automakers 

have not taken drastic steps like 

Ford, which divorced itself by 

separating the company into EV 

and ICE divisions. Fortunately, it 

is an amicable separation with 

joint custody of some of the vehicles 

and much of the tech. 

Edges can be blurred in the 

transition, like the electric Dodge 

Charger Daytona SRT e-muscle 

car featuring an actual piped 

“exhaust” system and multispeed 

transmission. Chevy also enhanced 

the sound of the E-Ray 

by adding in some of the electric 

motor’s whine. Yes, the auto 

industry is in upheaval and the 

transition to an EV-only fleet is 

expensive, but it doesn’t have to 

be exclusive. Automakers in the 

interim aren’t throwing out the 

baby with the bathwater. 


Dolphin Hunting in the Gulf of Mexico 

This sounds like something 

that you would expect to read 

on April 1st, or a “clickbait” title, 

right? Well, it is a real thing and 

has quickly become the most 

requested thing for 

us to do when we 

are taking a new 

group out on our 

boat lately. No, I 

don’t mean literally 

hunting dolphin 

like you would 

think of hunting 

deer. It is very 

much the same in 

trying to figure out 

the best places to 

find them and get 

them close, but 

there are no weapons 

on board, just 

phones clicking 

away hundreds of photos. Bottlenose 

dolphins are the most 

common in the Gulf and the ones 

I grew up seeing in Galveston. 

Not many, but an occasional one 

as you ride the Bolivar Ferry, or 

you might see on a fishing charter. 

In Florida we too are finding 

the bottlenose dolphins, but so 

many more. 

I know many of you might be 

thinking, what is so big about 

spotting a few dolphins when 

out on your boat. That is what 

I use to think too, until you get 

into a pod of 25-50 of them all 

playing around your boat, and 

you see the look on people’s 

faces as they watch them roll, 

jump, and seem to want to play 

with everyone on the boat. Last 

week I thought it must have been 

mating season as there was a 

lot of “playing” going on and my 

granddaughter loved to see them 

rolling and splashing right next 

to the boat. When researching 

for this article, I found that there 

is no mating season, but rather 

they mate year-round and since 

intercourse for dolphins only last 

seconds, most of what we were 

seeing translates to foreplay. I’ll 

just leave that alone and move 

on. 

Just like hunting anything, 

you must learn their habits and 

when to find them most active, 

and with dolphins I have found 

the best time to spot them is 

between 10:00 a.m. and noon 

and then again in the afternoon 

between 2:00 p.m. 

and sunset. I did 

also find a big pod 

last week during a 

patch of very dense 

fog around the 

entrance to Destin 

Harbor, so it gave 

us something to do 

while waiting for 

the fog to lift. 

Dolphins have 

been so connected 

to humans all 

throughout history 

with many reports 

of them saving 

human lives that 

some believe they are spiritually 

connected to us in some way. I 

don’t understand the science 

behind their desire to be close 

to humans when most other 

forms of wildlife tend to run, but 

the next time you are out on the 

water and spot a few dolphins 

rolling, take the time to slow 

down the boat and head over 

to them. Idle around them and 

watch how much they want to 

interact with your boat and the 

people on board. 

However, remember, shoot only 

photos please. 


ADS BACK IN THE DAY 



ADS BACK IN THE DAY 


THERE ARE NO WORDS 

parting shots... 

yrs. 

... pardon our humor 


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118 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 119

yrs. 

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CAP FLEET. 

www.capfleet.com | sales@capfleet.com | 254-773-1959 



yrs. 

Starting in 2003, Cop Stop Inc. Opened with a vision and goal to service first responders; “Our everyday 

heroes.” Catering mainly to Police, Fire, Military and EMS, but also open to the public, Cop Stop 

offers a variety of products, gear and apparel. Open and operated by Rick Fernandez, a former officer 

of 10 years, he prides himself on maintaining the highest standards of customer service. Cop Stop understands 

its our customers who drive our success, and we strive to offer the best service to everyone 

who walks through our doors. At Cop Stop we offer quality products at great low prices. With access to 

over hundreds of brands and products, and constantly adding more, we are confident we can fulfill your 

needs. 

“If you provide good service and a fair price, customers will talk about you and come back. 

It’s that simple!” Rick Fernandez 


122 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 123

yrs. 

INTRODUCING THE PEPPERBALL VKS PRO 

The new PepperBall VKS PRO is the ULTIMATE 

multi-payload, long-range, semi-automatic, 

non-lethal launcher. With its exceptional accuracy, 

and easy to handle design, the VKS PRO mirrors the 

AR-15 platform, can be used with both a hopper and 

a magazine and offers a disposable 88g cartridge 

option. 

The VKS PRO offers many features including: 

• Twist lock barrel technology that can easily 

switch from magazine to hopper fed on the fly; no 

need to remove the hopper to use the magazine. 

• Flip up sights that allow the user to adjust 

their sight based on windage and/or elevation. The 

sights can be used alone for a low-profile view, 

flipped down and moved out of the way or can be 

combined with an optic to co-witness. 

• 14-inch micro-honed barrel that is designed to 

accurately shoot both round and VXR finned long 

• Ambidextrous QD sling mount that allows for a 

wide range of motion, enabling versatile launcher 

handling for both left and right-handed users. 

• M-LOK handguard allowing for advanced 

modularity past the 1913 picatinny rail system. 

Machined to mil-spec dimensions and built with 

aircraft grade aluminum, the new handguard is 

lightweight yet robust enough to handle any optional 

accessories to enhance the performance of 

the VKS PRO. 

• Adjustable folding foregrip that improves 

handling but also can fold down and get out of 

the way so the VKS PRO can be utilized in all high 

stress deployment situations. 

The VKS PRO is available from Pepper- 

Ball. For more information or to request a 

demo, visit pepperball.com. 

distance PepperBall projectiles. 

124 The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES 125

yrs. 

Key Management & 

Key Control Products 

All of our KeyWarden Security 

products are reliable, easy to use 

and expandable to meet your 

growing needs. 

Through seamless design, 

manufacturing and support, we 

have earned the reputation as 

the world leaders in security 

management products. We also 

write our own software to ensure 

system compatibility and performance. 

Every Morse Watchman’s 

product and system is meticulously 

designed and inspected to 

offer the latest in security technology 

and reliability. 

KEYWATCHER TOUCH 

KeyWatcher Touch brings one touch key 

control to the KeyWatcher, one of our industry-leading 

electronic key cabinets. Our 

new big, bright 7″ touch screen key register 

systems give you an easier-to-use interface. 

KEYWATCHER FLEET 

The industry’s only key control system for 

fleet management applications, KeyWatcher 

Fleet puts you in command of vehicle 

distribution, comprehensive utilization, 

right-sizing of your fleet and much more. 

THE KEYBANK 

The KeyBank® key control system eliminates 

outdated key boxes and the paper 

chase created by outdated manual logs and 

provides extensive protection from liability 

issues. 

KeyWatcher Illuminated 

KeyWatcher Illuminated is a modular, scalable 

integrated key control and management 

solution that’s designed for interoperability 

with access control and other 

systems. 

KEYBANK TOUCH 

Now get touchscreen convenience with 

KeyBank key access control system, the 

safer, more secure way to manage keys. The 

bright 7 touchscreen key organizer system 

gives you an easier-to-use interface. 

KeyWarden is the Texas distributor of Morse Watchmans industry-leading key and asset management systems. We are actively involved 

in the Texas Law Enforcement community as a founding member of the East Texas 100 club, and corporate members of the North Texas 

Police Chiefs Association, the East Texas Police Chiefs Association, the High Plains Police Chiefs Association, and the Central Texas Police 

Chiefs Association. We are proud to participate in the TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE. 

THE KEYWATCHER TOUCH SYSTEM is deployed in the law enforcement environment to: 

• Securely dispense track and audit the use of keys to: vehicles, facilities, lockers and 

other high-value assets. 

• Prevent unauthorized staff from driving specialist vehicles, or racking up miles on the 

newer fleet while older units sit idle. 

• Allow management to compel the use of vehicle pools rather than staff controlling the 

keys to particular units. 

• Quicker and more efficient shift changes. 

• Control the keys to facilities and mandate accountability. 

• Managing and controlling access to assets stored in lockers. 

As a Texas-based company, we provide on site evaluation, implementation, training and support of the 

KeyWatcher System. We are also a member of BuyBoard and offer discounted pricing and ease of purchase. 

19015 Gentle Knoll 

San Antonio, Texas 78258 

Office: 830-214-0867 Fax: 775-898-1807 

www.keywarden.com - click here to email us 


yrs. 

PLANET FORD IN SPRING, 20403 I45 NORTH, 

SPRING TEXAS 

Planet Ford on I-45 in Spring, Texas has been 

the No. 1 Ford Dealer in the greater-Houston area 

for over 20 years.* Our Ford dealership earns 

this distinction year after year because our team 

makes our clients and their vehicle needs our top 

priority. Planet Ford is part of the award-winning 

World Class Automotive Group. The dealership 

has earned many top honors, including multiple 

Triple Crowns, which is bestowed upon only 

the best. In order to be recognized, a dealership 

must receive all of Ford’s top awards, including 

The President’s Award for customer service. Planet 

Ford has been redesigned from the ground up 

to provide a superior customer experience. Planet 

offers over 30 acres of new Ford inventory, Certified 

Pre-Owned Fords, pre-owned vehicles of all 

makes and models, as well as aftermarket and 

performance parts, service, commercial truck 

services, and collision repair. Beyond automotive 

services, the Randall Reed family and Planet team 

support and gives back to the community, from 

local charity events to sponsoring schools and 

veteran programs. Learn more at PlanetFord.com. 



yrs. 

Supporting Law 

Enforcement in 

TEXAS 

Inset: Dan Rooney ProForce President 

Firearms and Tactical Equipment for Law Enforcement Professionals 

800-367-5855 



SPOTLIGHT ON 

ProForce’s commitment to providing excellent customer 

service is a key element in the company’s success 

throughout the western United States. As a relative newcomer 

in the state of TEXAS ProForce has been welcomed with open 

arms by the law enforcement community. 

ProForce’s relationships with top industry manufacturers 

and vendors, as well as their sales volume, allows them 

to negotiate better pricing to meet the budgetary needs 

of law enforcement agencies. While some vendors may 

not always have product availability in a timely manner. 

ProForce’s industry relationships and direct contact through 

vendor representatives, the sales team is able to suggest 

and provide alternatives to meet specific requirements of 

agencies, ensuring that the agency’s needs are always met. 

“ 

Working with PROFORCE through the 

bidding and purchasing of the M&P 2.0’s was 

very easy and simple. We added the ACRO red 

dot along with the holster and the light. This 

purchase was simple and easy. 

The troops love the improvement to the 2.0 

and the red dot. 

Lt. Socha. Austin PD. 

“ 

#X300U-A #13353 #200691 

The company features an excellent selection of high demand 

law enforcement firearms, equipment and accessories from 

great manufacturers such as: 

Axon/Taser, Aimpoint, Beretta, Colt, H&K, Bola Wrap, 

Bianchi, Smith & Wesson, Eotech, Daniel Defense, 

NightStick, Sig Sauer, Kimber, Otis, Defense Technology, 

Shadow Systems, Magpul, L3 Harris, Burris, Mossberg, 

Ruger, Streamlight, Safariland, Springfield, Blackhawk, 

Holosun, Trijicon, Vortex, Surefire, Us Peacekeeper ,OSS, 

Nightstick, FNH USA and UTM. 

Proforce takes great pride in distributing high quality public 

safety products from top tier manufacturers and this 

transaction has set a trend for many other law enforcement 

agencies in the State of Texas. 

Agency demonstrations, test and evaluation 

of products is available upon request. Ask us 

about trade-ins! We will buy your agency duty or 

confiscated firearms, any model and condition! 

First class customer support and quality service 

makes PROFORCE the number one choice for first 

responder equipment and accessories! 

Call (800) 367-5855 

Email: sales@proforceonline.com or 

visit our website 

www.proforceonline.com 

SEND US AN EMAIL 

SCAN THE QR CODE 

The BolaWrap ® 150 remote restraint 

device is a patented, hand-held tool that 

deploys an eight-foot Kevlar ® tether 

to temporarily restrain subjects from a 

distance of 10-25 feet. 

Because the BolaWrap isn’t designed 

to cause pain, it may be used during 

the first stages of an encounter before 

escalation takes place. 

CALL US TODAY FOR PRICING! 

800-367-5855 

>> PRODUCTS & SERVICES

yrs. 

12722 HWY. 3 • WEBSTER, TEXAS • 281-488-5934 

AUTO FACELIFTS is located on the South Side of 

Houston across from Ellington Airport. Auto Facelifts 

is an industry leader in auto upholstery in the Houston, 

TX area. We work on cars, trucks, and even boats, 

so no matter what you’re riding in, we can give it a 

facelift! Whether you’re looking for a new leather interior, 

carpet replacement, or auto detailing, we’ve got 

a package that will fit your needs. But we don’t stop 

there! We’ve also got an incredible selection of car and 

truck accessories to really take your vehicle to the next 

level. And, if that’s not enough, we can also provide 

you with premium car audio and car stereo equipment 

that will make your vehicle the talk of the town. Stop 

into Auto Facelifts and upgrade your ride today! 

4807 KIRBY DRIVE • HOUSTON, TEXAS • 713-524-3801 

RIVER OAKS CHRYSLER, DODGE, JEEP & RAM 

Alan & Blake Helfman are the named and primary 

sponsor of The BLUES. For over 65 years the 

Helfman’s have supported local area law enforcement 

and supported The BLUES since our first issue. 

There is simply no better dealership in Houston 

to purchase your Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, 

Ram or Ford product. The sales team provide 

honest, no BS pricing and their service department 

ranks among the top in the nation. 

Call Alan or Blake Helfman at 713-524-3801 when 

you are ready to purchase your next vehicle. It will 

be the best car buying experience you’ve ever had. 

IMOD2 

Carson's versatile MLH6 dual color led light has arrived! 

It features 12 high intensity LEDs packed into a super thin 

housing. With 12 different flash patterns, steady burn, and cruise 

mode (programmable for each color), this light is up for 

anything! 

CENTRAL POLICE SUPPLY is your source 

for the best in police equipment. Based 

in Houston, we supply law enforcement 

with the equipment they need.” 

CENTRAL POLICE SUPPLY has been 

serving Houston law enforcement for 

nearly 50 years with the absolute best 

customer service and quality products. 

CENTRAL POLICE SUPPLY is 

located at 1410 Washington Ave, near 

downtown Houston, but you can 

purchase everything you need online 

at:https://www.centralpolice.com/ 


Scan for website: 

The MLH6 is designed to surface mount with the BM6 

bezel, or can snap in to the IMOD2 housing for an outstanding 

dual head option. Stay tuned for more modular mounting options 

coming soon from Carson! 

Check out our website for more information on our MLH6 as well 

as to check all of our other products. 



NOW HIRING 

LE job positions 

Sunset Valley Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Sandy Oaks Police Dept. Get Info Peace Officer 04/03/2023 - 5pm 

Hearne Police Dept. Get Info Police Officers 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Clay Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy (I & II) 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Ore City Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer/ Sergeant 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Southwestern Baptist Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer - P/T 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Eastland Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/08/2023 - 5pm 

Henderson Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Grimes Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Hemphill Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy Sheriff 04/15/2023 - 5pm 

Travis Co. Const. Pct. 2 Get Info Deputy Constable 04/13/2023 - 5pm 

Poth Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Officer (F/T) 04/13/2023 - 5pm 

Poth Police Dept. Get Info Reserve Officers 04/13/2023 - 5pm 

Weatherford College PD - Wise Co. campus Get Info Sergeant 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Lubbock Co. WCID #1 Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/14/2023 - 5pm 

Corsicana Police Dept. Get Info Entry Level Police Test 04/01/2023 - 5pm 

Belton Police Dept. Get Info Police Officers 03/22/2023 - 5pm 

Town of Fulton Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/01/2023 - 5pm 

Jack Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputies 04/17/2023 - 5pm 

Colorado City Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Officer 04/20/2023 - 5pm 

Colorado City Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Supervisor 04/20/2023 - 5pm 

Giddings Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/21/2023 - 5pm 

Rollingwood Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Officer 04/21/2023 - 5pm 

Leon ISD Police Dept. Get Info Police Chief/ School Resource Officer 04/22/2023 - 5pm 

Gainesville ISD Police Dept. Get Info Police Officers 04/28/2023 - 5pm 

Tarrant Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy Sheriff Cadet (Detention Officer) 04/28/2023 - 5pm 

Log Cabin Police Dept. Get Info Peace Officer 03/25/2023 - 5pm 

University Park Police Dept. Get Info Asst. Chief of Police 05/24/2023 - 5pm 

Manvel Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Officer 04/28/2023 - 5pm 

Port Aransas Police Dept. Get Info Officer 04/30/2023 - 5pm 

McLennan Community College Police Department Get Info Police Officer 

04/30/2023 - 5pm 

Hedwig Village Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 05/01/2023 - 5pm 

Grand Prairie Police Department Get Info Police Civil Service Test 04/29/2023 - 5pm 

Alamo Colleges Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/15/2023 - 5pm 

Copperas Cove Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/02/2023 - 5pm 

Westworth Village Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/01/2023 - 5pm 

Saginaw Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 06/01/2023 - 5pm 

Schleicher County Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy Sheriff 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

Big Spring Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/12/2023 - 5pm 

Ferris Department of Public Safety Get Info Public Safety Officer 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

yrs. 

San Jacinto College Police Department Get Info Police Lieutenant 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

Dallas County Marshal Service Get Info Peace Officer - Corporal 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

Alvin Community College Police Dept. Get Info P/T Police Officer 0 4/30/2023 - 5pm 

San Jacinto College Police Dept. Get Info Police Captain 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

DeWitt County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/10/2023 - 5pm 

Nolan County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/05/2023 - 5pm 

Travis County Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy (Facilities) 04/30/2023 - 5pm 

TSTC Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/05/2023 - 5pm 

Garrison ISD Police Department Get Info Chief Of Police 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

City of Kingsville Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Alvin Community College Get Info Police Officer 05/01/2023 - 5pm 

Llano Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/07/2023 - 5pm 

Lancaster Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/26/2023 - 5pm 

Mesquite Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/16/2023 - 5pm 

Baylor Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/16/2023 - 5pm 

Leander Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/15/2023 - 5pm 

City of Brownwood Get Info Police Officer 04/15/2023 - 5pm 

College Station Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/20/2023 - 5pm 

Ellis County Sheriff's Department Get Info Deputy Sheriff 05/20/2023 - 5pm 

Austin Community College District Police Dept. Get Info Patrol Officer 04/21/2023 - 5pm 

Llano Police Department Get Info Investigator 05/20/2023 - 5pm 

Llano Police Department Get Info Police Sergeant 05/20/2023 - 5pm 

Floyd County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/19/2023 - 5pm 

Cuero Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 05/22/2023 - 5pm 

Central Texas College Police Department Get Info Police Sergeant 05/19/2023 - 5pm 

Madison County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/24/2023 - 5pm 

Natalia Police Department Get Info Reserve Officer 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

Natalia Police Department Get Info School Resource Officer 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

Crane County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

Georgetown Police Dept. Get Info Peace Officer 06/24/2023 - 5pm 

Tyler Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/25/2023 - 5pm 

Bandera County Sheriff's Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

City of Horseshoe Bay Get Info Police Officer 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

Cisco Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 05/27/2023 - 5pm 

Reno Police Department Get Info Police Officer 05/28/2023 - 5pm 

Dallas County Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy Cadet 04/03/2023 - 5pm 

City of Carrollton Municipal Court Get Info Deputy Marshal 05/27/2023 - 5pm 

City of Carrollton Municipal Court Get Info Transport Deputy 05/27/2023 - 5pm 

Abernathy Police Dept. Get Info Police Officer 04/30/2023 - 5pm 

STATEWIDE VACANCIES FOR JAILERS 

Smith Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Detention Officers 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Galveston Co. Sheriff's Dept. Get Info Corrections Deputy 04/14/2023 - 5pm 

Jack Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Jailers 04/17/2023 - 5pm 

Winkler County Sheriff's Office Get Info Jailer 05/03/2023 - 5pm 


DeWitt County Sheriff's Office Get Info Jailer 05/10/2023 - 5pm 

DeWitt County Sheriff's Office Get Info Maintenance Jailer 05/10/2023 - 5pm 

Nolan County Sheriff's Office Get Info Jailer 05/05/2023 - 5pm 

Travis Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Corrections Specialist - Central Booking 04/14/2023 - 5pm 

Dallas County Sheriff's Office Get Info Detention Service Officer 05/16/2023 - 5pm 

Ellis County Sheriff's Office Get Info Detention Officer 05/21/2023 - 5pm 

Madison County Sheriff's Office Get Info Jailer 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

STATEWIDE VACANCIES TELECOMMUNICATION OPERATOR 

Collin Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Dispatcher 04/11/2023 - 5pm 

Houston Police Dept. Get Info 911 Senior Police Telecommunicator 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Kingsville Police Dept. Get Info Telecommunications Operator 04/30/2023 - 5pm 

Spring ISD Police Dept. Get Info Police Dispatcher 04/14/2023 - 5pm 

Galveston Co. Sheriff's Office Get Info Telecommunicator 04/14/2023 - 5pm 

Williamson Co. Emergency Communications Get Info Telecommunications - 911 Dispatcher 04/29/2023 - 5pm 

Port Aransas Police Dept. Get Info Dispatch 04/30/2023 - 5pm 

City of Plano Get Info 9-1-1 Call Taker 05/01/2023 - 5pm 

Saginaw Police Department Get Info Telecommunicator 06/01/2023 - 5pm 

Baylor University Get Info Dispatcher 04/08/2023 - 5pm 

DeWitt County Sheriff's Office Get Info Telecommunicator 05/10/2023 - 5pm 

Travis County Sheriff's Office Get Info Telecommunicator 05/04/2023 - 5pm 

City of College Station Get Info Public Safety Telecommunicator 05/21/2023 - 5pm 

Madison County Sheriff's Office Get Info Dispatcher 05/26/2023 - 5pm 

STATEWIDE VACANCIES OTHER 

Paris ISD Police Dept. Get Info Safety and Security Monitor 04/09/2023 - 5pm 

Irving Fire Dept. Get Info Fire Prevention Specialist 04/10/2023 - 5pm 

Dallas County Marshall Service Get Info GLOA Security Officer 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

Baylor University Get Info Security Officer 05/09/2023 - 5pm 

Nolan County Sheriff's Department Get Info Criminal Investigator 05/05/2023 - 5pm 

Nolan County Sheriff's Office Get Info Maintenance Manager 05/05/2023 - 5pm 

Keller Police Department Get Info Animal Control Officer 04/03/2023 - 5pm 

College Station Police Department Get Info Technology Services Specialist 05/20/2023 - 5pm 

OVER 2.5 MILLION FIRST RESPONDERS SAW 

THESE ADS IN FEBRUARY & MARCH 

Place your ad today for only $250 


138 The BLUES The BLUES 139


austin officers 

austin dispatch 


EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS 

• Paid Vacation 

• Sick Leave 

• Paid Holidays 

• Personal Days 

• Compensatory Days 

• Certification Pay 

ALDINE ISD POLICE DEPT. 

now accepting applications for: 

Dispatcher 

Salary starting at $40,000, 

no experience required. 

TO APPLY VISIT 

WWW.ALDINEISD.ORG 

OR 

Contact the Personnel 

Department at 

281-985-7571 

OR 

Contact Sergeant R. Hall at 

281-442-4923 

HIRING PROCESS 

• Oral Board Panel Interview 

• Complete Personal History Statement 

• Psychological Evaluation 

• Medical Examination 

• Interview with the Chief of Police 



October 15 

WATCH FOR NEW TEST DATES 


Cuero Police Department 

Montgomery County’s 3 rd Largest Law Enforcement Agency 

• $50,363 minimum starting salary 

• Certification pay: 

Int - $1,600, Adv - $2,400, Mstr - $3,700 

Opportunity 

multiple divisions including 

Investigations, Patrol, and 

K-9 services 

FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICER 

Growth 

100+ annual training hours, 

promotion opportunities, 

Field Training Officer 

• Competitive insurance & benefits 

• Teacher Retirement System (TRS) 

• 20 paid leave days & 12 paid holidays 

Balance 

overtime pay, comp time, 

most weekends off, prior LE 

experience pay 

Now Hiring for Patrol Officer Position 

Department Benefits 

13 Paid Holidays 

2 Weeks Paid Vacation 

Certification Pay 

100% Insurance Paid for Employees 

Retirement 2 to 1 match (20yr Retirement) 

FSA for Employees 

Longevity Pay 

Equipment & Uniforms Provided Including Duty Weapon w/ Red Dot Sight 

Take Home Vehicle Within City Limits 

10 Hour Work Shifts 

Membership Paid to Local Gym 

Department Provided Training 

Off-duty Security Opportunities 

Cell Phone Stipend 

Starting Pay Depends on Qualifications 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT 

HTTPS://POLICE.CONROEISD.NET/DEPARTMENT/ADMINISTRATION/EMPLOYMENT/ 

Requirements: Must be TCOLE Certified or currently enrolled in an accredited Police 

Academy and pass a background investigation. 

150 The BLUESpolice.conroeisd.net 

CISDPolice @CISDPolice 

The BLUES 151 

Email TCOLE Personal History Statement to sellis@cityofcuero.com


Welcome Aboard 

Dallas Police Department 


DEER PARK POLICE 

DEPARTMENT 

Forney ISD 

Police Department 

NOW 

HIRING 

Deer Park, Texas 

WE ARE HIRING 

www.deerparktx.gov 

Police Officer 

Dispatcher 

Public Safety Attendant - Jailer 

Animal Control Officer 

Part time Crossing Guard 

Description 

School-based police officers work 

with school administrators, security 

staff, and faculty to ensure the safety 

and well-being of students at various 

campuses. This officer works as the 

main security arm of a school. 

Requirements 

U.S. Citizen 

Accredited High School Diploma 

or equivalent 

Valid Texas Peace Officer License 

Valid Texas Driver's License 

Two or more years of college or 

advanced training preferred 

Police Officers 

Experience 

SBLE Experience preferred 

Demonstrate the ability to 

teach & engage with youth 

Positions starting 

at $29.89/hr 

Retention Stipends 

Clothing Allowance 

Health/Childcare Incentive 

Paid Training 

Lateral Entry 

www.forneyisd.net 


Officer Sam Jammas 281-930-2121 or sjammas@deerparktx.org 

APPLY ONLINE TODAY!

GALVESTON 

COUNTY 

SHERIFF’S OFFICE 

Seeking Individuals Who Are Interested in a Rewarding Career in Corrections 

Begin Your Career Today! 

GALVESTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY 

Position: Corrections Deputy I 

Bureau/Division: Corrections/Jail 

Title/Rank: Corrections Deputy/Deputy I 

Reports to: Sergeant - Corrections 

Starting Salary: $51,250.00 

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES 

Maintains the security of the facility by conducting security checks, settling disputes, and performing cell searches and 

inspections; conducts outside perimeter checks. 

Preparation and proper completion in the documentation of inmate records. 

Issues inmate meals, clothing, linens, and personal items. 

Supervise inmate programs (recreational, legal, health care, visitation and religious services) 

Prepares reports on jail and inmate activities, enforce inmate handbook rules. 

Supervises inmates performing such assignments as cleaning and maintaining the jail facility and continuously observe 

locations and activities of inmates. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• High School / GED Certificate and must be at least 18 years of age. 

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and resident of the contiguous United States for a period of time sufficient to conduct a 

background investigation. 

• Must be able to work days, nights, weekends, holidays and mandatory shifts when needed. 

• Must be able to work during natural disasters and or under declarations. 

• Must possess a valid Texas driver's license and an acceptable driving record as determined by the Galveston County 

Sheriff's Office in effect at the time of application. 

• Must have favorable employment history. All information given regarding past employment will be thoroughly checked. 

• Must have a stable credit history. 

• Must possess good computer skills and demonstrate comprehensive reading and comprehension skills. 

• No conviction above a Class B Misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last 10 years nor have been on or 

currently on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense and no Family Violence 

convictions of any level. 

• Applicant must pass all phases of the required testing. 

• Must be eligible for licensing by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for the position applied for, if not 

presently licensed. 

TO APPLY 

An applicant interested in any of GCSO position shall first download, complete and return 

the Application Packet, per the instructions on the downloadable form. 

The Application Packet can be found at SHERIFF.GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV 


JOIN US 

VISIT SHERIFF.GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV TO APPLY! 

The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office is an Equal Opportunity Employer 

CONTACT US 

409.763.7585 : SO.EMPLOYMENT@GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV



Place your department’s recruiting ad 

in The BLUES for only $250 for an 

entire year, only $20 a month. 


LATERAL DEPUTY 


WE ARE 

HIRING! 

BENEFITS 

• Free basic Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for 

employee 

• Free basic Life insurance 

• Long Term Disability (LTD) 

• Affordable Medical, Dental and Vision benefits for 

eligible family members 

• Flexible Spending Accounts 

• 10 paid holidays per year 

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) including 10 vacation 

days and 13 sick days per year accrued biweekly 

• Paid Parental Leave 

RETIREMENT 

• Harris County matches your investment at 225% 

• 7% of your salary is invested pre-tax in your 

retirement account 

• Retirement Vesting after 8 years 

• Eligible upon earning 75 points (age+years of service) 

SALARY SCALE 

INCENTIVE PAY 

CLASSIFICATION SERVICE HOURLY ANNUAL 

DEPUTY I 0-47 $26.23 $54,558 

DEPUTY II 48-83 $28.07 $58,386 

DEPUTY III 84-119 $29.73 $61,838 

DEPUTY IV 120-155 $31.23 $64,958 

TCOLE CERTIFICATION 

ANNUAL 

Intermediate $1,560 

Advanced $3,420 

Master $6,000 

EDUCATION 

ANNUAL 

Associate Degree $1,320 

Bachelor Degree $3,180 

Master/Doctorate $4,500 

LATERAL DEPUTY 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be a licensed Peace Officer by the Texas Commission on Law 

Enforcement (TCOLE) in good standing 

• Must be currently employed as a Peace Officer (any break in service 

will be considered on a case-by-case basis) 

• Must have a minimum of 12 consecutive months experience as a 

Peace Office at any one agency 

• Must successfully pass the HCSO Physical Abilities Test (PAT) 

• Meet HCSO firearms qualification standard 

• Must pass a thorough background investigation (criminal 

background check, fingerprinting, personal interview, etc.) as 

required by TCOLE 

• Must pass a physical and psychological evaluation as required by 

TCOLE 

• Valid driver’s license and liability insurance (Texas by start date) 

• Eyesight must be correctable to 20/20, normal color, and peripheral 

vision 

• Correctable normal audible range in both ears 

• A two (2) year minimum commitment to Patrol before being eligible 

to transfer to other Bureaus 

TO APPLY 

For additional information contact 

Harris County Sheriff’s Office Recruitment Unit 

(713) 877-5250 

Now Hiring 

OFFICERS 

TCOLE Certified Peace Officers 

Hutto ranked one of the 

safest cities in Texas. 

Our fast-growing City shows a trending decrease in crimes based 

on four offenses from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting. 

Additional Pay 

+ Education Pay up to $175/month 

+ Specialty/Certication up to $260/month 

Highlights 

Top-of-the-line Equipment 

and Technology 

Beards and Tattoos Allowed 

No Written Test for Most Lateral Officers 

To learn more or apply, visit or scan 

https: //linktr. ee/huttopd 

Benets 

Retirement 

2-to-1 City match with TMRS 

Take-home Patrol Car 

For officers living within 25 miles 

Starting Salary 

$62K to $81K 

Annual Leave Accruals 

12 paid holidays, 80 hrs vacation, 96 hrs sick leave 

Multiple Positions Available 

A wide variety of units and assignments available 

Sign On Bonus! 

$5,000* 

DEPUTY V 156+ $32.78 $68,182 

Questions? Email: PDrecruiting@huttotx.gov 

168 The BLUES 

Bilingual Pay $1,800 

Harris County 

The BLUES 169 

@HCSOTexas 

HCSOTexas HCSOTexas @HCSOTexas 

Tenure agreement required. 

Receive up to fourteen (14) years of credit for time served! (Restrictions apply) SCAN THIS CODE 

Sheriff’s Office


L A P O R T E 

P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T 

Lateral Police Officer 

Starting Pay $ 62,416. to $73,775. 

Effective October 1, 2022 

No prior experience required. High School diploma or GED required. 

Possession of Class C Texas Driver License. 

Must possess a TCOLE License or be enrolled in accredited Basic Peace Officer Academy. 

Certification Pay (bi-weekly): 

$46.15 - Intermediate Peace Officer 

$69.23 - Advanced Peace Officer 

$92.31 - Master Peace Officer 

Education Pay (bi-weekly): 

$46.15 - Associates Degree 

$69.23 - Bachelors Degree 

$92.31 - Masters Degree 

Employee Benefits: 

Medical / Dental / Vision Insurance 

Longevity Pay 

Tuition Reimbursement 

TMRS Retirement (2 to 1 match) 

ICMA Deferred Compensation/Roth IRA 

$1,000 Physical Fitness Program 

Weapon Purchase Program 

Take-home Vehicles 

Specialized Divisions: 

SWAT / Bomb Squad 

Bike Patrol 

Criminal Investigative Division 

Crime Scene Unit 

Drone Pilots 

School Resource Officers 

Traffic/DOT Officers 

Police Area Representatives 

Apply online at 

www.laportetx.gov/jobs 

Paid Leave Benefits 

15 days vacation (Civil Service) 

15 days sick leave 

Military Leave 

9 observed holidays per year 

2 employee holidays per year 

Bereavement Leave 

Comp Time 


LONGVIEW POLICE DEPARTMENT 

JOIN OUR 

$65,709-$67,685 

Based on Population and Experience 

TEAM 

2-TIER HIRING 

INCENTIVE 

STARTING SALARY 

$60,085 

$3,000 

25 YEAR STEP PLAN 

$60,085 - $84,308 

STEP INTO YOUR FUTURE 

Insurance 

120 Hours Vacation 

11 Paid Holidays 

80 Hours Sick Leave 

20-Year Retirement Plan 

2/1 City Match TMRS 

Beards & Tattoos Allowed 

Academy Pay 

Equipment Provided 

Excellent Training Provided 

Speciality/Cerification Pay 

Community Support 

Plentiful Outdoor Activities 

NEW POLICE STATION 

COMING 2023 


MEMORIAL VILLAGES POLICE DEPARTMENT 

Serving the Villages of Bunker Hill, Piney Point and Hunters Creek 

POLICE OFFICER 

The Memorial Villages Police Department is currently looking for experienced officers who are 

self-motivated, innovative, enthusiastic and love working for a community that supports them. 

5+ Years Patrol Experience Required 

Hiring Bonus $1,500 

Night Shift Differential $3,600 

E.C.A $1300 

Bi-lingual Pay 

Education Pay 

Intermediate, Advanced, Master 

Peace Officer Certification Pay 

Healthcare, Dental and Vision Insurance 

100% paid for employee, 75% for 

spouse/dependents. 

Paid long-term disability and Life Insurance 

for employee, additional life insurance 

available for spouse/dependents. 

Health Savings Account with Department 

contributions up to $4,200 annually. 

TMRS Retirement 7% w/ 2:1 match (20 yr). 

457 Deferred Compensation Plan with 

employer contribution of 2.5% of annual 

salary. 

Tuition Reimbursement 

Longevity Pay up to a max of $2,400 

annually at 10 years of service. 

12 Hour shifts with every other Friday, 

Starting at $83,459 up to $94,164 

Scan for more 

information 

W W W . M V P D T X . O R G 

176 The BLUES 

11981 Memorial Drive – Houston, Tx 77024 

713.365.3700 

The BLUES 177


____________________________________________________________________________


MAKE A 

DIFFERENCE 

IN YOUR 

COMMUNITY 

We are looking for outstanding individuals to 

join our team! As a Pearland Police Officer your 

mission will be to prevent crime and disorder, build 

partnerships within the community, and positively 

impact the quality of life for all our residents. 

CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS 

• Competitive Salary • Outstanding Training 

• Career Advancement • Exceptional Benefits 

The City of Pearland is one of the fastest growing 

communities within the region. Pearland is located 

approximately 20 minutes south of Downtown Houston 

and the current population is approximately 130,000 

residents. 

JOIN OUR TEAM 

HIRING POLICE OFFICERS AND CADETS 

$5,000 Hiring Incentive for T.C.O.L.E Certified Police 

Officers who qualify with at least 2 years of experience. 

TEST DATE: 

SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 8:30 A.M. 

Register by: April 12. 

WATCH FOR UPCOMING 

Pearland Recreation Center & Natatorium 

4141 Bailey TEST Road, DATES Pearland, TX IN 77584. 2022 

Doors Open: 7:15 a.m. No admittance after 7:45 a.m. 

Candidates must park in the north parking lot. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES WILL APPLY 

• Attendance limited to first 150 arrivals 

• Mandatory temperature checks 

• Masks required, hand sanitizer available 

• Candidates seated 6 feet apart 

182 The BLUES For additional information and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, The BLUES visit 183 

pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers

PORT HOUSTON 

POLICE DEPARTMENT 

WE ARE 

HIRING 

SIGN UP TODAY! www.porthouston.com/careers-2 

BENEFITS: 

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance 

eligible first day of employment 

• Wellness Program 

(can earn up to $600 credit per year if requirements met) 

• Enrollment with Calm App for Wellbeing 

• Defined contribution plan (401a) 

– Employer Sponsored 

• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan) 

– Employee Contributions 

• Vacation 

• Sick Leave 

• Paid Holiday 12 days/year 

• Life and Accidental Death and 

Dismemberment Insurance 

• Short Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits 

• Flexible spending account (FSA) 

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 

• Pet Insurance 

• Legal and Identity Theft Protection 

• Tuition Reimbursement 

Up to the IRS annual limit and a maximum lifetime 

reimbursement of $25,000 

• Onsite Credit Union – Port of Houston Credit Union 

Are you looking for a career with meaning? 

Do you want to make a difference in a highly 

supportive community? 

Join our team at Port Houston! 

STARTING PAY* 

$60,000 up to $71,000 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be 21 years old 

• Must have 2+ years of police officer 

experience 

• Must have valid Texas Driver’s License 

• Must be a U.S. Citizen 

• Must have an honorable discharge 

from the military (if applicable) 

• Must never have been convicted of a 

Class A Misdemeanor or above 

EMPLOYMENT 

TESTING 

Employment is contingent on passing 

any post-offer pre-employment 

screening as listed below: 

• Criminal background check 

• Motor Vehicle Record check 

• Drug screening 

• Physical exam 

• Psychological exam 

SCAN 

QR CODE 

TO APPLY 

• Not been convicted of a Class B 

• Additional as required 

* Salary depends on experience 

misdemeanor within the last 10 years 

• Must have a GED or high school diploma 


SPRING BRANCH ISD POLICE DEPARTMENT 

WE’RE 

HIRING 

DEPARTMENT 

HIGHLIGHTS 

55 officer department 

44 square mile district 

47 schools 

35,000 population 

24/7 Patrol 

We want you to preserve, protect, and defend our future. 

Starting Pay $63,000 (TCOLE Basic Peace Officer certification with no experience) 

Patrol & Onsite Officers (HS/MS) 

Gang Officer 

Mental Health Officers 

Community Relations Officer 

Emergency Management 

Criminal Investigations 

K-9 programs 

Language pay 

Shift differential pay 

Intermediate, Advanced and 

Master Peace Officer 

certificate pay 

Paid time off 

Ample overtime opportunities 

*All equipment provided including duty weapon 

**Training opportunities available 

Apply online today. springbranchisd.com/join-our-team 





STARTING SALARY 

$56,160 $57,824 $60,008 $62,400 $64,792 $67,184 $69,680 $72,384 $74,880 $77,480 $80,080 

High School Diploma 

or G.E.D. 

Minimum age of 21 

Must hold a valid 

Texas Driver’s License 

Current valid TCOLE 

certification 

At Hire 

At 

6 mos. 

end 

year 1 

end 

year 2 

end 

year 3 

end 

year 4 

end 

year 5 

end 

year 6 

end 

year 7 

end 

year 8 

end 

year 9 

GET STARTED 

LOCATED 5 MILES WEST OF 

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN 

$3,000 


196 The BLUES

April 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 4

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