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The BLUES - JANUARY ‘26 1

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VOL. 42 NO. 1 JANUARY 2026

FEATURES/COVER

76 FEATURE/COVER STORY

NICOLE PARKER

FORMER FBI AGENT, AUTHOR

FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR

DEPARTMENTS

PUBLISHER’S THOUGHTS

EDITOR REX EVANS THOUGHTS

WORDS OF FAITH - JOHN KING

OFFICER INVOLVED - DANIEL CARR

GUEST COMMENTARY - DOUG GRIFFITH

GUEST COMMENTARY - PAT DRONEY

GUEST COMMENTARY - CHAD CAMPESE

GUEST COMMENTARY - CHARLES E. HUMES, JR.

GUEST COMMENTARY - PAULA FITZSIMMONS

NEWS AROUND THE US

BREAKING NEWS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES

WAR STORIES

AFTERMATH

NEW** BLUEPRINTS OF RESILIENCE

HEALING OUR HEROES

DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS

BLUE MENTAL HEALTH DR.

LIGHT BULB AWARD

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

ADS BACK IN THE DAY

PARTING SHOTS

NOW HIRING

BACK PAGE

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GUEST COMMENTARY

DOUG GRIFFITH

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4 The BLUES JANUARY ‘26

FOUNDER, PUBLISHER, EDITOR-N-CHIEF

MICHAEL BARRON

OUR TEAM

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Chief Rex Evans(Ret)

SENIOR EDITOR

Dr. Tina Jaeckle

WEST COAST EDITOR

Jessica "JJ" Jones

COPY EDITOR

Lt. John King (Ret)

OUTDOOR EDITOR

Rusty Barron

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Lt. Daryl Lott (Ret)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Sam Horwitz & Det. John Salerno (Ret)

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Doug Griffith

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Art Woolery

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Daniel Carr

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Emmanuel Gonzalez Sosa

FEATURE STORIES

Michael Barron

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

WAR STORY

Sgt. Michael Barron (Ret)

AFTERMATH

Sgt. Michael Barron (Ret)

CONTRIBUTING COMMENTARY

Daniel Carr, Chad Campese

Paula Fitzsimmons,

Chief Charles E. Humes, Jr.

Doug Griffith

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Joanna Putman, Police 1

Jenna Curren, Law Enforcement Today

Greg Hoyt, Law Enforcement Today

Sara Roebuck, Police1

Alex Halverson

Kimberlee Kruesi

Michael Warrick

Garrett Cabeza

Teri Figuerua

Samuel Parker

John Agar

Tess Kenny

Kristen Spicker

Michael Pitman

David Goohve

Lucas Daprile

Bill Carey

Libor Jany

Our Thanks to:

Fox News, Associated Press,

Police Magazine

The Law Officer, Police 1.com

& Law Enforcement Today

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

articles, op-eds, and editorials are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of The BLUES or its parent company.

Rebuttals or submission of news articles and editorials may be submitted to: The BLUES @ bluespdmag@gmail.com.

The entire contents of The BLUES IS copyrighted© and may not be reprinted without the express permission of the publisher.


FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sad Ending to 2025


I say this every year…I hope

2026 will be a year that far

fewer first responders lose their

lives in the line of duty. And not

only first responders, but all citizens

doing their part to make

this a better world.

These past few weeks have

been heartbreaking for those

involved in relief efforts both

in North Carolina and Jamaica.

In November, the founder of a

Christian ministry organization,

Ignite the Fire, Alexander

Wurm, 53, and his daughter

Serena Wurm, 22, were both

killed in a crash in Florida. The

Wurms were delivering humanitarian

aid to Jamaica when

their Beechcraft King Airplane

crashed into a pond in a residential

area of the Fort Lauderdale

suburb of Coral Springs,

narrowly missing homes. The

day before, we had arranged for

them to deliver several dozen

Star Link internet packages donated

by Elon Musk. The NTSB

believes the load shifted in the

airplane causing it to crash.

The Wurm’s were kind Christian

folks trying to help those

affected by the Hurricane in

Jamaica and God called them

home before they could complete

their mission.

After Hurricane Helene devastated

North Carolina in September

of 2024, two private individuals

stepped up in a big way,

flying their own personal helicopters

into areas that were not

accessible to first responders.

Gregg Biffle and Garrett Mitchell

flew countless missions in

and out of Boone, N.C., not only

rescuing trapped residents, but

delivering badly needed supplies

and Star Link Internets. To

those folks living in the hollers

of North Carolina, these two

were heroes who saved countless

lives.

But on December 20th, the

unthinkable happened. Greg,

his beautiful wife Cristina, son

Ryder and his daughter Emma

were headed to Garrett’s home

in Florida before heading to the

Bahamas for a birthday celebration.

That trip lasted only

10 minutes when their private

jet experienced some type of

emergency and crashed as

they attempted to return to

the Statesville (N.C.) Regional

Airport. Also killed in the crash

were his best friends Dennis

Dutton and his son, Jack, and

Craig Wadsworth.

After retiring from NASCAR,

Gregg and Cristina dedicated

their lives to helping others. Before

the fatal crash, Cristina had

prepared and sent hundreds of

"letters from Santa" to children

in need as a charitable activity.

According to her mother, Cathy

Grossu, Cristina was dedicated

to "bringing joy" to strangers

during the holiday season. The

night before the family's flight

to Florida, Cristina ensured that

the final 17 letters were finished

and ready to be mailed, making

it the last thing she did. Mo-

ments before the crash, Cristina

also managed to send a harrowing

final text message to

her mother that read, "We're in

trouble".

Finally on Monday December

22, I had just completed this

month’s war story about three

airplane crashes that had occurred

on Galveston Island back

in 1997. The story is one of dozens

in my new book THIN BLUE

LINE: LIFE BEHIND THE BADGE,

that recount a tragic day on

the Island that claimed one life

and destroyed three airplanes.

Around 3pm, I received a call

from a friend at the Galveston

Airport that said an inbound aircraft

had crashed on approach

to the airport.

My first thought was why was

anyone attempting to land at

Galveston on a day when the

airport had been socked in due

to fog. Earlier that day, I was at

the same airport speaking with

a flight instructor at one of the

flight schools and the fog was

so thick you couldn’t see the

runway from the front door of

the flight school.

This exact same scenario

is what claimed the life of a

young student pilot back in 1997

when he attempted to land in a

fog shrouded runway and struck

a sand dune 1/2 mile short of the

runway.

The plane that crashed on this

day was a Mexican Navy Beechcraft

King Air 300, that was

bringing a young burn patient

to Galveston’s Shriner's Hospital.

These brave young pilots make

regular trips to Galveston bringing

patients from all over Mexico

seeking treatment at Shriner's.

On this day, they attempted to

land with visibility of less than

1/4 mile and they unfortunately

crashed into Galveston Bay, one

mile short of the runway.

Immediately after the crash,

Sky Decker and his 11-year-old

son Vaughn, picked up Galveston

Patrol Officer Dalton Brockstein

and his partner and steered their

boat towards the downed airplane.

Sky and Brockstein both

jumped into the water, working

to clear sharp cables and debris

to reach a woman trapped in the

wreckage. After freeing her, they

pulled her onto the boat and

transported her for medical care.

Additional responders, including

Beach Patrol, fire crews, EMS,

and the Galveston County Sheriff’s

dive team, arrived and assisted

with rescue and recovery

efforts. Brockstein remained

in the water for nearly an hour

and a half before being ordered

out once dive teams took over

operations.

Brockstein credits the successful

rescues to teamwork

and the quick actions of civilians

on scene. He emphasized

the urgency, coordination, and

shared mission to preserve life,

calling it the most intense call

of his career so far.

Unfortunately, only two occupants

of the crash survived.

A relative of the young burn

patient and a nurse are the only

survivors. Four members of the

Mexican Navy, the burn patient,

and a doctor were killed in the

crash.

All the victims from all three

airplane crashes, along with

their families, need our prayers

and support. They all died as

true heroes doing their part to

make this world a better place.

God Rest Their Souls.


FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Happy New Year!


January 2026!!! We made it!!

Can you believe it? Me neither.

But we did. So, from the jump,

we might as well be positive

about it. We made it, and there

are a lot of people who are gone

now who did not.

Nearly one hundred of those

were law enforcement officers.

They lost their lives in the service

of their communities, state,

and nation. Some were lost in a

gunfight or crash. Others by violent

assaults or medically related

incidents. No matter the “how,”

the result is the same—they are

gone. And we remain.

So, with an eye on our gift—the

future of this new year—and a

sincere moment of reflection for

those we’ve lost, let’s remember

to stay sharp, stay safe, and stay

the course. At times, this will not

be nearly as easy as it sounds.

People and life have a tendency

of trying to place us into the

position of not enjoying our

career, our family, or our lives in

general.

DON’T LET THEM. Live. Laugh.

Love. Friends, I spent years of

my career away from home and

family, and I paid dearly for it.

So did my kids. Two marriages

later, here I sit—another divorced

statistic for some law enforcement

spreadsheet. LOL. But hey,

my grandkids and I have a helluva

good time when we’re together.

Lord, the mischief we get

ourselves into.

I worked tirelessly to climb my

way up the Chain of Command—

from night shift Deputy Sheriff

to Chief of Police. I worked and

worked and worked some more

because I wanted to sincerely

make a difference in our profession.

I wanted to be the supervisor,

and later the administrator,

who made sure everyone had a

good car, good equipment, good

uniforms, radios that worked,

and a person behind the gold

badge who remembered what it

was like to be the person behind

the silver badge.

In recent years, however, I

learned that taking a cruise, a

road trip, or just a day off to

myself was not a bad thing. It is,

in fact, necessary for our mental

and physical health—especially

in today’s high-pressure, immediate,

technologically advanced

world where everything we say

and do is recorded for everyone

to see and judge.

If you’re exhausted, tired, worn

out, and teetering on the line of

about to lose your s**t, I would

implore you—take a damn break.

Speaking from nearly forty years

of experience, I can guarantee

you the department and your job

will be there when you get back.

It just will. See your significant

other. Watch your kids. Love ’em.

Live with them. Laugh with them.

Hell, laugh at yourself some too,

while you’re at it. Stop taking

everything so personal or literal.

Lastly, try to not just “survive”

this new year. Thrive in it. Live

through it. Don’t let the year and

the career run your life—you

run them!!! Be yourself. Be better

than you were in 2025. No matter

what it takes, just be better.

Better to yourself, your family,

your friends, and whomever or

whatever else is important to

you—BESIDES this damn job.

Lastly, my friends, with all

sincerity, take care of yourselves.

We (our profession) are still

losing double or more officers to

self-harm than to line-of-duty

losses. This is unacceptable.

We must do better. And that,

my friends, starts within each

and every one of us individually.

We must take care of ourselves

in order to take care of anyone

else.

Happy New Year. God bless and

keep us all!! Here’s to another

year!!!!

START SHOPPING




WORDS OF FAITH

Chaplain's Corner

Lt. John King, Ret

A New Year Resolution

Unlike Any Other!

Greetings, fellow Blues readers

and Happy New Year!

As we start another new year

it is a time of new beginnings.

Many of us will make New Year

Resolutions, either with ourselves,

or other people, or both.

Perhaps we will determine in

our hearts and minds to start

some sort of activity that will

potentially improve our health

or our minds. Or likewise we

may decide that certain things

need to be stopped or removed

from our lives. The list of things

that we might resolve to do or

not do is endless.

I want us to look at some

scripture in the book of Revelation

that describes a time and

event unlike any other in the

history of the world. The event

is when God proclaims the end

of this world as we know it and

the creation of a new one. This

will truly be a new beginning!

Let’s read the scriptures (English

Standard Version):

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a

new heaven and a new earth,

for the first heaven and the first

earth had passed away, and the

sea was no more.

Revelation 21:2 And I saw

the holy city, new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven


from God, prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a

loud voice from the throne saying,

“Behold, the dwelling place

of God is with man. He will

dwell with them, and they will

be his people, and God himself

will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe

away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more,

neither shall there be mourning,

nor crying, nor pain anymore,

for the former things have

passed away.”

Revelation 21:5 And he who

was seated on the throne said,

“Behold, I am making all things

new.” Also he said, “Write this

down, for these words are trustworthy

and true.”

Revelation 21:6 And he said to

me, “It is done! I am the Alpha

and the Omega, the beginning

and the end. To the thirsty I will

give from the spring of the water

of life without payment.

Revelation 21:7 The one who

conquers will have this heritage,

and I will be his God and he will

be my son.

Revelation 21:8 But as for

the cowardly, the faithless, the

detestable, as for murderers,

the sexually immoral, sorcerers,

idolaters, and all liars, their

portion will be in the lake that

burns with fire and sulfur, which

is the second death.”

These words from God’s Word

are indeed sobering. For those

who believe in Christ, His finished

work on the cross, and His

faith in the Father these words

are comforting. For those not

found in Christ they are terrifying,

if they believe them at

all. This new year, let me suggest

you stop, and ask yourself

which of these groups do you

belong to? God already knows

the answer, and He will reveal it

to you if you just ask him with a

sincere heart. (Psalms 34:18 The

LORD is nigh unto them that are

of a broken heart; and saveth

such as be of a contrite spirit.

[KJV])

If you are a Chaplain for your

department, or know a Chaplain

who would like to contribute an

article for The Chaplain’s Corner

please contact our office at:

bluespdmag@gmail.com


GUEST COMMENTARY Y

Police Law News

Daniel Carr

OFFICER INVOLVED:

Bilal Muhammad Abdullah, Jr.

Many of us reasonably thought

that the presence of an objective

body cam video would be sufficient

evidence to successfully

and wholly combat disinformation

about a police incident.

WRONG


WHAT HAPPENED

This incident occurred in Baltimore,

MD on June 17, 2025.

This all started when it was

reported that a man (later identified

as Bilal Muhammad Abdullah,

Jr.) was armed with a gun

and menacing people.

The report made its way to

patrol officers who were able to

locate Bilal.

Officers attempted to make

contact with Bilal and he immediately

fled on foot.

Officers engaged in a foot

pursuit and quickly caught up to

the fleeing Bilal. As the officer

went “hands on” Bilal produced

a gun from his satchel and shot

an officer in the foot. The officer

created distance and Bilal pointed

the weapon at the officer.

Three officers responded to

this immediate deadly threat

with deadly force.

The entire sequence of events

was captured on body and surveillance

cameras.

The facts are not in

dispute.

*Also. After the OIS.

The officers were

swarmed by an angry,

awful, violent, and

irrational mob.

It’s all very sophisticated.

ALLERGIC TO FACTS

Not only was this

entire incident captured

on body cam

and surveillance

footage but the Maryland

Attorney General

conducted an investigation and

recently cleared the officers. The

AG found that the use of deadly

force by the officers did not violate

any laws. In other words…

this was a legal police shooting.

The use of deadly force was reasonable

and necessary.

However, the Abdullah family,

their attorney, and local activists

are still trying to figure out a

way to shift the blame to police

officers. It’s insane.

The family is distraught…I get

it.

The activists are ignorant…I

get it.

But, this attorney fucking

knows better.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The important thing is that the

officers were cleared by the AG.

That’s what really matters.

If anything, I shared this story

to highlight the absurdity and

dishonesty of anti-police activists

and those who stand to

gain something from a police

incident. There is no amount of

evidence that can convince them

that objective reality exists.

*So…Give these people the attention

that they deserve…none.


GUEST COMMENTARY Y

HPOU President

Doug Griffith

OP-Ed:

The Op-Ed the Houston Chronicle

doesn't want you to read.

The Houston Police Officers’

Union has always had a good

working relationship with the

media for the most part. As

president, I have always been

open and available to speaking

with the media on any topic,

good, bad, or indifferent. I am a

very proud Houston Police Officer

and believe that we have the

best department in the nation! I

also understand that we are not

always perfect and will readily

admit if or when we make a

mistake. I have done this before

with the SL Code cases, and other

instances in the department.

I believe that this is what gives

the HPOU credibility within the

community.

In the last few weeks, the

Houston Chronicle has printed

several stories about the immigrant

mother whose “autistic”

son was taken and placed with

the Office of Refugee Resettlement,

or by Chronicle standards,

ICE. Several of these articles

were crafted by the Editorial

Board and not regular investigative

reporters. Not only are these

articles misleading, but the reports

are crafted to produce an

emotional outcome. The comments

in the story are opinion

based, as it does not have to be


factual, just in the public mind.

The Chronicle has worked hard

to make the public believe that

the 15-year-old autistic migrant

child was ripped from his mothers’

arms and placed into federal

custody at the hands of incompetent

police officers. Nothing

could be further from the truth.

Several of the Chronicle articles

had headlines disparaging HPD

like “Houston Police fractured

a loving family”. Other articles

had comments stating, “botched

police investigation.” “Police fail

at their most basic duty of protecting

Houston Families”, and

“the story is more about incompetence

than malice,”. Each of

these editorials disparage the

great work of the officers of the

Houston Police Department.

Have any of the editorial board

writers or journalist reached out

to the HPOU for comment? NO,

because I do not believe that it

would not fit their narrative. The

department may not comment

on current investigations, but the

HPOU will. The body worn camera

videos and reports generated

the day Emannuel was found

were provided to city council

and many of them stated that the

officers did a great job given the

circumstances.

It is important to know that

Emannuel told officers that he

was homeless and from another

country. Officers did what policy

dictates and contacted Child

Protective Services and followed

their direction. Officers were

told to contact Immigration and

Customs Enforcement and they

did. The officers were advised

to take the child to the Office of

Refugee Resettlement as they

match unaccompanied children

with their families. That is exactly

what happened and thank

God it did. The child then had

a medical emergency that his

mother may not have been able

to handle.

In at least four Chronicle news

articles the headlines stated that

Emannuel was autistic. This is

not a factual statement, and the

editorial board later pivoted by

saying, “Though not diagnosed”

his school records show he has

learning disabilities. So now it is

unclear to what extent or how

severe Emmanuel's issues are. It

should be noted that Emannuel

had conversations with firefighters

and officers at the scene and

according to Chronicle reporting,

long conversations with his

mother over the phone. It appears

that he has the ability to

understand what he was saying

and what he told officers.

The editorial board blames

HPD for failing to connect two

different names. I know in their

world they can Google and get

different variations of different

names. The department computers

do not have that same ability.

The officers who were called to

help Emannuel did everything

possible to help him. The editorial

board running a headline

of “Houston police called ICE on

missing teen. Then they blamed

his mom” is, in my opinion, inaccurate

and inflammatory. In this

editorial they insinuate that we

blamed the mother, with the only

evidence provided being Chief

Diaz’s account of the incident at

city hall.

The editorial board also stated

that they found a complicated

story, “one that reveals

a botched police investigation

and startling gaps that failed a

child.” This is another claim that

cannot be supported by facts

only insinuations, as far as I can

tell. Thanks to the officers, the

child was safe and protected

during this entire incident even

to the point of receiving medical

care.

These little hit articles by

the Chronicle and the Editorial

Board, do more damage to

the community because of the

accusations and fear that they

spread. This is especially true

right now in the immigrant community.

HPD is dedicated to the

safety and security of all Houston

residents. It is for this reason

that the Houston Police Officers’

Union will no longer provide

statements to the Houston

Chronicle, until a formal apology

is printed to the HPD and its

officers.

Until then, no further comments

will come from the HPOU!

Our officers and the citizens of

Houston deserve to have a newspaper

that prints only on facts,

not politics and opinions!

LE AGENCIES

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GUEST WORDS COMMENTARY OF FAITH

Pat Droney

MAMDANI PICKS FELON

How A Felon Turned “Activist” Was Chosen to Help Run NYC Justice System

NEW YORK, NY- Well, New

York—you voted for it. Communist

mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

continues to embark on his

destruction of what was once

the world’s greatest city as he

marches it toward the abyss. For

his latest trick, the esteemed

Mamdani picked a convicted

robber who spent seven years

in state prison as his “criminal

justice adviser.”

Mysonne Linen, 49, who was

or is a “rapper,” was selected by

Mamdani despite being found

guilty and imprisoned for two

felony robberies in the late 1990s.

He will sit on the “Democratic

socialists’ (i.e., communists)

“criminal legal system committee,

The New York Post reported.

In an Instagram post, Linen

wrote, “This is a testament to

our decades of work advocating

on behalf of black and brown

communities and our expertise

in gun violence prevention, legislative

advocacy, and criminal

justice reform. We are building

something different.”

Obviously.

Linen was convicted in 1999 for

being involved with a group of

thugs that robbed two cab drivers

in the Bronx, the New York

Daily News reported at the time.

An “aspiring rapper” at the time,


the was arrested as his debut album

was scheduled for release.

According to prosecutors, Linen

and his crew robbed taxi driver

Joseph Eziri on June 8, 1997, and

a gunpoint robbery of cab driver

Francisco Monsanto on March 31,

1998, the Daily News reported.

Officials at the New York State

Department of Correction and

Community Renewal said Linen

was sentenced to 14 years in

prison but was paroled on July 5,

2006.

Linen never accepted responsibility

for the two robberies and

instead attempted to rebrand

himself as a “community activist,”

The Post reported. As part

of his newfound career, Linen

taught classes at Rikers Island

through a “non-profit” called

Rising Kings. He also referred to

himself as a “violence interrupter.”

Linen also teamed up with

avowed anti-Semite and Israel-hater

Linda Sarsour to found

a group called Until Freedom, a

social justice activist organization.

It sounds like just the person

to advise someone on criminal

justice.

The announcement of Linen’s

appointment drew condemnation

from criminal justice insiders.

“It is both disheartening and

deeply disturbing that individuals

who are convicted felons and

have a history of breaking the

law are being given the opportunity

to help shape the future

of New York’s criminal justice

system,” said Benny Boscio, president

of the Correction Officers’

Benevolent Association.

“The men and women who risk

their lives every day to enforce

the law have been shut out of

this process entirely.”

Retired NYPD Chief of Department

John Chell also slammed

Mamdani’s choice of Linen, however

admitted it was par for the

course for a man who has made

numerous controversial picks to

his 17 transition committees.

“It’s just another appointed

adviser that has a questionable

past, which is in line with some

of his other recent appointees

who were anti-police and establishment,”

Chell, who recently

retired, said.

“The optics and reality point

to a potential erosion of public

safety in New York City.”

Another controversial pick is

Vincent Schiraldi, who resigned

in disgrace from the Maryland

Department of Juvenile Services

after being accused of shoddy

oversight and contract mismanagement.

Yet another pick that has

drawn negative attention is

Lumumba Bandele, who was

appointed to the “Committee

on Community Organizing.” She

is a black nationalist and the

leader of the Malcolm X Grassroots

Movement, who has rallied

behind cop killers, including

Assata Shakur, who fled to Cuba

after escaping from prison after

she was convicted in connection

with the murder of New Jersey

state trooper Werner Foerster

on the New Jersey Turnpike in

1973.

She also supported another

cop killer, Herman Bell, who

killed two NYPD police officers,

Joseph Piagentini and Waverly

Jones in 1971.

Mamdani’s picks for various

committees do not bode well for

public safety in New York City.

Aside from the above unhinged

radicals, he has also appointed:

• Brooklyn College sociology

professor Alex Vitale, who wrote

a 2017 anti-police book condemning

the “broken windows”

policing model implemented

by former mayor Rudy Giuliani,

which drove crime to record low

levels; he has also alleged “ingrained

racism” within the ranks

of the NYPD. He is on the “Committee

on Community Safety.”

• Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari,

another far-left radical who

will serve on the “Committee

on Youth & Education.” She was

also a supporter of Shakur.

• Ben Fumas, an environmental

wacko and head of Transportation

Alternatives, whose plans

include virtually shutting down

all traffic in the Big Apple. He

will serve on the “Committee on

Transportation, Climate, & Infrastructure.”

• Susan Herman, director of

ThriveNYC, a $1 billion boondoggle

that was the brainchild of

former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio,

was supposed to combat homelessness

in the city; however,

it basically did nothing but rip

off taxpayers. He is also on the

“Committee on Community Safety.”

Specifically, the appointments

to the Committee on Community

Safety that should concern

NYPD cops and city public safety

advocates. It is populated by a

plethora of anti-cop, pro-criminal

loons.

The impending destruction of

New York City seems well on its

way to reality.


GUEST COMMENTARY ARY

Chad Campese

CONSIDER THIS YOUR WAKE-UP

It’s time to restore hope and healing to damaged cops, splintered

relationships, and desperate families fighting a silent war.

Too many lives, relationships,

and families have been lost. So

many more are just holding on.

Let’s stop lying to ourselves.

The law enforcement life is

not just stressful. It can be a

destructive force that quietly

erodes officers and families

from the inside out, and a war

that no one admits they’re fighting

until they lose. It can take

down marriages, steal identities,

rewire personalities, and

leave entire lives and households

broken.

And while some see the uniform

and applaud the hero, your

family sees the fallout and pays

the cost.

If you’re still reading, then you

feel exactly what I’m saying. The

emotional shutdown, irritability,

numbness, and distance. The

version of an officer, spouse,

and parent who comes home

physically but is emotionally unreachable.

The truth is brutal.

The identity we were trained

to wear, the invincible, hardened,

emotionally vacant cop,

can and will destroy us, and

everyone we love. And still, we

cling to it as if it’s all we have,

know, and need. But it’s not. It’s

something much different.

It’s the anchor pulling us and


our families under. Officers are

taught to be unshakable, emotionless,

and armored. Spouses

are forced to be strong, steady,

and patient, even as their homes

quietly fall apart. And together,

without ever intending to, we,

the officers, our spouses, and

our families become experts in

silent suffering.

Your spouse sees the change

long before you do. They feel the

distance. They feel you slipping.

They feel the emotional blackout.

And yes, they’re terrified.

Terrified of losing you physically,

but more often, terrified because

they’ve already lost you emotionally.

Everyone is exhausted, hurting,

and pretending as they try

to hold everything together. The

family hangs on by a thread.

And the truth is, that thread will

break, eventually. Why? It all

boils down to one problem at

the base of everything. It’s an

issue of identity. That’s it. And

there’s only one question that

clarifies everything, and one

solution that moves an officer

forward. One solution, one answer,

to change everything.

Officers, we are losing pieces

of ourselves every day we pretend

we’re unaffected. We’re

losing our ability to connect, to

feel, to love, and to see the truth

of what’s happening inside our

own homes. Your job, training,

and current focus is not helping

you survive your own life.

Your position, the badge, the

career, those aren’t the problem.

Nor is your supervisor, the

department, or the profession.

Though they’re easy targets for

officers who can sometimes act

like victims.

It’s the identity. The internal

armor. The emotional barricade.

The persona that refuses

vulnerability, help, and connection.

Who you were trained to

become is not compatible with

a healthy marriage, a peaceful

home, or a meaningful life. And

if you refuse to confront that,

you and your family will pay the

price.

Spouses, you’re not imagining

it or overreacting. You’re not

weak for wanting more. You’ve

been asked to hold together

a home built on the unstable

foundation of broken identity.

You’ve been expected to stay

strong, patient, and quiet, while

you keep smiling through a

storm that may be ripping your

family apart.

But you can’t save someone

who refuses to acknowledge

they’re drowning. You can’t

live in a home where you have

to translate silence and tiptoe

around emotional explosions.

You can’t carry the weight of

a person who won’t take their

mask off long enough to see

that they’re not only breaking

themselves, but your family as well.

Your pain, frustration, fear,

and exhaustion are real. Pretending

they don’t exist only

makes the damage worse.

You’re not selfish for demanding

change, you’re fighting to save

the family that is slowly slipping

through your fingers.

The solution is simple. But the

price is high. It will take a total

transformation. And nothing

will change until the question of

identity is answered confidently.

You cannot heal “a little.” It

can’t be fixed with a vacation,

weekend off, or inspirational

quote. You can’t keep clinging

to the persona designed to keep

you alive on the street that’s destroying

everything at home.

The old identity, the one built

on suppression, silence, and

emotional shutdown needs to

go. It is outdated. It is corrosive.

And it’s taking everything from

you and all you love.

If you want to survive with

your marriage, purpose, meaning,

and direction intact, the old

identity must die, and you must

become someone new. You can

become whole again, rebuild

your relationships, and reclaim

your life while still being the

officer you’re proud to be.

You, your family, and your life

matter. If you’re on the edge of

burnout and despair, a better

life, marriage, and a healthier

version of you is possible, no

matter how far gone things feel.

I know, because I’ve walked this

road myself. My family lived

the internal war you’re fighting

right now, and we’ve come

out the other side. I was forced

to choose, to answer just one

question, or let everything I

cared about fade away.

This is your line in the sand.

Your kids are counting on you.

Your spouse needs you to follow

through. This is the moment.

Not tomorrow, not after

the next shift, not when things

calm down. Today. This minute.

Choose the version of you who

can actually breathe, connect,

and lead again.

LET”S GO!

My offer costs nothing financially,

but it will cost you the

mindset, identity, and life you

currently have. And it’s a price

your family and your own soul

is begging you to pay. Can I ask

you the question, and then hand

you the keys to the answer?

If this hits home but you don’t

think you can commit to that

level of change yet, please reach

out to a friend, a peer support

member, or a counselor.

Attend a conference like The

Bridge, or Heroic Deeds. Join a

program like Reboot Recovery,

Mighty Oaks, or Save a Warrior.

Read books like Vicki Newman’s

or Kevin Gilmartin’s, or listen

to a podcast like Jared Altic’s.

Check out organizations like

How 2 Love Our Cops, Proud Police

Wife, and Bless the Badge.

They’ll provide the catalyst to

point you in the right direction.

Then, we can get to the personal

and deep work of staying

consistent.

For those of you at the crisis

point and ready to commit, let’s

talk. My question WILL change

your life. We’ll work through it

together. And I’ll lead the consistency,

connection, and accountability

as we do. When you’re

ready to get your life back

again, lead your family, and

transform without ever having

to look back, I’ll be waiting.

But it’s only for the willing, for

those who have no other option,

know they can’t do this alone,

can’t fake it anymore, and are

willing to give up control. For

a cop, that’s impossible. But for

those ready to be a new person,

it’s the only thing that brings life.

Email me at Chad.campese@

gmail.com. Let me know where

you’re at. And we’ll see if you’re

a good fit for a very small pilot

group meant for those ready to

lose everything they’ve become,

while they gain purpose, meaning,

clarity, and a way forward

that brings real restoration and

life to themselves, their relationships,

and everything that truly

matters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chad Campese is a father,

husband, podcast host, author

of the books Confession of a

Christian Fraud and (Un)Following

Jesus and works as a police

officer in Central Ohio. With a BA

in Christian Counseling and Psychology

and extensive training

and experience in Peer Support

and Recovery, Chad is passionate

about supporting positive

change in first responders.

REPRINTED FROM LAW EN-

FORCEMENT TODAY


GUEST COMMENTARY

Chief Charles E. Humes, Jr.

THE INSOLENT ATTITUDE:

Do you convey something you actually hate?

Have you ever been in a hospital

with a loved one and talked

with a doctor who you felt was

belittling or arrogant, and you

perceived that he really didn’t

care about you or your loved

one’s situation? Almost all of us

have.

While you are explaining your

concerns and probing for answers,

it becomes very apparent

that Dr. Dread is impatient to

leave, hearing only about half of

what you say. His mind seems to

be elsewhere, and he’s practically

oblivious to your concerns.

The little bits of information you

can squeeze out of him condescendingly

relates to the obvious

fact that if your loved one hadn’t

contributed to their situation by

smoking, drinking or whatever,

we wouldn’t be here at all.

Haven’t we all experienced that

feeling of resentment that such

an insolent attitude creates?

“What an uncaring, unprofessional

jerk,” you mutter under

your breath. “Why doesn’t this

A.H. spend a few minutes to fill

us in on what’s going on and

how we can best remedy the

situation?”

Now, what you don’t know is

that your loved one’s condition

is not nearly as serious as the

last three patients Dr. Dread just


left, all of which have rapidly

progressing, terminal diseases.

You also don’t know that

he’s in the 19th hour of a forced

24-hour shift. Furthermore, you

don’t know that those who he

considers as his out-of-touch

administrators have unnecessarily

elevated his stress level to an

unbearable degree.

Not only do you not know these

things, you really don’t care.

What you do care about is the

situation you’re currently dealing

with. It doesn’t matter to you

that your loved one’s condition

is, when compared to terminal

illnesses, just a minor problem.

To you, it’s a problem of extreme

importance, and you expect

to be treated with dignity and

respect by those who are being

paid to help you deal with it.

Let’s contrast Dr. Dread’s actions

with the response of Dr.

Dignity. Dr. Dignity looks you in

the eye and expresses genuine

concern for your dilemma. He

takes a few minutes to respectfully

explain that he is doing

everything he can to resolve

your situation. He shows you and

your loved one empathy for your

situation and makes respectful

suggestions on how your loved

one can improve life quality with

specific lifestyle changes. Even if

he doesn’t, he at least makes you

believe he’s sincerely concerned

for you.

What if Dr. Dignity respectfully

explains he can’t actually solve

your problem? Wouldn’t that still

make you far more appreciative

of him over Dr. Dread? And

wouldn’t Dr. Dignity leave you

with a much better perception

of the medical profession as a

whole? Sure, he would. Because

everyone wants to feel that all

professionals will do their best

to help them resolve their problems.

Regardless if the patient

contributed to creating them or

not, the medical profession exists

because of such problems.

AS IT PERTAINS TO POLICE

WORK

Fast forward to the world of

police work. It’s been an exasperating

day. Two shootings, a

fatal car v. juvenile bicycle accident,

and residential burglaries

are off the hook. Your next call

sends you to the home of Mrs.

Cravits, where her car window

was shattered because her teenage

granddaughter left her purse

on the front seat. The window

is shattered, her granddaughter

is crying, and the purse is long

gone.

Now, how are you going to

Fighting for Public Safety & The Rule of Law

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BRAZORIA COUNTY

C O NSERVATIVES

PD POL ADV TODD FRANKFORT FOR JUDGE


handle this? Are you going to

show your displeasure for having

to write a report (which is partly

why your job even exists)? Are

you going to berate the teenager

for being so “stupid” to leave

her purse there (even though she

comes from a civilized small

town where people don’t do

such things, and she lacks the

life experience to understand the

criminal mentality)? Or, are you

going to respectfully explain that

not everyone has her morals and

ethics, and take the time to give

her one of life’s bitter, but important

lessons in reality?

When Mrs. Cravits asks if you’ll

be checking for DNA evidence,

are you going to crassly reply,

“You watch too much TV lady?”

Or, will you be a professional

and politely explain that DNA

processing must be performed

by trained evidence technicians,

and it’s cost prohibitive and

unfeasible for such a crime as

this? Perhaps most importantly,

will you leave that scene giving

the impression that you sincerely

care about the involved victims,

or will you leave them with the

same bitter taste that you experienced

with Dr. Dread?

You must remember that many

people will only have contact

with law enforcement when

they have been victimized. These

people turn to you, the same

way you turn to doctors when

a medical issue arises. The way

you handle yourself and talk to

these people is truly of paramount

importance in establishing

and maintaining good public

relations. Good public relations

can affect our entire profession.

For example, should one of these

victims be a juror on a police

use of force case, do you want

them to have a favorable impression

of law enforcement, or look

at us the way you remember Dr.

Dread?

DO UNTO OTHERS

As long as they will let you,

treat people the way you would

like to be treated. In the classic

words of Patrick Swayze from

the original (1989) movie Roadhouse:

“Be nice, until it’s time, to

not be nice.” Being nice doesn’t

mean dropping your guard or

squelching your willingness/

readiness to use reasonable

force. When it’s time to not be

nice, respond appropriately,

professionally and reasonably.

Based upon the totality of the

circumstances, this could range

from a verbal direction, all the

way up to deadly force.

But the next time you start to

say something to someone that

you know is inappropriate and

unprofessional, think about how

you feel about Dr. Dread. Relive

in vivid detail the sour taste that

he left you with towards the

medical profession. A noble profession,

which is actually filled

with caring, altruistic, self-sacrificing

individuals who don’t like

Dr. Dread either. Think about how

easy it really is for one individual

to give the other members of a

profession a bad rap, which they

really don’t deserve. But most

importantly, think about what

you can do to leave people with

a memory of you as being Officer

Dignity, rather than Officer

Dread.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chief Charles E. Humes, Jr. (Ret)

IICI is 40-year veteran of law

enforcement, who served over 3

decades on a large urban Police

Department, as a Special Deputy

with two Sheriff’s Departments;

and ultimately retired as

the Chief of Police of a small

rural agency. Humes was the

recipient of the 2016 Ohio Attorney

General’s Law Enforcement

Distinguished Training Award. A

2018 inductee into the National

Law Enforcement Officer Hall

of Fame; he is also an IADLEST

International Certified Instructor.

Chief Humes can be contacted at:

NoDonuts.com


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For Texas Senate District 4

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LUTTRELL

CONGRESSMAN

DISTRICT 8

BRANDON

CREIGHTON

TX SENATOR

DISTRICT 4 (RET)

WESLEY

DOOLITTLE

MONTGOMERY

CO SHERIFF

JIMMY

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GALVESTON

CO SHERIFF

BRIAN

HAWTHORNE

CHAMBERS

CO SHERIFF

As the longest-serving DA in Montgomery County, Brett Ligon has a proven

record of prosecuting corruption and organized crime. He is a champion for

public safety, border security, and fiscal responsibility. In Austin, Brett will

fight to preserve our conservative values while supporting Texas families.

Learn more: www.LigonForTexas.com | Brett@LigonForTexas.com


GUEST COMMENTARY

Our Jewish Friends Deserve Peace:

As Do We All. Happy Hanukkah.

On occasion, nuns at our Catholic

school would invite rabbis

to speak to us about the Jewish

faith. We walked away with

an understanding that although

Jews and Catholics worship differently,

we’re all equal. While

we can disagree, we do need to

treat other with basic respect.

That’s what genuine tolerance

looks like, and we were blessed

to learn this lesson -one that

applies to other religions and

cultures- early in life.

This was in the 1960s and 70s.

One would think that as a nation

and a species, we would have

progressed. Yet it’s 2025, and

anti-Semitism is at a level I’ve

never witnessed in my six-plus

decades on this planet.

It’s yet another sign that our

nation -and our world- is in

spiritual, intellectual, and moral

decline. Social media, especially,

props up some of the most

unstable, hateful, uninformed

voices who feed conspiratorial

narratives about Jews to feeble,

sick, evil minds, some of whom

go on to do the unthinkable.

There is no denying that many

Jews do indeed statistically see

higher rates of success in academia,

career, and wealth. This

is not because of some grand

conspiracy. It’s because they

tend to apply themselves, have

a solid work ethic, strong family

networks, and embrace faith.

Paula Fitzsimmons

They’re also resilient due to being

persecuted throughout 2,500

years of history. This resilience

wasn’t only necessary for their

very survival; I’d argue that it

helped them to thrive.

Our Jewish friends have a right

to life, liberty, and the pursuit

of happiness, and they shouldn’t

have to hide who they are.

As I work to advance police

and public safety legislation,

I keep in front of me that our

problems run much deeper than

any single law can fix. Let’s hope

and pray we can emerge away

from the darkness and embrace

the light.

Wishing you all light this season.

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AROUND THE COUNTRY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

National Guard Specialist Sara Beckstrom was shot and killed while patrolling the

streets of Washington as a part of President Trumps initiative to make the city safe.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Specialist

Sarah Beckstrom succumbed to

gunshot wounds she received

when she was ambushed while

on patrol near the Farragut

Square Metro Station in Washington,

D.C.

On Wednesday, November 26,

2025, a gunman walked up to

Specialist Beckstrom and two

other guardsmen and opened fire

around 2:15 p.m. While he was

standing over one of the guardsmen,

preparing to shoot again,

another guardsman returned fire,

striking the gunman.

Specialist Beckstrom and the

other guardsman were transported

to local hospitals, where

Specialist Beckstrom passed

away on November 27, 2025. The

other guardsman is in critical

condition.

The suspect remains in the

hospital recovering from gunshot

wounds. He was charged with

three counts of assault with the

intent to kill while armed and

criminal possession of a weapon,

and will be charged with

murder in the first degree.

Over 2,000 National Guard

troops have been deployed to

guard Washington, D.C. since August

2025. They are sworn in and

deputized with the United States

Department of Justice - United

States Marshals Service as certified

law enforcement officers.

Specialist Beckstrom had

served with the United States

Department of Defense - Army

National Guard - West Virginia

Army National Guard for over

two years and was assigned to

SPECIALIST SARAH BECKSTROM

AVAILABLE

the 863rd

IN THE

Military

GREATER

Police Com-HOUSTON AREA

pany, 111th Engineer Brigade. She

had been deployed to Washington,

D.C. since August 2025

and volunteered to stay for the

Thanksgiving weekend. She is

survived by her parents.

CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ORDER YOUR FIRST CARD TODAY


FIRST RESPONDERS SAVE MONEY AT SHELL


AROUND THE COUNTRY

TACOMA , WA.

Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting was struck and killed while investigating

the scene of a two-vehicle crash on State Route 509

south of the Port of Tacoma.

By Alex Halverson

The Seattle Times

TACOMA, WA. — Tacoma

police believe a second vehicle

hit a Washington State Patrol

trooper who died Friday night

on Highway 509.

Officials said Saturday that

Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting, 29,

was struck and killed in Tacoma

while she was investigating

a two-vehicle collision on

southbound Highway 509 near

milepost 2.

Tacoma police, who were

overseeing the investigation,

reported the driver who initially

hit her stayed at the scene and

has been in contact with law

enforcement. No arrests were

made.

On Sunday, police said they

were searching for a second

vehicle that hit Guting between

7:20 and 7:30 p.m., after she

was thrown into a lane of traffic.

The second vehicle didn’t

stop. Police described it as a

dark, possibly black, four-door

pickup that’s either a Chevrolet

Avalanche or a Cadillac Escalade

EXT.


No license plate information

was available, but police are

urging anyone who witnessed

the collision or who has seen

the vehicle of interest to contact

1-800-222-TIPS. Police are also

seeking dashcam footage.

Guting, who joined the State

Patrol in 2024, is the 34th trooper

lost in the line of duty. Twenty-five

were killed by crashes.

The fatal crash was one of five

incidents in the past week in

which troopers were struck by

other vehicles.

Gov. Bob Ferguson in a social

media post on Sunday urged

people to be cautious, slow

down, and move over “if they

see flashing lights.” Trooper

Rick Johnson told The Seattle

Times that risks are especially

high at roadside accidents, and

other motorists need to “slow

down” and “don’t be distracted

when driving by crash scenes.”

One trooper was struck by

a vehicle and injured Sunday

morning on Highway 512. Another

trooper was injured Friday on

Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie

Pass, according to State Patrol.

TROOPER TARA-MARYSA GUTING

Two troopers were injured

Thursday in separate incidents.

One of them had their vehicle

struck from behind on Interstate

90 near milepost 75, according

to a State Patrol social media

post. The other trooper injured

Thursday was trapped in his car

in a collision near 112th Street

South and Steele Street South in

Tacoma after a woman crossed

over the center lane while

texting, according to a Pierce

County sheriff’s office social

media post.


AROUND THE COUNTRY

CRYSTAL RIVER, FL

Corporal Marcial Rodriguez suffered a fatal heart attack after completing

his shift as a School Resource Officer at Crystal River High School.

CRYSTAL RIVER, FL. — The

Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said

they are mourning the sudden

death of a deputy and school

resource officer beloved by colleagues

and students alike.

Deputy Marcial Rodriguez died

unexpectedly the evening of

Friday, Oct. 24, immediately after

his shift, the sheriff’s office said.

They did not disclose his cause

of death.

Rodriguez had been with CCSO

since August 2000 and took on

many different roles during his

time with the department. He

spent time focusing on community

crimes, domestic violence,

crisis negotiation and was a

member of the bomb squad before

becoming a school resource

officer.

Assigned to Crystal River High

School, the sheriff’s office said

he was a valued member of the

school community. They said he

even received letters of thanks

from students who appreciated

his positive energy and steadfast

support for them.

Rodriguez was highly dedicated

to his work and was known

to lend a helping hand whenever

he could. He leaves behind a wife

and two sons, CCSO said.

“Marcial was more than just an

officer; he was a trusted mentor

for countless young people, a

beloved member of our family,

and a friend,” Sheriff David

Vincent said. “His legacy is one

of professionalism and kindness,

a true testament to his character

and compassion even in the

most trying times. As we grieve,

we stand united in honoring his

CORPORAL MARCIAL RODRIGUEZ

legacy while supporting his family

with the love and respect they

deserve.”

The sheriff’s office said details

regarding memorial services

will be released as they become

available.

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AROUND THE COUNTRY

NEW CASTLE, DE.

Corporal Grade One Ty Snook was shot and killed at the Karen L.

Johnson Division of Motor Vehicles in New Castle.

Delaware State Police have

identified the trooper who was

shot and killed at a DMV south

of Wilmington on Dec. 23 as

Cpl. Grade One Matthew T. "Ty"

Snook, a 34-year-old man from

Hockessin.

Snook, who went by Ty or

Tyler, was working an overtime

assignment behind a reception

desk when a 44-year-old man

entered the DMV, made his way

to the desk and shot Snook, according

to state police spokesperson

Cpl. Raushan Rich. The

shooting happened around 2

p.m. at the DMV on Hessler Boulevard

near New Castle.

Snook and the gunman were

taken to a hospital, where they

died. Three others, including another

officer, were injured.

Rich said Snook pushed a

DMV worker out of the way of

gunfire and was shot twice. A

New Castle County police officer

confronted the shooter and

shot him, Rich said. Police have

not publicly identified the shooter.

All Delaware DMVs remain

closed until Dec. 29.

Snook "was a respected colleague,

a trusted partner and a

beloved member of both the Delaware

State Police and the community

he served,'' according

to a state police statement that

said he was assigned to Troop 6

in Prices Corner.

Gov. Matt Meyer and other state

officials addressed Snook's death

at a press conference the evening

of Dec. 23. Snook had been

an officer with state police for 10

years.

"His last actions were that of a

hero," state police Col. William

Crotty said. "A hero who saved

lives today while sacrificing his own.

'He made himself a winner'

Snook, a Bear native, graduated

from the police academy in 2015.

CORPORAL MATTHEW SNOOK

Before then, he was an accomplished

wrestler at Saint Mark's

and the University of Maryland.

As a senior in 2009, Snook won

the individual wrestling state

championship at 171 pounds and

Saint Mark's won the Division

I dual team championship. He

earned a scholarship to Maryland

where he wrestled more than 90

matches from 2009-14.


The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is dedicated to honoring the

fallen, telling the story of American Law Enforcement and making it safer for those

who serve. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Memorial Fund built and

maintains the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the National Law

Enforcement Museum, and life-saving officer safety and wellness programs.

Memorial

Museum

Officer Safety

and Wellness

The National Law Enforcement

Officers Memorial, located in

Washington DC, honors federal, tribal,

state, and local law enforcement

officers who have made the ultimate

sacrifice for the safety and protection

of our nation and its people.

The National Law Enforcement

Museum, across the street from the

Memorial, expands and enriches

the relationship shared by law

enforcement and the communities

they serve through educational

journeys, immersive exhibitions,

and insightful programs.

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Visit NLEOMF.org for more information and to purchase museum The tickets. BLUES - JANUARY ‘26 35

AROUND THE COUNTRY

KAUFMAN, TX.

Kaufman Police Officer Austin Cooley was killed in a head-on crash

while returning home from a shift in Kaufman Texas.

HUNT COUNTY, TX. – A Wolfe

City man was killed Tuesday

in a head-on collision south of

Greenville, according to the Texas

Department of Public Safety.

DPS said the crash occurred

near the intersection of State

Highway 34 and County Road

2186, about a mile south of

Greenville.

Preliminary findings indicate

a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup was

traveling south on SH 34 when a

northbound 2005 Honda Accord

crossed into the oncoming lane

and struck the pickup head-on.

The driver of the Honda was

identified by DPS as Austin Cooley,

26. He was pronounced dead

at the scene.

Cooley served as deputy chief

of South Hunt County Fire Rescue

and was returning home after his

shift as a Kaufman police officer.

The crash remains under investigation,

and no additional information

has been released.

Officer Cooley was not only an

outstanding officer within our

department, but he was also a

caring mentor to new officers,

a trusted colleague, and a true

friend to so many. Above all,

he was a devoted husband and

father. His loss is felt deeply by

everyone who had the privilege

of knowing him and working

alongside him.

OFFICER AUSTIN COOLEY

We ask that you keep his

family, friends, and our City of

Kaufman Police Department

family in your thoughts as we

navigate this difficult


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There really is no way to put into

words the devastation left behind

by the floods in the Texas Hill

County. The loss of life, especially

those lost from the camps along

what was the peaceful Guadalupe

River, is just incomprehensible. If

you’re the sheriff or police chief

of the town in the center of the

disaster, you are obligated to hold

daily press conferences. You share

what you know and when you

knew it. That’s what Kerr County

Sheriff Larry L. Leitha tried to do.

But each time he stood in front of

the cameras, the idiots from the

mainstream media, launched into

their blame-game questions.

Owning a police magazine

means you must wear two hats,

one of a First Responder and

another as a representative of the

media. While I am proud to be a

member of the first, I am embarrassed

to admit I have anything

to do with the latter. The outright

disrespect I witnessed from the

media towards the officials in Kerrville,

just trying to do their jobs

in unimaginable circumstances,

was unbelievable.

Sheriff Leitha showed great

restraint in dealing with these

lowlife reporters. Most I assume

were not from Texas. His job was

hard enough without Monday

Morning Quarterbacks criticizing

him for his every move. I wish my

good friend Sheriff Grady Judd

from Florida could spend a day


SPECIAL MEMORIAL ON PAGE 229


AROUND THE COUNTRY

BLOUNT CNTY-, TN.

Blount County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Mowery, 30, died in a

car crash while on his patrol shift Sunday, Dec. 28th.

BLOUNT CNTY, TN. (WATE) —

Blount County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Justin Mowery, 30,

died in a car crash while on

his patrol shift Sunday afternoon,

said Sheriff James Lee

Berrong.

“I am heartbroken. This is

devastating for his family,

his shift-mates, this agency,

and our community,” Berrong

said. “We appreciate the swift

response of the Tennessee

Highway Patrol, and together

we are working to determine

how the accident happened.

We are also thankful for the

response from all of the surrounding

law enforcement

agencies as well as the offers

for assistance from agencies

across the state.”

Mowery previously served as

a security officer at the University

of Tennessee Medical

Center. He graduated from

BCSO’s regional training academy

in October 2020 and was

assigned to evening shift as

a patrol deputy. In December

DEPUTY JUSTIN MOWERY

2021, he earned a spot on the

SWAT team, BCSO said.


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There really is no way to put into

words the devastation left behind

by the floods in the Texas Hill

County. The loss of life, especially

those lost from the camps along

what was the peaceful Guadalupe

River, is just incomprehensible. If

you’re the sheriff or police chief

of the town in the center of the

disaster, you are obligated to hold

daily press conferences. You share

what you know and when you

knew it. That’s what Kerr County

Sheriff Larry L. Leitha tried to do.

But each time he stood in front of

the cameras, the idiots from the

mainstream media, launched into

their blame-game questions.

Owning a police magazine

means you must wear two hats,

one of a First Responder and

another as a representative of the

media. While I am proud to be a

member of the first, I am embarrassed

to admit I have anything

to do with the latter. The outright

disrespect I witnessed from the

media towards the officials in Kerrville,

just trying to do their jobs

in unimaginable circumstances,

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Sheriff Leitha showed great

restraint in dealing with these

lowlife reporters. Most I assume

were not from Texas. His job was

hard enough without Monday

Morning Quarterbacks

SPECIAL

criticizing

MEMORIAL ON PAGE 229

him for his every move. I wish my

good friend Sheriff Grady Judd

from Florida could spend a day


AROUND THE COUNTRY

ST. LOUIS, MO.

St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery removed from office by Judge Steven Ohmer.

ST. LOUIS. – Less than a year after

taking office, Alfred Montgomery

has been removed as St. Louis Sheriff,

according to a judge’s ruling.

Retired Judge Steven Ohmer, who

was appointed by the Missouri Supreme

Court to oversee the St. Louis

Sheriff’s removal case, also ordered

Montgomery to pay for court costs

associated with the proceedings.

Former Missouri Attorney General

Andrew Bailey filed the quo warranto

case against Montgomery in

June, outlining six counts of alleged

misconduct:

• Failure to perform duties of the

office of the St. Louis Sheriff (while

jailed)

• Unlawfully detaining acting St.

Louis Jail Commissioner Tammy

Ross

• Unlawfully detaining and disarming

private security guard Darryl

Wilson

• Failure to transport inmates for

physical and mental health treatment

• Illegal use of the office for personal

gain

• Financial mismanagement of the

office

Judge Ohmer ruled four of the six

allegations did not meet the standards

for removal from office. However,

the judge found Montgomery

was in “clear violation of his duties

and responsibilities as Sheriff” in his

actions against Ross and Wilson,

representing “improper interference

in the orderly enforcement of


the criminal laws by the St. Louis

Metropolitan Police Department.”

Montgomery has been locked

up since mid-October on federal

charges of witness tampering

and retaliation. John Hayden Jr.,

the former St. Louis police chief,

has served as interim sheriff

since then.

David Mason, attorney for

the sheriff’s office, spoke with

reporters after the judge’s ruling.

Mason believes Montgomery

ruffled too many feathers at the

start of his term.

In a statement, Missouri Attorney

General Catherine Hhanaway

called Montgomery’s ouster “a

win” for the city.

“Corruption in public office

must not be tolerated. The removal

of Alfred Montgomery is

a win for the people of St. Louis

and a step towards restoring

integrity and trust in our government

and the rule of law,” she

said. “Missourians deserve better

from those in positions of trust.

Our Office will continue using the

full force of the law to hold any

misconduct or malfeasance in

public office accountable.”

It was just over one month

after being sworn in as St. Louis

Sheriff Alfred Montgomery was

already surrounded by intense

and sometimes bizarre controversies.

From reports Montgomery

used dice to discipline,

to allegations he exceeded his

authority as sheriff. It was only February

2025, and Montgomery had

already caught the FBI’s attention.

“It sounds like robbery,” attorney

Bobby Bailey said about Montgomery’s

interaction with former

deputy Darryl Wilson. Wilson was

disarmed by the sheriff’s office at

Wilson’s private security job.

“He has no power whatsoever

to take my weapon,” Wilson said

during a February interview with

FOX 2 News.

Montgomery said he was ensuring

that outside security jobs were

done right and he defended his dice

discipline game as a de-escalation

tactic after the following recording

came out.



AROUND THE COUNTRY

PROVIDENCE, RI.

Brown University Police Chief Rodney Chatman, placed on leave after

fatal campus shooting.

By Kimberlee Kruesi,

Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Brown

University’s president on Monday

placed its campus police chief

on leave as the Rhode Island

university reviews its security

policies after a gunman killed

two students and injured nine

others earlier this month.

Questions surrounding Brown’s

security policies have intensified

since the Dec. 13 shooting that

rocked the Providence community

and led to a lengthy search

for the killer. Much of the focus

has centered on whether the

Ivy League school had security

cameras installed in the building

where the attack took place

and the overall ease of accessing

campus buildings.

University President Christina

Paxson said Rodney Chatman

will be replaced by Hugh T. Clements,

former police chief of the

Providence Police Department.

Chatman had previously faced

a vote of no confidence by the

union representing school police

officers in October. Local media

outlets reported at the time that

the union said the vote reflected

“serious concerns over the failed

leadership, contract violations,

and policies that jeopardize public

safety.”

The scrutiny over the school’s

security has led to an investigation

by the U.S. Department

of Education, which said earlier

Monday that officials are asking

Brown for information to help

determine if school officials

violated federal campus safety

and security requirements. This

has included seeking security

reports, audits, dispatch and call

logs, and when emergency notifications

have been utilized.


By Jenna Curren

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A statement

sent to U.S. Border Patrol

agents that was obtained by

NewsNation states that border

patrol agents will stop using

body-worn cameras immediately

By

in

Matthew

all field operations.

Holloway,

Law

The announcement

Enforcement Today

comes

after

REVERE,

social

MA.

media

- An

posts

illegal

revealed

immigrant

how to identify

from

border

the Dominican

patrol

Republic

agents as

was

well

arrested

as Customs

for possession

and

Enforcement

of over

(ICE)

$1 million

agents.

worth

The

of

memo

fentanyl

stated,

and

"All

an

U.S.

AR-15

Border

rifle

on

Patrol

December

Agents

27

will

in

cease

a state

the

taxpayer-subsidized

use

of body-worn cameras

hotel room

(BWC)

of

Massachusetts’

in all operational

emergency

environments."

housing

The

program.

directive follows notification

"regarding

Leonardo

a

Andujar

potential

Sanchez,

security

28,

as

risk."

reported by Fox News, was

arrested

The statement

by the Revere

read, "Pending

completion

Police

Department and

of

was

investigation

arrested

on

and

firearm

risk mitigation,

charges, including

all Agents

an

alien

will stand

in possession

down the

of

use

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of their

and

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for

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cameras]

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notice.

lethal

Additional

guidance and information

synthetic

drug.

will

According

be disseminated

to a press

as

release

it is

from

received."

Immigration

On the social

and Customs

media

platform Reddit,

Enforcement (ICE) Andujar

one user

Sanchez

claimed

is currently

that agents

in state

could

custody

be

identified

and is under

by using

an immigration

BLE Radar by

detainer.

F-Dorid. BLE Radar is a mobile

application

Enforcement

that

and

functions

Removal

by

Operations

scanning for

Boston

Bluetooth

acting

low-energy

devices

Field

Office Director

like

Patricia

phones,

H.

smartwatches,

Hyde

told reporters,

and speakers.

“Mr. Andujar

has

Other

been

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accused

media

of serious

posts

crimes, and ERO Boston takes

stated that the devices can be

tracked from a distance of 100

yards or more and can trigger

improvised explosive device attacks.

Fox News reported that the

cameras used by border patrol

agents are Avon body cameras,

which the social media post

claims are devices BLE Radar and

can be detected.



AROUND THE COUNTRY

LEXINGTON, N.C.

Lexington Officer Kaitlin Crook, 25, was killed in a shooting that also injured

her estranged husband, an off-duty firefighter, and her boyfriend.

By Sarah Roebuck, Police1

LEXINGTON, N.C. — An off-duty

Lexington police officer was killed

in a shooting that also left two others

wounded, including an off-duty

firefighter, police said.

Lexington police officers responded

to reports of a shooting around

9 p.m. on Dec. 17 in a parking lot

on Cedar Lane Drive, outside the

Home and Appliance King store near

Cotton Grove Road, The Charlotte

Observer reports. Officers found

three people suffering from multiple

gunshot wounds.

Police identified the victims as

Kaitlin Crook, 25, Joshua Moore, 31,

and Zachary Rogers, 35.

Crook, a Lexington Police Department

officer, was off duty at the

time and was pronounced dead at

the scene.

Rogers, a Lexington firefighter and

Crook’s estranged husband, was

transported to the hospital in critical

condition. He was also off duty

at the time of the shooting, police

said. Moore, a Thomasville resident

and Crook’s current boyfriend, was

also taken to the hospital and is reported

to be in stable condition and

expected to recover.

Police said both men were armed

when they encountered each other

in the parking lot and shots were

fired, striking all three individuals.

Crook was the only person fatally

wounded, police said.


Two handguns were recovered at

the scene — one believed to belong

to Rogers and another believed

to belong to Moore, according to

police. Authorities said no other individuals

are believed to have been

involved in the incident.

“There are no words that can adequately

capture the weight of what

so many people are feeling during

this terrible and devastating time,”

Lexington Police Chief Robby D.

Rummage said in a statement. “Losing

a police officer is every chief’s

worst nightmare. My heart is heavy,

and my prayers are with everyone

touched by this tragedy.”

The Lexington Police Department

has made counseling and support

services available to its officers.

Lexington Fire Chief Michael R.

Tofano also addressed the incident,

calling it “a profound tragedy that

deeply affects the public safety

family in the City of Lexington

as well as all City employees, the

Lexington community and beyond,”

WXII reports. The fire department

has also made counseling services

available to its personnel.

The North Carolina State Bureau

of Investigation is leading the investigation.

“There are a lot of things we

simply don’t know yet about this

terrible tragedy,” Chief Rummage

said. “We simply have to wait for

the NCSBI investigation to answer

those questions.”

The North Carolina Fraternal

Order of Police issued a statement

extending condolences to Crook’s

family, friends and colleagues.

“The North Carolina Fraternal

Order of Police extends our deepest

condolences to the family, friends,

and colleagues of Officer Kaitlin

Crook of the Lexington Police Department,

who was tragically killed

last night. Officer Crook was not

on duty at the time of the incident,

and media reports indicate this was

a domestic violence situation. As

we approach the holiday season,

we ask everyone to keep all those

affected by this heartbreaking loss

in your thoughts and prayers.”

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AROUND THE COUNTRY

MINT HILL, N.C.

Two Mint Hill police officers stable after being shot following child custody exchange.

By Michael Warrick

MINT HILL, N.C. (WBTV) - The

two Mint Hill police officers critically

wounded during a shooting

Friday morning are now in stable

condition, the Mint Hill Police

Department said.

The officers had responded to a

call of a child custody exchange

before 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 26,

at the Edible Arrangements on

Matthews-Mint Hill Road.

The man involved in that exchange

pulled a gun on officers,

and a shootout ensued, investigators

said.

Two officers were shot, and

the man was shot and killed,

according to the police department.

Based on where crime

scene investigators focused their

attention on Friday, it appeared

the shooting happened inside the

store.

Kevin Phayme manages Empire

Pizza & Bar across the street. His

employees told him that the officers

entered the Edible Arrangements

and come out bloodied.

“Everything happened so

quickly, just seeing an officer

with blood on his hands and

another one down,” Phayme said.

“Our hearts go out to them because

they come to Empire Pizza

often and they frequent here so

our prayers go out to them and

their families.”

Phayme said first-responders

swarmed the scene following the

shooting to immediately treat the

officers.

Phayme was encouraged to

hear the officers were stable.

“Comforting, of course our

prayers still go out to them

because nobody every wants to

receive that call,” Phayme said.

Mint Hill Police said they’d

provide an update on the investigation

Saturday. They had not

released the identities of the

suspect who was killed or the

officers who were injured.



AROUND THE COUNTRY

MCDONOUGH, GA.

Henry County Sheriff's Office has promoted Shaquille 'Shaq' O'neal

to Chief of Community Relations.


By Joanna Putman, Police1

McDONOUGH, GA. — The

Henry County Sheriff’s Office

announced on Christmas Day

the promotion of Shaquille

O’Neal to Chief of Community

Relations, expanding his role in

public safety leadership with a

focus on strengthening community

trust through service.

O’Neal, who has served as the

department’s Director of Community

Relations since 2018,

will continue his work under

an elevated title that reflects

both his ongoing impact and

the agency’s strategy to build

stronger relationships between

law enforcement and residents,

according to the release.

Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett

praised O’Neal’s influence and

community-focused leadership.

“When relationships are

strong, communication improves,

cooperation increases

and prevention becomes possible,”

Scandrett said. “This promotion

recognizes the impact

he’s already made and positions

the agency to expand that work

countywide.”

During O’Neal’s five-year tenure,

the department has documented:

• 370 community events hosted

or supported

• 25,000 meals provided to

families through youth initiatives

and holiday programs

• 15,000 gifts distributed

through the Shop with a Deputy

program

• Over 42,000 community interactions

recorded

“These numbers reflect something

bigger than outreach; they

reflect access and trust,” Scandrett

added.

O’Neal’s work has included

signature programs such as

the Shaquille O’Neal Sports

Spectacular Summer Camp, the

Thanks4Giving holiday meal

distribution and the Ride4Unity

community bike ride. These

initiatives aim to foster positive,

consistent contact between

deputies and residents — particularly

youth and families.

“Public safety works best

when the community and law

enforcement work together,”

O’Neal said. “This role is about

being present and creating

opportunities for our youth and

families. I’m honored to serve

Henry County in this way.”

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AROUND THE COUNTRY

WALLACE, ID.

Three people were injured as suspect opened fire in the Shoshone

County Sheriff’s Office lobby before being shot and killed.

By Garrett Cabeza

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane,

Wash.

WALLACE, ID — It was a normal

post- Christmas day in Wallace

until gunshots rang out.

Some who heard the gunfire

didn’t worry at first.

Perhaps, it a hunter in the

surrounding mountains, a car

backfire or fireworks. But reality

set in when they saw the

flashing lights from dozens of

law enforcement vehicles from

multiple agencies swarming

downtown outside the Shoshone

County Sheriff’s Office.

“It was so loud that the windows

in my apartment in here

were shaking,” Mike Lighty said

of the gunshots Friday.

Lighty, 67, lives in an apartment

next door to the sheriff’s

office.

The gunman had entered the

sheriff’s office lobby about 2:30

p.m. and started firing before

law enforcement eventually shot

and killed him 1 hour and 45

minutes later, Shoshone County

Sheriff William Eddy told reporters

Friday.

Two civilian women and an officer

were injured by the shooter,

who Eddy identified Saturday as


77-year-old John Drake, of nearby

Mullan, Idaho.

Eddy said he didn’t know

Drake’s motive, and he’s “not sure

we ever will.”

He said Drake shot two women

who were sitting in a pickup

outside the sheriff’s office, in the

legs. He initially said an officer

was shot in the ear inside the

sheriff’s office but clarified Saturday

that the officer, who law

enforcement has not identified,

got hit in the ear with a glass

shard caused by Drake’s gunfire.

Eddy said all three victims’

injuries were minor. Drake had

several guns with him at the time

of the shooting, he said.

Eddy said Saturday that no one

ever expects someone to come

into the sheriff’s office and open fire.

On Saturday at the sheriff’s

office, yellow tape blocked the

entrance to the building with

tiny shards of glass on the top

step. At least seven bullet holes

marked by detectives could be

seen on the exterior walls and

edge of the front door. A tall,

thin window was shattered, and

cardboard was affixed as a temporary

replacement.

Eddy told reporters that Idaho

State Police is investigating the

officer-involved shooting and the

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office

and Coeur d’Alene Police Department

are handing the “criminal”

side of the shooting.

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AROUND THE COUNTRY

ACROSS THE US

The Latest Breaking News as we go LIVE.

OHIO POLICE CAPTURE

11-YEAR-OLD DRIVER, TWO

JUVENILE PASSENGERS AFTER

PURSUIT OF STOLEN CAR


NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, OH — An

11-year-old boy led Newburgh

Heights Police on a pursuit in a

stolen vehicle, with two other

children, ages 8 and 12, riding

along, WKYC reported.

After the car was reported stolen

out of Parma, a license plate

reader alerted officers as the

vehicle traveled along Harvard

Avenue, Police Chief John Majoy

said. When police attempted to

initiate a traffic stop, the young

driver fled, leading officers on a

pursuit.

That pursuit ended abruptly

when the car made a sharp left

turn, lost control and crashed

into the side of a house, according

to the report. No injuries

were reported.

The children fled the scene on

foot but were quickly apprehended.

Body camera shows the

juveniles being apprehended

at gunpoint after attempting to

hide in a backyard.

Majoy said the children told

officers they learned how to


steal the vehicle by watching

YouTube videos. Police said they

used a USB cable to break into

the steering column and start

the car, a method linked to viral

social media trends targeting

specific car models.

“In the pictures that we have,

you can see where the steering

column cracked and they had

used the USB to basically hot

wire the car,” Majoy told WKYC.

CLICK TO WATCH

All three children were released

to their parents. Charges

will be filed in juvenile court.

“This has got to be a record for

the youngest driver in a pursuit

that I’ve ever seen,” Majoy said.

“Eleven years old ... that’s incredible.”

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KNIFE-WIELDING MAN STABS

HOUSTON OFFICER IN THE

HEAD BEFORE FATAL OIS

By Sarah Roebuck

HOUSTON, TX — Houston police

released body-worn camera video

showing the tense moments

before an officer was stabbed in

the head during a confrontation

that ended in a fatal officer-involved

shooting outside a downtown

CVS.

The incident happened around

7:25 p.m. on Nov. 23 at a CVS on

Milam Street, according to the

Houston Police Department. In

the video, a man approaches

two officers and asks for help.

Sandoval appeared upset about

leaving his cereal and milk on a

bus.

As officers attempted to speak

with him, the man became

increasingly agitated, the body

camera footage shows.

“You came to us for help. We’re

trying to help you, do you understand

that?” one officer can be

heard saying in the video.

“Yes, I know. But do not try

me,” the man responded.

Officers repeatedly told the

suspect to stop reaching into his

pocket as his tone escalated.

“Don’t try me. You get closer,

and I’m gonna [expletive] you

up,” the suspect said.

Despite continued efforts to

calm him, the man refused to

comply with officers’ verbal

commands. At one point, he told

officers his apartment complex

was being attacked, according to

the video.

According to HPD, officers attempted

to detain the man for a

possible mental health investigation.

During the encounter, police

say the suspect produced a knife


and stabbed Officer J. Garza behind

his left ear, causing a large

laceration to his head.

Officers and the suspect fell to

the ground as they struggled to

gain control of the knife. During

the struggle, Officer R. Perales

fired his duty weapon, striking

the suspect at least once. Houston

Fire Department paramedics

pronounced the suspect dead at

the scene.

Garza was transported to Memorial

Hermann Hospital in the

Texas Medical Center, where he

was treated and later released,

police said. Perales was not injured

in the incident.

CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER

SHOT IN VEST

CHICAGO – A Chicago police

officer was shot in his vest, and

two other people were injured

in an exchange of gunfire on the

city’s South Side early Sunday,

officials said.

The officer was briefly hospitalized

but is now at home,

according to ABC7.

Chicago police said officers responded

to a disturbance call in

the Morgan Park neighborhood

just before 1 a.m. Responding

CLICK TO WATCH

officers found a group of people,

including two men, 35 and 18

years old, who were involved in

an altercation.

The officers tried to separate

the men, and a suspect’s gun

went off, striking a victim and an

officer’s vest.

Another officer returned fire,

striking the suspect and accidentally

striking the victim, CPD

officials said.

The 18-year-old victim was

transported to the University of

Chicago Medical Center in fair

condition.

The 35-year-old offender was

taken to Christ Hospital in fair

condition. Charges against the

offender are still pending as they

remain in police custody.

BWC SHOWS MICH. OFFI-

CERS SHOOT MAN WHO CAR-

JACKED BYSTANDER, FIRED AT

ATF AGENTS


DETROIT — The Detroit Police

Department released aerial,

dash camera and body camera

footage showing a man fleeing

officers, carjacking bystanders

and firing shots at ATF agents

before being shot by officers.

The Nov. 14 incident began

when Detroit Police officers,

Michigan State Police officers

and ATF agents were working

to arrest a suspect linked to one

non-fatal shooting and 11 shots

fired incidents, according to the

release. The release includes 911

audio from the shooting incident.

Air unit footage from the day

of the attempted arrest shows

the suspect running to get into a

vehicle and fleeing from officers.

The officers and agents were advised

not to pursue the vehicle,

and instead allow the air unit to

track the suspect’s location.

Aerial footage shows the suspect,

still in the vehicle, handing

an object to an unknown individual

as officers approached

his location. Officers turned their

lights and sirens on, now actively

pursuing the suspect, but he

ignored them and continued to

flee.

Video shows the suspect

pointing a gun at bystanders and

attempting to carjack them. He

then successfully carjacked a

different individual, firing shots

at ATF agents before fleeing

again.

The vehicle pursuit came to a

stop when Michigan State Police

troopers performed a PIT maneuver,

causing the suspect vehicle

to roll over and land upright.

Dash camera footage shows the

man getting out of the car and

fleeing with a gun in his hand.

Body camera footage from

an officer identified as “Officer

A” shows the suspect running

toward him, ignoring orders to

drop the weapon. Stabilized and

slowed footage shows the man

holding the gun and raising it

near his chest. The officer fired

multiple shots, striking the man.

The man was taken to a hospital

in critical condition, according

to the release. His handgun

was recovered at the scene.

The suspect was indicted by a

federal grand jury on Dec. 10 for

carjacking, assaulting and attempting

to murder ATF Special

Agents, and weapons offenses,

United States Attorney Jerome F.

Gorgon Jr. announced.

CLICK TO WATCH

MISSOURI SHERIFF ACCUSED

OF ORDERING DEPUTIES TO

STOP DWI ENFORCEMENT

CARROLL COUNTY, MO. — Federal

and state records reviewed

by KCTV5 Investigates show an

unusual gap in drunk driving enforcement

by the Carroll County

Sheriff’s Office, fueling allegations

from former deputies that

Sheriff William Jewell McCoy directed

staff to stop making DWI

arrests, a claim he denies.

Two former Carroll County

deputies, speaking anonymously

and identified only as “John” and

“Steve,” told KCTV5 they left the

agency within the past year after

what they described as pressure

and job threats tied to DWI

enforcement in the rural county


of fewer than 8,500 residents,

headquartered in Carrollton.

According to the former deputies,

the sheriff discouraged

impaired-driving arrests and

pushed for alternatives. “John”

said McCoy’s “big thing” was

that if a deputy encountered a

drunk driver, they should call the

Missouri State Highway Patrol

or have the driver call someone

for a ride. “Steve” said the sheriff

told deputies he would rather

deal with a “1050,” a crash,

than a DUI, and described a staff

meeting in which deputies were

allegedly told to stop writing

DWI cases and instead issue tickets

for careless and imprudent

driving before ending their shifts.

Publicly reported numbers

show enforcement has fallen

off. The sheriff’s office reported

16 DWI arrests in 2024 and said

it has made nine this year, but

state case-filing records for 2025

show only seven sheriff’s office

DWI filings, with other DWI

cases in the county attributed to

the Highway Patrol and the Carrollton

Police Department. Most

notably, the Missouri State Judicial

Records Committee provided

records indicating the Carroll

County Sheriff’s Office has not

had a DWI case in the court system

since April 16, 2025.

State records also indicate DWI

enforcement did not disappear

from Carroll County altogether.

Since late April 2025, there have

been 19 DWI cases in the county,

with seven handled by Carrollton

Police and 12 by the Missouri

State Highway Patrol.

McCoy rejected the allegation

that his office stopped enforcing

drunk driving laws. In an earlier

interview cited by KCTV5,

he said drivers stopped under

the influence “get brought in.”

When confronted outside the

courthouse in November about

the absence of sheriff’s office

DWI cases since April, he initially

declined comment, later saying,

“people here, we just ain’t

catching no DWI offenders,” and

adding, “Well, you don’t stop a

vehicle every day.”

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MAN WIELDING MACHETE

SCREAMS AT OKLA. OFFICERS

TO KILL HIM, CHARGES AT

THEM BEFORE FATAL OIS


OKLAHOMA CITY, OK. — The

Oklahoma City Police Department

released body camera

footage showing a man armed

with a machete charging at

officers before they fatally shot

him.

The Nov. 18 incident began

when officers were dispatched

to respond to an assault with a

deadly weapon call, according

to the release. When officers

arrived on the scene, they found

the victim of a machete attack.

They did not find the suspect at

the scene.

Officers returned to the scene

when they were notified that

the suspect was spotted there.

Body camera footage shows the

officers locating the suspect,

still armed with the machete.

The man can be heard yelling

at officers to kill him as they

approached.

“We just want to talk ... hang

on, just hang out and talk to

me,” one officer can be heard

saying.

Video shows the man running

away from officers and toward

the original victim’s location. He

ignored officers’ commands to

drop the machete. The officers

then deployed TASERs and a

less-lethal impact round.

The man can be seen maintaining

hold on the weapon,

even as he appeared to react to

the effects of the TASER. Security

footage then shows him

charging toward the officers.

Officers instructed the man to

drop the weapon as he continued

running toward them, prompting

three officers to fire their weapons.

The suspect was taken to a hospital,

where he later died, according

to the release.

ALABAMA: SUSPECT OPENS

FIRE ON DEPUTIES IN WILD I-20

CHASE

BY Jenna Curren,

Law Enforcement Today

CALHOUN COUNTY, AL - A duo

is in custody after shots were

exchanged Friday night between

police and a suspect during a

two-county police pursuit on

CLICK TO WATCH

Interstate 20 (I-20) in east Alabama.

The pursuit began in Calhoun

County and ended in Cleburne

County with one of the suspects

standing on top of a vehicle

in a brief standoff with police,

AL.com reported. The incident

began sometime before 8:30

p.m. when Calhoun County

Sheriff Fallon Hurst said deputies

were trying to serve an arrest

warrant in the Oxford area.

From there, a police pursuit

ensued. "The suspect opened fire

on the deputies throughout the

pursuit," Hurst said. "The pursuit

was ultimately ended on I-20


in Cleburne County, where an exchange

of gunfire took place."

Cleburne County Sheriff's officials

stated that they were notified

that the pursuit was entering

their county. Deputies joined in

on Highway 78 just outside of

Heflin. During the pursuit, shots

were fired. As the pursuit crossed

into Cleburne County near the

old barbecue hut outside Heflin,

Calhoun County deputies were

joined by Cleburne County deputies

and a Heflin police officer,

Anniston Star reported.

The vehicle traveled onto

Almon Street and then back onto

I-20, where it eventually crashed

near mile marker 199. "Once or

twice it was gunfire ... I won't say

exchange, the suspect shot at

officers," Heflin Police Chief Ross

McGlaughlin said. He said one of

his officers attempted to move

into position to perform a PIT

maneuver to stop the vehicle,

but was forced to back off as the

suspect continued firing.

After the stop, more shots

were fired, and the suspect ran

into a wooded area. The suspect

reportedly carjacked another

motorist during the incident before

finally being taken into custody.

"He came out on the eastbound

side, where he carjacked

a family," McGlaughlin said.

"He then took that vehicle back

westbound on the eastbound

side, wrecked it in the median,

went out and tried to carjack an

18-wheeler, and ended up on the

roof of it."

A female passenger was also

taken into custody. No one was

hit by the gunfire. The investigation

shut down parts of the interstate

before it finally reopened

at 1:45 a.m. Saturday. Authorities


said that there was no ongoing

threat to the public. Additional

details about the suspect and

potential charges have not yet

been released.

SAN DIEGO TO PAY $30M TO

FAMILY OF 16-YEAR-OLD FA-

TALLY SHOT BY LEO

By Teri Figueroa,

The San Diego Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO, CA. — San Diego

is poised to pay $30 million to

the family of a teenager who

was fatally shot by a San Diego

police officer in a split-second

encounter outside Santa Fe Depot

earlier this year.

Konoa Wilson, 16, was running

away from someone shooting at

him on the train platform when

he emerged from a corridor onto

Kettner Boulevard and into the

path of Officer Dan Gold II, who

was running toward the gunfire.

Konoa was shot within seconds

of their encounter the night

of Jan. 28, according to footage

from the officer’s body-worn

camera.

The teen’s parents alleged in

CLICK TO WATCH

CLICK TO WATCH

the lawsuit, filed in San Diego

Superior Court, that Gold opened

fire “instantly, without any warning,”

in violation of Konoa’s civil

rights, as well as state law and

San Diego police use-of-force

standards.

The lawsuit moved very quickly.

The teen’s parents sued the

city and Gold in June. The City

Council voted to approve a tentative

$30 million settlement in

closed session in late September.

Attorney Nicholas Rowley, who

is part of the team that represented

Konoa’s parents, said the

$30 million amount was the only

offer made. “That is the number

we gave them,” he said.

“I’ve never seen a city take

responsibility so quickly,” Rowley

said. “It’s really noble. It really is.

It was an officer out there trying

to keep people safe. It was a

mistake.”

Rowley, who said he does trial

work across the country, said he

believes the amount represents

the largest-ever settlement in

a police shooting case. It tops

the $27 million settlement the

city of Minneapolis reached in

the death of George Floyd, although

that case did not involve

a shooting.

The San Diego City Council is

slated to vote Tuesday on whether

to authorize the payment, and

the expected settlement also

covers the officer, whom the

teen’s family also sued.

“The settlement is a business

decision and the result of

a compromise and dismissal of

the litigation proceedings and is

not an admission of liability by

any party,” the memo reads. “City

and its representatives specifically

disclaim any liability or

responsibility to Plaintiff.”

San Diego must pay $5 million

of the sum, according to the City

Attorney’s Office. The remaining

$25 million will come from

a public liability fund in which

several municipalities pool money

to help cover liabilities.

Gold had been a San Diego

police officer for two years at

the time of the shooting. A police

spokesperson confirmed Friday

that Gold is working for the

department in an administrative

capacity. The spokesperson

declined further comment on the

expected settlement because the

matter is still pending.

VA. STATE POLICE TROOPER

RESCUES MAN FROM BURNING

TESLA

By Samuel B. Parker,

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

CAROLINE COUNTY, VA. — Virginia

State Police say a state

trooper and multiple civilians

on Friday saved a Maryland man

from a burning vehicle in Caroline

County.

Foday Kanu, 34, of Upper Marlboro,

Maryland, was driving a

2024 Tesla Model Y northbound

on Interstate 95 early Friday

morning when he veered off the

road and struck a tree, police

said. Sgt. S. Page, who was also

traveling on I-95, stopped to

check on the driver just as the

Tesla burst into flames.

Police said the vehicle doors

were locked and could not be

opened, forcing Page to break a

window, cut the airbag and pull

Kanu to safety. Multiple motorists

also stopped to assist Page,

police said.

Kanu was transported to a

local hospital with serious injuries

that are not considered

life-threatening.

Police said road conditions

from winter weather are considered

a factor in the crash, which

remains under investigation.

Page, in an interview after the

fact, said he went back to the

vehicle afterward to ensure that

there was “nobody else in the

car.”

“I think it literally happened

seconds before I pulled up,” he

said. “If I hadn’t gone northbound,

I don’t know if anybody

CLICK TO WATCH

else would have stopped.”

N.J. OFFICERS WILL BE RE-

QUIRED TO RETAKE 2019 SER-

GEANT’S EXAM, RISKING DE-

MOTION IF THEY FAIL


PATERSON, N.J. — More than

100 New Jersey officers will be

required to retake a sergeant’s

exam administered in 2019 —

and if they fail, they’ll be demoted,

PIX11 reported.

The ruling by the New Jersey

Civil Service Commission comes

after the state found the final

10 questions of the exam to be

prejudicial towards minorities,

according to the report. The

commission nullified the results

of that exam and ordered at least

30 Paterson Police officers and

70 Newark Police officers.

One sergeant who took the

2019 exam told PIX11 that the

questions called for “cut-anddry”

answers regarding Attorney

General guidelines.

The Paterson Police Superior

Officers Association has filed an

appeal, alleging the decision

was arbitrary and that it should

be reviewed by the Appellate Division,

according to the report.


The Division ruled in August

that the Commission’s removal

of the final questions lacked

evidence to prove they were

discriminatory and was unfair

to officers who answered all the

questions. The Commission cited

an unusually high skip rate by

Black and Hispanic officers on

the questions as the reason for

their removal.

Community leaders also objected

to the retest, saying that

having officers serving in higher

ranks demoted would cause

organizational chaos.

“We are standing in solidarity

to let everyone know that these

promotions must stand,” said

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh.

FLORIDA DEPUTIES ARREST

INTERPOL SUSPECT AFTER HE

FLEES WRONG WAY ON IN-

TERSTATE, STEALS VAN


ST. JOHN’S COUNTY, FL. — The

St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office

released body camera video

showing the arrest of a suspect

wanted by INTERPOL.

Dash camera and body camera

footage shows the suspect

pulling into a parking lot and

stopping his vehicle during a

Dec. 4 traffic stop. A St. John’s

County deputy then approached

his open window and asked if

he had his ID or a photo of it.

The man then appeared to type

something on his phone.

“You come back here with me,

my man, and I’m just going to

get all your information while

you’re back here with me,” the

deputy said.

The suspect then hit the gas

and drove away from the stop.


Video initially shows him driving

the wrong way into interstate

traffic, but he eventually turned

around and continued to flee.

Dash cam footage shows deputies

performing a PIT maneuver,

causing the suspect vehicle

to crash into a barrier in the

median.

The man then got out of the

vehicle, crossed the interstate

and ran into a wooded area as

officers pursued him on foot.

Body camera shows an officer

running after the man, learning

over the radio that the suspect

had stolen a van.

Video from the St. John’s Sheriff’s

Air Unit shows the van weaving

through traffic before turning

to flee alongside railroad tracks.

As officers in cruisers tracked

down the man, he can be seen

abandoning the stolen van on the

railroad tracks and fleeing into

the woods.

The suspect was arrested

about three hours later after an

air unit tracked his location and

a K-9 was deployed. The suspect

was listed as an armed and dangerous

INTERPOL fugitive with a

warrant out of the Bahamas for

CLICK TO WATCH

aggravated robbery, according to

the release. He also had warrants

in Florida for possession of

meth and resisting law enforcement.

He was charged in the St.

John’s County incident for fleeing

and eluding law enforcement,

grand theft motor vehicle

and possession of marijuana.

MAN OPENS FIRE AT MICH.

OFFICERS, INCLUDING TRAIN-

EE, BEFORE FATAL OIS

By John Agar

mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI. — A newly

hired Grand Rapids police officer

engaged in a shootout last

month, the second time that a

new hire has been involved in

such an incident.

This time, it ended in the death

of a man who opened fire on

police.

Chief Eric Winstrom on Monday,

Dec. 8, shared video of the

violent weekend encounter with

a domestic-assault suspect.

The 51-year-old man’s name

has not been released.

The recently hired officer was

among three officers on Satur-

day who unloaded firearms at

the gunman during a high-risk

traffic stop. Police were down

the street after a woman – who

reported a domestic assault earlier

in the day – said the suspect

had just sent her texts saying he

had a gun and was going to kill

himself. Police had set up near

the suspect’s home to determine

their next steps when he came

out.

Police were near the suspect’s

home to determine their next

steps when he came out, got

his in his vehicle and drove off.

A field-training officer directed

the new officer to park behind

the suspect’s vehicle in the 1600

block of Tremont Boulevard NW

as another patrol car pulled up.

“He’s stopped,” an officer said.

Police repeatedly told the man

to turn off his vehicle when

gunfire erupted, with an officer

returning fire through the windshield

while trying to disable the

gunman and take cover.

In all, Winstrom estimated that

the three officers – two with

handguns and the third with

a rifle - fired around 40 shots

while the suspect fired a dozen.

Police provided immediate help

for the man but he later died at

Spectrum Health Butterworth

Hospital.

No officers were injured but

shots that struck their patrol

cars showed they were “extremely

close to getting hit,”

Winstrom said at a press conference

at police headquarters.

Winstrom said the officers

involved in the fatal shooting

were rattled. He was concerned

that the new officer – on standard

paid administrative leave –

might not want to return.

“With this officer who’s just

a few months out of in-house

training here, is this going to be

his last day of work? Is he going

to come into work on Monday

and tell me that his job’s not for

me? And I wouldn’t blame him

if he did … . Most officers across

the country go their entire careers

without being involved in a

situation like this.

“And, I’ll tell you, to have two

of our brand-new officers involved

in shootings this terrifying

in such a short period of time is,

out of the norm, and just highlights

how serious a job we have

here.”

Police had responded to the

man’s residence around 12:15

p.m. after a woman left and reported

that an intoxicated man,

armed with a gun, had threatened

to kill her

Police could not make contact

with him at his home on Strobel

Avenue NW, near Fourth Street.

CLICK TO WATCH

Just before 4 p.m., the woman

called 911 to report that the man

was at his home, armed with a

handgun. Police were planning a

“safe approach” when they saw

him leaving his home.

State police are investigating

the shooting as an outside agency,

which is standard procedure.

FORMER CALIFORNIA DEP-

UTY FATALLY SHOT BY POLICE

AFTER ALLEGEDLY STABBING,

KILLING 11-YEAR-OLD SON


ELK GROVE, CA. — A former

Sacramento County sheriff’s

deputy suspected of fatally

stabbing his 11-year-old son

was shot and killed by law enforcement

after a pursuit, KCRA

reports.

Elk Grove police said a mother

called 911 just after 8 a.m. on

Dec. 2, fearing for the safety of

her two children who were at

home with their father, 40-yearold

Marvin Morales. Home sur-


veillance cameras captured

Morales assaulting his 11-yearold

son, prompting officers to

respond to the house on the 7600

block of Ferrell Way.

When officers arrived, they

found the boy suffering from

stab wounds. A 6-year-old girl

inside the home was unharmed.

The boy was taken to a hospital,

where he died.

Morales had left the residence

before officers arrived. At a

news conference, the Sacramento

County Sheriff’s Office said

Sheriff Jim Cooper was among

the first to spot Morales’ vehicle

on southbound I-5 near Pocket

Road. The California Highway

Patrol deployed spike strips,

causing Morales to crash near I-5

and Highway 12, about five miles

west of Lodi.

Authorities said multiple law

enforcement officers opened

fire after the crash. At least two

Sacramento County deputies

and one Elk Grove police officer

discharged their weapons. No

law enforcement personnel were

hurt.

Morales was taken to a hospital,

where he was pronounced

dead. Officials have not said

whether he fired at officers, and

investigators have not released

details about what was found

in his vehicle. Elk Grove police

noted that a gun safe inside the

home was empty.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Morales resigned from the Sacramento

County Sheriff’s Office

in 2024 following an internal

investigation into a 2023 on-duty

overdose at a sheriff’s station.

According to the department’s


report, he was found unresponsive

in a station bathroom and

later admitted to intentionally

ingesting fentanyl he had seized

earlier in the shift. The investigation

also concluded he had previously

used confiscated drugs

and falsified related reports. Morales

survived the overdose and

voluntarily surrendered his peace

officer certification.

OFFICER ARRESTED BY ICE

RETURNS TO FULL DUTY

By Tess Kenny

Chicago Tribune

HANOVER PARK, IL. — The

Hanover Park police officer arrested

by federal immigration

officers earlier this fall amid

Operation Midway Blitz returned

to work Monday, village officials

announced.

Hanover Park had placed

Officer Radule Bojovic on leave

after U.S. Customs and Immigration

Enforcement officers arrested

the Montenegro native in

mid-October for allegedly overstaying

a B2 tourist visa that expired

in March 2015. However, the

village, in turn, has maintained

that Bojovic was authorized to

work in the country.

Citing that authorization, Hanover

Park police in a news release

Tuesday stated that Bojovic

returned to full-duty status this

week as he awaits the outcome

of his court proceedings.

After his arrest, Bojovic was

released on bond on Oct. 31, according

to the village.

“Given that his bond was not

contested and he remains authorized

to work by the federal

government, the Hanover Park

Police Department determined

that he may return to work,” the

release stated.

At the time of Bojovic’s arrest,

village officials maintained the

police department hired Bojovic

in January “in full compliance

with federal and state law.”

State records show that Bojovic

was hired Jan. 8 and certified

by the Illinois Law Enforcement

Training and Standards Board in

August.

Before bringing Bojovic onto its

police force, the village stated

that it had confirmed he was

legally authorized by the federal

government to work in the U.S.,

noting that when he was hired,

he provided the village with a

work authorization card. Village

officials have also stated that

they haven’t received any notice

that his card had ever been

revoked.

According to an employment

application Bojovic submitted

to the village in June 2024, he

attended high school in Chicago

and previously worked at a

church as a janitor and at Ross,

village records show.

In response to an application

question asking why he wanted

to become a Hanover Park police

officer, Bojovic wrote: “I’m

motivated by a strong desire to

serve and protect the community.

I’m drawn to the opportunity

to make a meaningful difference

in people’s lives, ensuring safety

and fostering trust.”

iAccording to Illinois Law

Enforcement Training & Standards

Board records provided to

the Tribune, Bojovic completed

640 hours of basic training and

40 hours of mandatory firearms

training between May 5 and Aug.

22.

After graduating from the

Suburban Law Enforcement

Academy, Hanover Park police in

its August Facebook post stated

Bojovic was set to begin an “intensive

15 weeks of field training

and evaluation as he continues

preparing to serve the Hanover

Park community.”

Now back to full-duty, Bojovic

will receive back pay from the

village for the time he was on

leave.

‘DIRECT CONTRIBUTING

FACTORS': INVESTIGATION

FINDS POLICY VIOLATIONS IN

CRASH THAT KILLED OFFICER

IN TRAINING


RUTLAND, VT. — An internal

investigation by the Rutland City

Police has determined that a

19-year-old officer’s death was

preventable and faulted experienced

officers, VTDigger reported.

Trainee Officer Jessica Ebbighausen

was killed during a

pursuit when a suspect struck

her cruiser head-on, according

to the news report. A report

authored by now-retired Rutland

City Police commander Sam

Delpha stated that the pursuit

should never have occurred.

“Both Officer (Jared) Dumas

and Corporal (Richard) Caravaggio’s

actions, or lack thereof,

were direct contributing factors

in the cause of Officer Jessica

Ebbighausen’s death,” Delpha

stated.

The burglary suspect involved

in the 2023 crash is awaiting trial

for aggravated murder.

The report found that senior

officers supervising Ebbighausen

failed to adhere to policy.

According to the investigation,

the supervisors did not have the

authority to initiate the pursuit.

Delpha stated that the department’s

pursuit policy was written

to prevent “this exact sort of

thing.”

“Even if the pursuit was legitimately

started, supervisors had

a duty and responsibility to stop

the pursuit,” Delpha wrote. “There

was plenty of time in between

radio transmissions for supervisors

to take control of this situation

and make the appropriate

decisions.”

The pursuit began when Officer

Jared Dumas pursued a suspect

fleeing in his truck, according to

the report. Two other cruisers, including

the one that Ebbighausen

was driving, were headed “toward

Dumas’s location to assist.”

Training Officer Richard Caravaggio

was in the passenger seat.

As Dumas pursued the suspect,

the suspect vehicle veered across

the centerline and struck the

cruiser Ebbighausen was driving

at speeds of around 76 - 82 mph.

Ebbighausen was thrown from


the vehicle and died at the scene.

She was not wearing a seatbelt

during the pursuit.

Delpha stated in the report that

Dumas did not have probable

cause to arrest the suspect at the

time he initiated the pursuit.

“Dumas did not have any

evidence of a fresh break-in,

did not have any evidence [the

suspect] had stolen or damaged

anything while inside, or violated

any kind of court orders, and did

not have any evidence that [the

suspect] was armed or made any

threats.”

Even if there was immediate

evidence of a burglary, the action

still wouldn’t have met the

policy’s threshold of a violent

felony required to initiate a pursuit,


Dumas’s body camera footage

shows he never requested permission

to pursue the suspect

over the radio as he was following

him with lights and sirens

activated, which Delpha labeled

a “clear violation of policy.”

Dumas can be heard responding

to radio inquiries from Police

Commander Charles Whitehead

that the pursuit was in connection

to a burglary, according to

the report.

“It is at this point, based on the

radio conversations alone, someone

at any rank should have

stopped this pursuit,” Delpha

wrote.

Delpha stated that Whitehead,

Caravaggio and Sgt. John Dickerson

all had the authority to stop

the pursuit, but failed to do so,


Following the incident and

during the internal affairs investigation,

Delpha performed

interviews with officers involved


in the crash. He stated, however,

that he was unable to interview

Dumas. Dumas transferred to

the Rutland Town Police Department,

where his father is chief.

He allegedly did not respond to

interview requests from Delpha

and “accused [the Rutland City

Police Department] of being

retaliatory because he switched

departments.”

The report found Dumas committed

multiple policy violations,

including conducting a pursuit

with no felony cause and not

seeking authorization. Caravaggio

was found to have violated

policy by not wearing his seatbelt,

not ensuring his trainee was

wearing a seatbelt and by improperly

using a “seatbelt defeat

buckle assembly.”

‘WHO’S RUNNING THIS

F***ING SHOW?': BWC SHOWS

OKLA. SHERIFF CONFRONT-

ING PD COP OVER WARRANT

SERVICE


CLEVELAND, OK. — The Cleveland

Police Department released

body camera footage showing

officers’ confrontation with the

sheriff of Pawnee County over

CLICK TO WATCH

a search warrant, News on 6

reported.

The Oct. 28 incident happened

when Cleveland Police Officers,

who are cross-deputized to

serve in Pawnee County, went

to serve a search warrant in the

area.

Video from the police department

shows Pawnee Sheriff

Shawn Price yelling at officers.

“Who’s running this f**ing

show?” the sheriff can be heard

saying.

“I am,” an officer responds.

“Then get the f*** over here,”

the sheriff responds.

“F*** you!” the officer says

back.

Amid further profanity, the police

officer can be heard telling

the sheriff not to “talk to me like

that” and asking what he did

wrong.

The sheriff asked officers what

they were doing and scolded

them for setting up an operation

that he didn’t know about.

As another officer told both

men to calm down, the sheriff

responded: “F*** you, I don’t give

2 f***s if everybody hears this.”

Later in the conversation, the

sheriff expressed concerns that

he would be blamed if anything

went wrong in the investigation.

“You don’t think we ought to

f***ing know what the f*** is

going on?” the sheriff can be

saying.

The officer then told the sheriff

that the sheriff’s office was notified.

When Price asked who was

notified, the officer gave multiple

names.

“You didn’t get a f***ing commission

to run around like a

g**d*** deputy. It’s to f***ing

assist,” Price stated.

Both departments have released

statements regarding the

incident.

Cleveland Police Chief Clint

Stout stated that the sheriff’s office

was informed of the planned

warrant service two weeks in

advance, adding that he personally

called the agency. The

City of Cleveland also put out a

statement saying that a Pawnee

County deputy was invited to

be present at a morning briefing

about the warrant service

and was en route to attend after

being informed of the plans the

night before.

The city revoked its cross-deputation

agreement after the incident,


Price stated that he was not

informed about the planned

warrant service until 15 minutes

before the incident unfolded. He

also referred to the location as

“outside of the Cleveland PD’s

jurisdiction, while acknowledging

that the officers were legally

allowed to work in the county

due to the cross-deputization

agreement.

“I only expect the same respect

and courtesy that I require

from our office when operating

in another department’s area of

responsibility,” the sheriff stated.

“This incident is not the first time

our office has been disrespected

in this manner.”

The sheriff alleged that Cleveland

officers’ “interference” in

a drug trafficking investigation

caused it to be discontinued.

District Attorney Mike Fisher

stated that no crime occurred

during the incident, according to

the report.

MAN IN CUSTODY AFTER

ALLEGEDLY STABBING PERSON

MORE THAN 30 TIMES, STEAL-

ING OHIO POLICE CRUISER

By Kristen Spicker and Michael

D. Pitman, Dayton Daily News

MIDDLETOWN, OH. — A

24-year-old man is in custody

after he reportedly stabbed a

person more than 30 times in

Middletown and stole a police

cruiser Thursday morning.

The victim has critical injuries,

according to Middletown police.

Around 3:50 a.m., the Middletown

Division of Police and

Middletown Division of Fire

responded to a stabbing in the

4400 block of Bonita Drive.

CLICK TO WATCH

The victim was transported to

Atrium Medical Center and later

transferred to Miami Valley Hospital

in Dayton.

The suspect, a 24-year-old

man, fled on foot. While a police

K9 was trying to track him, the

man got into a locked Middletown

police cruiser through the

window and stole the vehicle,

according to police.

A BOLO, of be on the lookout,

was issued for the area. The

cruiser was found in Independence,

Kentucky, and the man

was arrested without incident.

Charges and extradition to

Middletown are pending.

Anyone with information about

the case should call detective

Connor Kirby at 513-425-7736.

CLICK HERE FOR

FREE SUBSCRIPTION


THREE OFFICERS WOUNDED,

SUSPECT KILLED IN SHOOTING

Associated Press

OMAHA, NB. — Three Omaha

police offers were wounded and

a suspect in an earlier shooting

was killed Wednesday in

an exchange of gunfire at a gas

station.

The suspect, a man in his 20s,

had earlier shot a 61-year-old

man several times in the chest

about noon at a grocery store,

Police Chief Todd Schmaderer

said. Officers obtained a license

plate number from the scene

and followed the suspect’s car

to the gas station, he said.

The officers watched the

suspect get out and enter a

restroom. After additional officers

arrived, they ordered the

man out of the restroom and he

came out firing, police said in a

news release. One officer was

struck before the suspect retreated

back into the restroom.

A bystander who was in the

restroom when the shooting

began managed to come out

safely before officers again

ordered the suspect out and a

second shootout occurred. That

time a second officer was shot

and a third was hit by shrapnel.

The officers returned fire, and

the suspect was killed.

“This is a very dangerous day

involving this suspect in the city

of Omaha,” Schmaderer said.

The officers suffered

non-life-threatening but serious

injuries and were taken to a local

hospital, Omaha police said.

The officer hit by shrapnel was

later released.


MAN WITH LENGTHY CRIMI-

NAL RECORD FIRED AT LEAST

10 SHOTS AT FLA. DEPUTIES IN

FATAL SHOOTOUT

By David Goodhue

Miami Herald

MIAMI — The Miami-Dade

Sheriff’s Office released body

camera footage Monday from a

deputy shooting an armed man

during an intense shootout in

Goulds back in September.

The footage shows the deputy

approach a Honda minivan

parked outside a small grocery

store at Southwest 216th Street

and 122nd Avenue around 7:40

p.m. Sept. 16 with his gun drawn.

The deputy, Sgt. Gilberto Crespo,

responded to the area after receiving

reports that the man was

pointing a gun at people.

Crespo, a 19-year-veteran on

the department, repeatedly orders

the man, 44-year-old Jose

Pineda, Jr., to show his hands.

Pineda responds, “I ain’t got

no hands,” the footage shows.

Crespo reiterated, “Let me see

your fucking hands,” and again,

Pineda countered with, “I ain’t

got no hands.”

The footage does not show a

clear image of Pineda sitting in

the driver’s seat of the van, but

the deputy opens fire seconds

later, at first advancing forward

as he shoots, but then running

backwards continuing to fire as

gunfire is heard coming from the

direction of the van, the footage

shows.

Crespo shoots more than 20

rounds at the vehicle, before taking

cover behind a silver Chevy

pickup truck parked next to

Pineda’s van, the footage shows.

Sound coming from the van

indicates Pineda fired at least 10

shots at Crespo.

Crespo changes magazines and

fires three more rounds before

radioing his colleagues, “Shots

fired,” the video shows. He then

fires twice at the van, according

to the footage, telling other deputies

arriving at the scene over

the radio, “Watch for crossfire,

he’s armed!”

The sergeant told the other

deputies that Pineda was still in

the van, but they found him lying

outside the vehicle with a handgun

next to him, the footage

shows. The deputies then cuffed

him.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics

took Pineda to the hospital,

where he died. The sheriff’s

office said he has a long criminal

record.

The Florida Department of Law

Enforcement is investigating the

shooting. Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz

said in a statement

Monday that she released the

footage to adhere to her department’s

commitment to “upholding

the principles of transparency,

accountability, and public

trust.”

“While a thorough investigation

by the Florida Department

of Law Enforcement is still

underway, releasing this footage

ensures everyone sees the sequence

of events as they unfolded,”

Cordero-Stutz said.

SUSPECT DRAGS WASHING-

TON TROOPER FROM PATROL

CAR, STEALS CRUISER DURING

I-5 INCIDENT


SEATTLE, WA. — A suspect is in

custody after dragging a Washington

State Patrol trooper from

her patrol vehicle and fleeing

in the stolen cruiser during a

Christmas Day incident on Interstate

5 in Seattle.

The incident unfolded around

noon near Northgate Way, where

a trooper stopped to contact a

pedestrian seen running across

lanes of I-5, according to the

Washington State Patrol.

Video obtained by TMZ shows

the suspect walking up to the

patrol vehicle, opening the

driver’s door and forcibly removing

the trooper — identified

as a Washington State Patrol

lieutenant — before pushing her

onto the road and fleeing in the

cruiser.

Washington State Patrol requested

assistance from the Seattle

Police Department, which

joined the pursuit, officials said.

The pursuit ended on southbound

I-5 in Lynnwood, temporarily

shutting down the left and

HOV lanes.

CLICK TO WATCH

CLICK TO WATCH

No injuries were reported.

Authorities have not yet released

the suspect’s identity.

The incident remains under

investigation.

CLICK HERE FOR

FREE SUBSCRIPTION


TENSE TRAFFIC STOP ESCA-

LATES BETWEEN TENN. OFFI-

CER AND TROOPER ON DIGNI-

TARY DETAIL


NASHVILLE, TN. — Body-worn

camera video shows a tense traffic

stop between a Metro Nashville

Police Department officer

and a Tennessee Highway Patrol

trooper who was transporting

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron

Sexton as part of a dignitary

detail.

The Oct. 6 stop occurred on

eastbound Briley Parkway near

the Two Rivers Parkway exit,

where an MNPD officer attempted

to pull over an SUV traveling

approximately 85 mph in a 55-

mph zone, according to WKRN.

The body camera footage from

the encounter was released in

December.

The trooper, whose face was

blurred in the released video due

to his dignitary assignment, did

not immediately stop despite the

officer following the vehicle for

several miles with emergency

lights activated, WKRN reports.

At one point, the SUV flashed

blue lights back at the MNPD

officer before the officer pulled

alongside the vehicle and called

out to the driver.

The trooper then exited the SUV

and identified himself as a Tennessee

Highway Patrol officer.

Video shows a verbal exchange

between the two officers that

escalated into brief physical contact.

“You touch me again, I’m going

to lock you up, my friend”

the MNPD officer said during the

encounter.

The trooper repeatedly identi-


fied himself as Highway Patrol

and displayed his badge while

Speaker Sexton remained inside

the vehicle. At one point, the

trooper told the officer he was

transporting the House speaker

as part of an official detail.

“I’ve got the Tennessee House

Speaker in the car, and we’re

moving,” the trooper said.

“No, you’re not. Let me see your

ID,” the MNPD officer responded.

The encounter continued for

several minutes before both

officers identified themselves by

name. The situation de-escalated

after the trooper provided identification,

and the two parted ways

without further action.

Following the stop, MNPD

confirmed that Sexton’s chief of

staff, Kevin Johnson, filed a citizen

complaint on the speaker’s

behalf. Johnson was not present

during the incident but said

he had been briefed by Sexton,

according to the complaint obtained

by WKRN.

The complaint alleged the

MNPD officer acted in an “out

of control and unprofessional”

manner, including chest-bumping

the trooper, using profanity

CLICK TO WATCH

and physically blocking the vehicle

from leaving.

An internal review conducted

by an MNPD sergeant determined

the officer’s actions were consistent

with department policy.

“The evidence supports that

Officer Johnson’s actions were

reasonable, measured, and consistent

with established MNPD

policy, rules, and procedures,”

the report stated. The complaint

was classified as exonerated.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol

issued a statement emphasizing

its working relationship with

MNPD but declined to comment

on whether an internal review

was conducted or whether

speeding is customary during

dignitary protection assignments.

“The Tennessee Highway Patrol

maintains a collaborative working

relationship with the Metropolitan

Nashville Police Department

built on mutual respect

and shared professionalism,” the

statement said.

Sexton’s office criticized the

MNPD officer’s actions, calling

the stop unnecessary and

dangerous given the security

concerns involved in executive

protection.

“There was no violation of

traffic laws by the THP officer

pursuant to state law,” the

statement said, adding that the

trooper identified himself and

provided documentation multiple

times during the stop.

“In the end, cooler heads prevailed,”

the statement said. “We

commend THP for their professionalism

and dedication to

protect and serve.”

GUN JAMS AFTER MAN

POINTS IT AT OHIO OFFICER,

PULLS TRIGGER AT POINT-

BLANK RANGE

By Lucas Daprile

cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, OH. — A Canton

man is facing attempted murder

charges after he pointed a gun

at a police officer and pulled the

trigger, police said.

At about 1:30 p.m. Thursday,

Canton police officers responded

to the Walmart on Atlantic Boulevard

after employees said they

caught Shane Newman, 21, and

Katerina Jeffrey, 23, shoplifting,

according to officers.

The officer led them to a

back room, where police and

Walmart employees began

questioning the two about the

theft allegation. The officer

briefly patted Newman down but

did not find the gun, body camera

footage shows.

“We watched you walk over

and put an item in a bag off the

shelf,” a Walmart employee said

to Newman.

“That’s true,” Newman said.

Several seconds later, Newman

reached into his jacket, pulled

out a handgun and pointed it at

the officer. The gun can be heard

clicking after Newman pulled the

trigger.

“No, no, no, no,” yelled Jeffrey,

who was seated next to Newman.

As police and the Walmart employees

tried to wrestle the gun

away from Newman, he attempted

to rack the gun, body camera

footage shows.

Officers were able to wrestle

the gun from Newman without

any shots being fired.

TRUMP SIGNS BILL RECOGNIZ-

ING OCCUPATIONAL CANCER AS

A LINE-OF-DUTY DEATH FOR

OFFICERS

By Bill Carey

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate

approved the Honoring Our Fallen

Heroes Act as part of the National

Defense Authorization Act, advancing

a long-running push to

recognize occupational cancer as

a line-of-duty death for federal

benefits.

President Donald Trump signed

the bill on Dec. 18, according to

the IAFF.

“We know the devastation occupational

cancer has brought

to our profession. When a

firefighter dies from job-related

cancer, that is a line-of-duty

death, and it is long past time

the federal government recognized

that truth,” General

President Edward Kelly said.

“Congress’s passage of the

Honor Act marks a significant

turning point. This legislation

ensures our fallen are honored,

and their families are not left

behind.”

The bill, sponsored by Sens.

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and

Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Reps.

Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and

Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) updates

the federal Public Safety

Officers’ Benefits program

to treat occupational cancer

as a line-of-duty death. The

measure extends death and

education benefits to survivors

and creates a presumption that

certain cancers are job-related,

eliminating the need to identify

a specific exposure.

Twenty forms of cancer are


listed in the bill, as well as “any

form of cancer that is considered

a WTC-related health condition.”

Under the bill, a public safety

officer’s exposure to a carcinogen

would be presumed to be a

line-of-duty injury for federal

benefits if the exposure occurred

while the officer was performing

official duties, the officer had at

least five years of service before

the cancer diagnosis, the diagnosis

happened within 15 years

of the officer’s last active service

date, and the cancer resulted in

death or permanent and total

disability.

The legislation has been endorsed

by several law enforcement

groups, including the Federal

Law Enforcement Officers

Association (FLEOA); Fraternal

Order of Police (FOP); International

Association of Fire Chiefs

(IAFC); Major County Sheriffs

of America (MCSA); National

Association of Police Organizations

(NAPO); National Narcotics

Officers’ Associations’ Coalition

(NNOAC) and Sergeants Benevolent

Association of the NYPD.


CARMEL. PD TAPS WAZE TO

ALERT DRIVERS DURING PUR-

SUITS, TRAFFIC STOPS AND

EMERGENCIES


CARMEL, IN. — Drivers in Carmel

will now receive real-time

alerts when police officers are

responding to emergencies, conducting

traffic stops or involved

in pursuits, thanks to new technology

rolled out by the Carmel

Police Department.

The system, called Pursuit

Alert, integrates with the Waze

navigation app to notify nearby

motorists when an emergency

vehicle is in the area, WTHR

reports. Drivers who have Waze

enabled on their phones automatically

receive alerts encouraging

them to slow down, move

over and remain alert.

“It’s essentially to give notifications

to the motoring public that

there’s an emergency vehicle in

the area,” Carmel Police Chief

Drake Sterling told WTHR.

When activated, the system

sends alerts to drivers within

a roughly 1.5-mile radius of a

patrol car. The notification moves

with the vehicle, whether officers

are responding with lights

and sirens, preparing to initiate

a traffic stop or engaged in a

pursuit.

“If there’s an emergency vehicle

on the move, it’s going to tell

you that it’s in your area,” Sterling

said.

The technology was installed

in nearly all Carmel patrol

vehicles in November, making

the department the first in the

Midwest to deploy the system,


Department leaders say the

goal is to reduce the growing

risk officers face on roadways —

particularly during traffic stops

and roadside incidents.

“Lately, there’s been a number

of officers whose vehicles have

been hit, and we want to avoid

that,” Sterling said.

The rollout comes amid a

series of recent crashes involving

Indiana State Police troopers

struck while stopped along

highways, according to WTHR.

In one recent incident on Interstate

465, a trooper’s patrol car

was rear-ended while assisting

on the roadside — the fourth

time that trooper had been hit in

similar circumstances, according

to ISP Sgt. John Perrine.

“We’re putting a lot of faith in

those thousands of cars that are

passing us that they’re paying

attention and doing the right

thing,” Perrine said. “Because it

just takes one time — one person

not paying attention — that

has life-changing consequences.”

Carmel police say the Pursuit

Alert system is intended to add

another layer of protection but

does not replace the need for

drivers to comply with moveover

laws.


The technology cost approximately

$23,000 and was funded

through the department’s seizure

fund, not taxpayer dollars,


CALIF. OFFICERS WON’T

FACE CHARGES IN 2023 FATAL

OIS OF KNIFE-WIELDING AM-

PUTEE, D.A. SAYS

By Libor Jany

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, CA. — Citing

insufficient evidence, the Los

Angeles County district attorney’s

office said it would not file

charges against two Huntington

Park, California, police officers in

the 2023 fatal shooting of Anthony

Lowe, a double amputee who

was trying to flee police while

holding a long-bladed knife.

Prosecutors announced the

decision Tuesday afternoon, releasing

a report that cleared the

officers involved of wrongdoing

when they opened fire.

The report said the officers,

Paul Munoz and Joshua Volasgis,

were forced to make a split-second

decision when confronted

by Lowe, an armed suspect who

had just stabbed someone.

“What transpired in this incident

was a tragic series of

events put in motion by Lowe and

his dangerous and violent actions,”

the D.A.'s report said. “The

fact the officers’ actions were

taken against a possibly suicidal

person who was experiencing

a mental break and suffered

physical limitations does little to

assuage the emotional response

to such a tragedy.”

In an accompanying video

explanation, Dist. Atty. Nathan

Hochman called scrutinizing the

use of deadly force by police


CLICK TO WATCH

“one of the most challenging,

important and sensitive responsibilities

our office undertakes,”

but said that ultimately he did

not believe prosecutors could

prove charges against the officers

at trial.

Attorney Christian Contreras,

who filed a wrongful death lawsuit

on behalf of Lowe’s family,

said his clients had been holding

out hope that the officers would

be criminally charged. He noted

the D.A.'s decision to drop

charges in another controversial

policing killing — the 2023

shooting death of Christopher

Deandre Mitchell — and questioned

how serious Hochman is

about holding officers accountable.

Minutes before the January

2023 shooting, prosecutors said

that Lowe, 36, lunged from his

wheelchair and stabbed a man

in the chest in the 1900 block of

Slauson Avenue. The victim, who

suffered a collapsed lung and

two broken ribs, was captured

on a surveillance camera staggering

away, while Lowe waited

at the corner for a few seconds

before crossing the street.

Footage released by Huntington

Park police showed three

officers — Munoz, Volasgis and

Freddy Ramirez — arriving on the

scene and approaching Lowe as

he tried to wheel away. Volasgis

holstered his gun and grabbed

Lowe’s wheelchair, dumping him

onto the ground. As he tumbled

to the pavement, a knife he was

concealing fell and landed nearby.

Lowe picked up the knife and

began hobbling away on his

knees as officers trained their

guns at him. The video showed

Lowe swinging the knife above

his head at one point. Almost simultaneously

Ramirez deployed

his Taser, while Munoz and

Volasgis opened fire with their

service weapons.

After the shooting, according to

the D.A.'s report, Volasgis told investigators

he feared for his life

and that of his police colleagues,

drawing on his prior training that

a knife can be thrown 10-15 feet

away.

An autopsy found that Lowe

was struck by eight of the 11

rounds fired. It also revealed

small traces of methamphetamine

in his bloodstream.

None of the officers involved


had body cameras, and their

police squads weren’t equipped

with dashboard cameras. The

incident was captured in grainy

detail on a security camera from

a nearby medical clinic.

The wrongful death suit filed

by Lowe’s family — one of several

legal challenges prompted by

the incident — claimed he was

having a mental health crisis and

had been coping with the recent

amputations of both of his legs.

APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS

CONVICTION OF TEXAS OFFI-

CER IN FATAL 2019 OIS

AUSTIN, TX. — An appeals

court has overturned the conviction

of a former Austin police

officer sentenced to prison

in connection with a 2019 fatal

shooting, reversing the jury’s

verdict and issuing a judgment

of acquittal.

The 7th Court of Appeals ruled

to reverse the conviction of former

Austin Police officer Christopher

Taylor, who had been

found guilty of deadly conduct in

the shooting death of 46-yearold

Mauris DeSilva, according

to the Texas Tribune. Taylor

was sentenced to two years in

prison following the December

2024 verdict but remained free

on bond while his appeal was

pending, according to his attorney,

Doug O’Connell.

O’Connell confirmed Dec. 30

that the appellate court’s decision

fully acquits Taylor of the

charge.

The shooting happened in July

2019 after Austin police responded

to a 911 call reporting a man

armed with a knife inside a

downtown condominium building.

Officers encountered DeSilva

near an elevator. Body-worn

camera video showed officers

confined inside the elevator as

the doors opened to a hallway

where DeSilva was standing with

a knife.

In its ruling, the appellate court

found that the circumstances

justified the officers’ actions.

“The body-worn camera

footage shows officers confined

inside an elevator as the

doors open onto a hallway,”

Justice Alex Yarbrough wrote

in the court’s opinion. “DeSilva

is initially facing a mirror with

a knife to his own throat. When

the doors open, DeSilva turns

toward the officers, reorients the

knife away from himself and toward

them, and advances in their

direction. The officers have no

meaningful avenue of retreat or

ability to create distance.”

Taylor was originally indicted

on a murder charge, which was

later reduced to deadly conduct

before trial. His conviction

marked the first time in modern

Austin Police Department history

that an on-duty officer was convicted

in connection with a fatal

shooting.

Charges were previously

dropped against a second officer

involved in the DeSilva incident.

Taylor was terminated from

the Austin Police Department

following his sentencing. He was

also tried in connection with the

2020 on-duty shooting death of

Mike Ramos, who was unarmed

and fleeing in a vehicle at the

time. That case ended in a mistrial.

Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers

passed legislation exempting

law enforcement officers

from being charged with

deadly conduct for actions taken

in the line of duty.

The Austin Police Department

said it is aware of the appellate

ruling and will review the decision

with the city attorney’s

office.

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The FBI's mission statement is to "protect

the American people and uphold the Constitution

of the United States". This core mission

involves safeguarding the nation from threats

like terrorism, espionage, cyberattacks, and

major criminal enterprises, while also providing

critical law enforcement and criminal

justice services to federal, state, and international

partners.

What it doesn't say is the FBI (FBI 2) has

engaged in those that opposed the party in

charge of the White House.


The BLUES The BLUES - JANUARY JANUARY ‘26 ‘2677

77

Anyone who has followed the FBI for the past

decade, particularly under the Biden administration,

knows the bureau has played a major role

in high profile cases that have more to do with

politics than investigating criminal activity. Take

for instance the FBI’s raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

residence looking for alleged top-secret documents.

Several top-ranking FBI 1 agents repeatedly

expressed that they did not believe there was evidence

to support raiding the former president’s

home with a search warrant and it would cause

irreparable damage to the agency. But those

agents were given orders by the Deputy Director

(FBI 2) to proceed with the raid despite their

concerns. But those agents were given orders to

proceed with the raid despite their concerns.

It would seem as if there were in fact “two”

FBIs. FBI 1 consists of agents and staff who

want nothing to do with politics. They work without

fanfare behind the scenes and uphold their

constitutional oath in a fair and unbiased manner

and want to protect all Americans. FBI 2 on the

other hand consists of those who use their law

enforcement power to push their own political

and social agendas and have weaponized the

bureau.



FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT

NICOLE PARKE

NOW AUTHOR & FOX NEWS

CONTRIBUTOR

To fully understand the 'two-FBIs", former FBI Special

Agent Nicole Parker, breaks it all down in her new book,

THE TWO FBIs: The Bravery and Betrayal I Saw in My Time

at the Bureau.

Parker is no stranger to anyone that watches FOX NEWS

as she has been a Fox News Contributor for the past couple

of years. Hardly a day goes by that she isn’t called upon to

provide expert advice on breaking news stories. Her years

of experience at the FBI provide a unique prospective into

whatever crime is dominating the news cycle of the day.

Parker says she witnessed the rise of “FBI 2,” the D.E.I.

driven and politically weaponized faction that she believes

began to prioritize agendas over justice. Parker provides

an insider’s look at two different FBIs to reveal the internal

battles and cultural shifts that shook her faith in the

Bureau. She takes you from the front lines of harrowing

takedowns to the emotional fallout of the Parkland school

shooting. Parker also provides her firsthand perspective on

the controversial Mark Houck raid, the infamous “Catholic

Memo,” and how diversity initiatives became a tool for

ideological enforcement that seemed to be agency’s top

priority rather than protecting lives.


R

WORDS BY SGT. MICHAEL BARRON

The BLUES The BLUES - JANUARY JANUARY ‘26 ‘26 81 81

Ultimately, faced with a choice between

her conscience and her career,

Parker made the agonizing decision

to walk away from the agency and

the mission she loved. THE TWO FBIs

is a raw, unflinching look at the erosion

of a vital American institution,

as well as shocking revelations about

the administrative state shackling

patriotic heroes. It is a story of faith,

integrity, and the courage to stand

for truth, even when it means leaving

everything behind. THE TWO FBIs will

provide you with new appreciation

for the constant vigilance required to

keep Americans secure and free.

WHO IS NICOLE PARKER?

Parker is a proud Texan! She was

raised in Houston, the fifth of seven

siblings. She landed her first job

at fifteen, graduated early from high

school at sixteen and walked across

the stage at Brigham Young University

at twenty with a Bachelor of Science

in health sciences.

About her childhood, Parker says, “I

was given lots of love and a robust

moral upbringing in a tight-knit Christian

family, I was never given financial

help. At times, budgets were tight. My

parents knew that I would appreciate

success more if I had to work for

it rather than it being given to me. I

was a traditional girl and had never

intended to have an overly demanding

career. I assumed I would follow

in my mother’s footsteps: attend university,

find a great man, get married,

have beautiful children, and live happily

ever after. But oversimplifying my

mother’s life would not do her justice.

I knew it had not been easy. She had

selflessly sacrificed her own comforts

to take care of my siblings and me,

her crown jewels. I have always believed

that being a mother is the most

important and impactful job in the

world. The family is the fundamental

unit of society, and I was blessed to

grow up in an amazing one.”

After graduation, instead of following

in her mother’s footsteps, Parker

said she broke off an engagement

with a guy she had dated for several

years and moved to New York

City. She said, “I wasn’t going to wait

around for a husband to show up for

my life to happen. I was going to live

it up and make my own way, just as I

had always done.”

Her first “non-paying job” was an

unpaid internship at the New York Life

Insurance Company. “I loved the idea

that it was a ‘Life’ company, and I was

prepared to embrace every bit of life

in the Big Apple.”

When her internship ended, Parker

said she loved the city so much that

she decided to stay. She took a job

in Merrill Lynch’s recruiting department,

was laid off and ended working

for Winthrop “Win” H. Smith Jr., the

chairman of Merrill Lynch International.

It was that job that placed her in a

front row seat to America’s worst day:



9/11. Smith’s office was in the World

Financial Center and on 9/11 Parker

watched as WTC-1 burned from her

office window.

“On the morning of 9/11, I was in

fear: fear of the unknown. How could

firefighters put the fire out? Could

the flames spread to the surrounding

buildings? There were no alerts, no

messages. I couldn’t even remember

if there was a fire evacuation route I

was supposed to follow.”

The unimaginable was happening

before their eyes. People were hanging

out windows waving clothing to

firefighters hoping to get rescued and

when the heat and flames became too

much, they jumped onto the streets

below. As they watched in horror the

building shook again and that’s when

another plane slammed into 2 WTC.

The room erupted into disjointed

shouts and screams.

Parker recalls, “None of this was an

accident. We were under attack. But

why? And by whom? My heart raced.

Get out of here quick, I told myself.

Get as far away as possible from this

scene. I felt I was in the presence of

incomprehensible evil. Would my

building be next? I ran to my desk to

grab my purse. I shouted to my friend

Terry that we had to leave. Instinct

took over, and I followed others down

a flight of stairs to the main elevator

bank. I could feel adrenaline coursing

through me. I had always been taught

never to take an elevator in an emergency,

but I did not want to be alone,

and it was what everyone else was

doing, so I followed.

She goes on to explain that it was

on that elevator ride evacuating that

she had a spiritual moment and made

a vow to God that one day she would

go back and serve her country. She

and her colleagues made their way

out of the Financial Center, somehow

managed to escape the city and

watched the horror unfold on TV in

New Jersey. After she returned to the

city, she volunteered at the Red Cross

at Ground Zero. After 9/11, Parker continued

to work in the financial world,

eventually ending up as a manager at

a hedge fund.

In her book, Parker recounts a trip

she took to Houston around March

2009; “My dad sat me down and we

discussed my future at the hedge

fund. He suggested that I take prestige,

power, and pay out of the equation,

as those things weren’t important

to me. He advised that I do

something I could really put my heart

into, maybe something less intense,

less intimidating, more conducive to

dating and marriage. I was reminded

of the vow I had made in the elevator

on 9/11: to give back.”

Several months later, Parker went

into her boss’s office and let him know

she was resigning to pursue a new

career, although at the time, she didn’t

exactly know what that career was

going to be.



At the end of 2009, Parker began the

FBI special agent application process.

On August 1, 2010 she reported to the

FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to

start her training to become an agent.

Upon her graduation, in January 2011

she reported to the FBI's Miami Division.

Parker spent the first four years

of her FBI career working Securities

Fraud cases investigating multi-million-dollar

Ponzi schemes, money

laundering, embezzlements and more.

In January 2015 she transferred to

Violent Crimes, where she became

a member of the FBI's number one

ranked Violent Crime Fugitive Task

Force in the United States. Parker

worked a myriad high-profile cases:

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

School shooting in Parkland, Florida;

the 2017 Fort Lauderdale Airport

shooting; the Cesar Sayoc pipe bomb

case; crimes on the high seas; Hobbs

Act violations; bank robberies; murder

for hire; suspicious deaths; sexual

assaults; extortions and more.

Additionally, during this time she

served as the Crimes on the High Seas

Coordinator, where she was the primary

investigator of alleged crimes

occurring on cruise ships arriving to/

departing from the Port of Miami and

Port Everglades. In this position she

became the FBI’s Subject Matter Expert

on high seas crime and trained

employees from each of the major

cruise lines regarding the Cruise Vessel

Security and Safety Act.

Around September 2019 Parker focused

on combating Human Trafficking

of both adults and minors.

She gathered intelligence, brought

awareness and built relationships and

partnerships with non-government

agencies. Additionally, she recruited

sources to report on both sex and labor

trafficking activities.

She was part of the mission-driven

culture she calls “FBI 1”—honorable

agents of the highest level of integrity

dedicated to victims and sworn to

equally uphold the law, no matter the

cost. She first noticed “FBI 2”- agents


who used their law enforcement power

to push their own political and social

agendas, when the debacle involving

James Comey began in 2016.

But she kept her head low focusing on

her efforts in Miami.

But when two of Parker’s fellow

special agents, one of them being

her best friend and confidante in the

bureau, were murdered in the line of

duty while executing a search warrant

on a child predator, the mistakes of

the FBI were no longer tolerable. The

operation received no SWAT support,

yet during the same time frame, the

FBI deployed SWAT resources nationwide

for non-violent J6 misdemeanors.

She said it was unconscionable

and that the internal conflict at the FBI

had reached an inflection point.

Parker was seeing first-hand the

rise of “FBI 2.” An FBI that became an

D.E.I.-driven and politically weaponized

faction that she believed began

to prioritize agendas over justice. It

was really apparent when the “Catholic

Memo,” surfaced, that diversity

initiatives had become a tool for ideological

enforcement that seemed to

be the agency’s top priority, rather


than protecting lives.

Ultimately, Parker was faced with a

choice between her conscience and

her career. In October 2022, she made

the agonizing decision to walk away

from the agency and the mission she

loved. In 2025 she decided to tell the

WORDS world what BY the MICHAEL FBI was really BARRON like.

How “FBI 2” came about and how it

changed the men and women who

worked there.

Having read the book, it lives up to

its introduction as a raw, unflinching

look at the erosion of a vital American

institution, the FBI. Parker shows

us the shocking revelations about the

administrative state that is shackling

patriotic heroes. It is a story of faith,

integrity, and the courage to stand for

truth, even when it means leaving everything

behind. THE TWO FBIs provides

its readers with a new appreciation

for the constant vigilance that’s

required to keep Americans secure

and free.

SO, WHAT’S NEXT

FOR NICOLE PARKER?

Nicole Parker will continue to work

for Fox News. She loves her colleagues

at Fox News. She is enjoying

the opportunity to be out promoting

her book and meeting incredible patriots

across the nation. But what’s

her long-term goal? She continues

to look for ways to serve the American

people and give back. Each day

she prays to be an instrument in God's

hands for good. "I believe God will

continue to lead and guide my path,"

she says with a smile as big as Texas.

Something you rarely see when she’s

on camera due to the tragic nature of

her news segments. But you can tell

she genuinely cares about the topics

she discusses as they hit her heart

based on her own experiences. We

talked about law enforcement in general

and Nicole is a huge proponent of

backing the Blue and supporting local

state and federal law-enforcement.

Every opportunity she has on Fox she

gives generous praise to law enforcement,

military and first responders.

She knows first-hand what a heavy

weight police officers carry on a daily

basis and the dangerous risks they are

faced with. She firmly believes police

officers are the unsung heroes and the

backbone of protecting this country.

“… While at the FBI and when live on

air for Fox News, she reminds Americans

that without the local police in

this country, the FBI cannot do their

job. The FBI depends on its partners

around the globe to be effective at

solving and preventing crimes.”

I encourage all our readers to get a

copy of Nicole’s book: THE TWO FBIs:

The Bravery and Betrayal I Saw in My

Time at the Bureau. It’s a powerful

book written by someone who truly

supports law enforcement. On behalf

of the Staff at the BLUES, we wish Nicole

Parker all the best in her future

endeavors. God Speed.


PURCHASE NICOLE'S NEW BOOK ON AMAZON BY CLICKING HERE



CALENDAR OF EVENTS


BLUE HONOR

Join us for a formal evening of honor

and tribute to our fallen heroes

during National Police Week.

Thursday, May 14th

6:00 PM

Washington Hilton

$150/Ticket - $1,400/Table

Must be purchased by May 1, 2026.

Blue/Black formal attire is expected.

Uniforms are acceptable.

Purchase tickets by scanning

the QR code or visit:

concernsofpolicesurvivors.org

Musical guest will be announced at a later date.

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National Police Week 2026

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- Partners in Law Enforcement // $250+

All law enforcement organizations at the $250 level or above will receive recognition.

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All Chapters at the $250 level or above will receive recognition.


HONORING OUR

SPECIALIST SARAH BECKSTROM

94 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE


VIRGINIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, WEST VIRGINIA

END OF WATCH: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2025

AGE: 20 TOUR: 2 YEARS BADGE: N/A

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom succumbed to gunshot wounds she received when she was ambushed while on patrol near

the Farragut Square Metro Station in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, a gunman walked up to

Specialist Beckstrom and two other guardsmen and opened fire around 2:15 p.m. While he was standing over one of

the guardsmen, preparing to shoot again, another guardsman returned fire, striking the gunman. Specialist Beckstrom

and the other guardsman were transported to local hospitals, where Specialist Beckstrom passed away on November

27, 2025. The other guardsman is in critical condition. Specialist Beckstrom had served with the United States Department

of Defense - Army National Guard - West Virginia Army National Guard for over two years and was assigned to

the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade. She had been deployed to Washington, D.C. since August

2025 and volunteered to stay for the Thanksgiving weekend. She is survived by her parents.

FALLEN HEROES

DETECTIVE TIMOTHY JONES

PARK FOREST POLICE DEPARTMENT, ILLINOIS

END OF WATCH: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2025

AGE:34 TOUR: 9 MONTHS BADGE 204

Detective Tim Jones succumbed to gunshot wounds he received on March 19, 2016, while attempting to apprehend

a robbery suspect. The subject pulled out a gun and fired, striking Detective Jones before fleeing from the officers. Officers

returned fire, killing the suspect. Detective Jones was transported to St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields and then

air-lifted to Christ Medical Center, where he suffered from paralysis and seizures due to being shot in the head, neck,

and jaw. On December 3, 2025, he succumbed to his wounds.

Detective Jones had served with the Park Forest Police Department for nine months. He is survived by his father, mother,

and sister.

The BLUES The BLUES - JANUARY ‘26 ‘269595

HONORING OUR

POLICE OFFICER ANDY C. CHAN

96 96 The The BLUES BLUES POLICE JANUARY MAGAZINE ‘26

PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT, PENNSYLVANIA.

END OF WATCH: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2025

AGE: 55 TOUR: 24 YEARS BADGE:3457

Police Officer Andy Chan succumbed to injuries he received in a motorcycle crash on January 3,

2019. Around 6:00 p.m., Officer Chan was driving on Rhawn Street in Philadelphia when the driver of

another vehicle struck his motorcycle near Rowland Boulevard. Neither driver was cited for the crash.

Officer Chan was transported to the hospital with severe brain trauma and was in a coma for a few

weeks. He was released from the hospital and battled his injuries for over six years before passing

away on December 2, 2025.

Officer Chan had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 24 years. He was survived by his

FALLEN HEROES

TROOPER TARA-MARYSA GUTING

AGE: 29 TOUR: 1 YEARS BADGE: 720

Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting was struck and killed while investigating the scene of a two-vehicle crash on State Route

509 south of the Port of Tacoma. Before 7:30 p.m., Trooper Guting was standing outside of her patrol car on the

southbound lanes of State Route 509 near milepost 2 when a vehicle hit her. Despite bystanders performing life-saving

measures, she succumbed to her injuries.

The driver stayed at the scene and has not been cited.

WASHINGTON STATE PATROL, WASHINGTON

END OF WATCH: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2025

Trooper Guting was an Army National Guard veteran and had served with the Washington State Patrol for more than 1

year, assigned to District 1. She is survived by her husband


HONORING OUR

CORPORAL MARCIAL RODRIGUEZ

98 98 The The BLUES BLUES POLICE JANUARY MAGAZINE ‘26

CITRUS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, FLORIDA

END OF WATCH: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025


Corporal Marcial Rodriguez suffered a fatal heart attack after completing his shift as a School Resource Officer at Crystal

River High School at 3195 Crystal River High Drive in Crystal River. On October 24, 2025, during his 15-hour shift,

Corporal Rodriguez was involved in multiple incidents, including the pursuit of a student fleeing campus. He then oversaw

crowd management and security for the Senior Night Football Game. When he returned home, he was unable to be

resuscitated after suffering a cardiac event.

Corporal Rodrigues had served with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office for over 25 years. He is survived by his wife and

two sons..

FALLEN HEROES

CORPORAL MATTHEW TYLER "TY" SNOOK

DELAWARE STATE POLICE, DELAWARE

END OF WATCH: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2025

AGE: 34 TOUR: 11 YEARS BADGE: N/A

Corporal Grade One Ty Snook was shot and killed at the Karen L. Johnson Division of Motor Vehicles facility at 2230

Hessler Boulevard in New Castle. Around 2:00 p.m., a man entered the DMV building and shortly thereafter approached

Corporal Snook at the reception desk and shot him. After pushing a DMV employee out of the way, Corporal Snook was

hit again. A responding New Castle police officer arrived on the scene and shot the suspect. The suspect died at an area

hospital. Corporal Snook was transported to Christiana Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.

Corporal Snook was working at the DMV in an overtime position and had served with the Delaware State Police for ten

years. He is survived by his wife and daughter.


HONORING OUR

POLICE OFFICER ALEC SANDERS

ALHAMBRA POLICE DEPARTMENT, CALIFORNIA

END OF WATCH: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025


Police Officer Alec Sanders was killed in a vehicle crash at 3:00 a.m. near the intersection of West Valley Boulevard and

Edgewood Drive in Alhambra. Officers were pursuing an SUV when it collided with Officer Sander's patrol vehicle. Officer

Sanders was transported to the Los Angeles General Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver and

one of the passengers were injured, and a third passenger died at the scene.

Officer Sanders had served with the Alhambra Police Department for eight months and previously served with the Long

Beach Police Department for over a year. He is survived by his fiancée, two younger sisters, and a brother.

100 100 The The BLUES BLUES JANUARY POLICE MAGAZINE

‘26

FALLEN HEROES

DEPUTY SHERIFF JUSTIN BRADFORD MOWERY

BLOUNT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, TENNESSEE

END OF WATCH: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2025

AGE: 30 TOUR: 5 YEARS BADGE: E8

Blount County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Mowery, 30, died in a car crash while on his patrol shift Sunday afternoon,

said Sheriff James Lee Berrong. “I am heartbroken. This is devastating for his family, his shift-mates, this agency, and

our community,” Berrong said. “We appreciate the swift response of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and together we are

working to determine how the accident happened. We are also thankful for the response from all of the surrounding law

enforcement agencies as well as the offers for assistance from agencies across the state.” Mowery previously served as

a security officer at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He graduated from BCSO’s regional training academy in

October 2020 and was assigned to evening shift as a patrol deputy. In December 2021, he earned a spot on the SWAT

team, BCSO said.

The The BLUES BLUES - JANUARY ‘26 ‘26 101

WORDS BY SGT. MICHAEL BARRON, RET

1997/GALVESTON ISLAND AIRPORT

Three Plane Crashes in One Day

My phone started ringing

at 4:30am from various

agencies advising me

of a possible plane down

on Galveston Island. The

plane, a small two-seater

Cessna 150, was seen on

radar 1-mile from runway

17/35 at 4:05am. No other

information was available

and could I please check

the area and report back.

At the time, I lived about

30 minutes from airport

and running code, I made

it in 20. When I arrived at

Galveston Scholes Field,

Galveston PD and Galveston

Fire were already searching

the area. Knowing that the

area the plane most likely

went down in was muddy

swamp, one of the PD officers

and myself grabbed an

UTV from our hangar and

started searching the area

from the bay to the end of

runway 17. It wasn’t until

daybreak that we located

the aircraft nose down on

the side of a small sand

bank.

The impact had reduced

the aircraft to a tangled

mess of wire and metal.

Somewhere in that smashed

wrecked was a pilot. It took

the fire department almost

an hour to cut enough of

the metal away to located

and recover the pilot. That

unfortunate soul was a

young pilot from Dallas that

was on his first cross-country

solo flight, and he apparently

misjudged his

airspeed and altitude and

crashed just 1000 feet short

on the runway. I’m not sure

his instructor would have

allowed him to fly at night

on his first solo especially

into Galveston where the

horizon can be hard to distinguish

for experienced

pilots much less a student.

But this day was just getting

started, because by the

end of the day, two more

airplanes would end up

crashing on the island. As I

was just finishing up my report

on the Cessna Crash, a

retired pilot from American

Airlines, stopped by office

to tell me he was going to

ferry an old Cessna Twin

he had recovered from an

airport on Bolivar Peninsula

the month before to Denver

Colorado. Wait you’re going

to fly that piece of crap


Cessna to Colorado? Are you

crazy.

The background was that

airplane a very old Cessna

421 had been sitting abandoned

on a small grass

strip on Bolivar for years.

The old man who owned

the airport just wanted it

gone and offered it for free

to anyone who would just

remove it from the property.

A gentleman from Denver,

who was vacationing

on Bolivar took him up on

his offer and hired the retired

pilot to fly it out of

there. One of my mechanics

spent days working on the

old plane to get it airworthy

and in good enough

shape to make it 5-miles to

the Galveston airport. For

the next two months, they

worked on the plane until it

was somewhat airworthy.

I say somewhat because

every time they drained the

fuel tanks, there was more

water than fuel. That’s not

a good sign at all. Somehow,

the owner was able

to secure a ‘ferry-permit’

to move the airplane. I assumed

it was to the Laporte

airport, where a maintenance

facility could tear the

entire airplane apart and

find all the problem areas

and maybe, just maybe, end

up with a usable airplane.

So, when this 30,000-hour

pilot says he’s taking the

beast to Denver, I said “are

you out of your fricking

mind? There’s no fucking

way that plane is going to

make it to Houston much

less Denver.” Best I can recall,

he flipped me off and

walked out of my office.

Later that afternoon,

I heard the pilot on the

UNICOM frequency saying

he was taxing to runway

35 for a north departure.

I walked out to the main

ramp where a crowd of

pilots and my mechanic had

gathered to watch what we

assumed would be a nonevent.

The mechanic said he

thought the airplane would

quit running long before he

reached the runaway. Nope.

He made it to the runway,

did a runup, then announced

he was on the move on runway

35. The airplane lifted

off about midway down the

runway and I said, “well

maybe he will make it….” I


103

stopped short when black

smoke started pouring out

of the left side engine. Holy

shit, the fucking thing is on

fire. The pilot says he has

a problem and is returning

to the airport. Yeah, your

fucking airplane is on fire.

I called the ARF Fire Truck

based on the field and told

them what was going on

and they need to get out to

the runway. Well, he never

made it to the runway. We

watched him turn to the

south and enter a downwind

for runway 17 when

the plane started to lose

altitude over the Galveston

Island Golf Course. There

were homes that lined that

Golf Course and that smoking

piece of crap airplane

took the upstairs balcony off

one of them and smashed

into the sand trap on hole 9.

Holy shit. We ran for our

cars to held that way along

with the fire department.

When we arrived, the airplane

was totally on fire as

was the house it had just

hit. It was a horrific scene

knowing we were watching

a pilot burning alive

inside what was left of the

airplane. The FD sprayed

foam all over the plane and

it minutes the fire was out. I

didn’t want to see what was

left of that poor retired pilot.

The chief pried open the

cockpit door, shock his head

and walked over to me and

said, Barron there’s no one

in it. Wait what! I walked

over and sure as hell, the

cockpit, what was left of

it, was empty. Did the idiot

jump out. We immediately

started looking for a pilot

along the path the burning

airplane has just taken

when my phone rang. “hey

sarge, there’s a man here

in the lobby asking for you.

He’s hurt pretty bad and he’s

bleeding from a bad head

wound.”

Ask him what happened,

call 911 and I’m on the way.

“Hey sarge, he says he’s the

pilot that just crashed”

Are you shitting me! Seems

the man climbed out of

the crashed airplane and

walked across the golf

course and the runways, to

the airport terminal building.

I called the fire chief

and told him, ‘yeah, we

found the pilot. We need

EMTs at the terminal like

NOW.”

I walked in the terminal,

walked up to the pilot who

was in pretty bad shape

and said, “well I guess I was

right; you aren’t going to

make it to Denver after all.”

At the very moment I said

“Denver” I heard a god-awful

screeching sound and

looked out the window

to the runway and saw a

Mooney Airplane sliding

down the runway. Sparks

flying everywhere.

Holy shit. What in Gods

name. I ran to the ramp,

climbed into a courtesy golf

cart parked outside and

headed to the downed airplane.

I called the fire chief

and said we have another

crash on runway 13. We

need you back here.

As I pulled up, both pilots

were exiting the plane.

Noone was hurt but the

plane was damaged as was

the engine and prop. “What

the hell guys?”

It seems that they were

both looking at the smoldering

hulk of a plane on

the golf course and the

house fire next to it and forgot

to extend their landing

gear. Morons.

That’s three crashes in one

day. Three pilots walked

away and one poor soul

perished. What a day.

104 The The BLUES BLUES JANUARY - APRIL ‘26 ‘25

By Jenna Curren

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A statement

sent to U.S. Border Patrol

agents that was obtained by

NewsNation states that border

patrol agents will stop using

body-worn cameras immediately

By

in

Matthew

all field operations.

Holloway,

Law

The announcement

Enforcement Today

comes

after

REVERE,

social

MA.

media

- An

posts

illegal

revealed

immigrant

how to identify

from

border

the Dominican

patrol

Republic

agents as

was

well

arrested

as Customs

for possession

and

Enforcement

of over

(ICE)

$1 million

agents.

worth

The

of

memo

fentanyl

stated,

and

"All

an

U.S.

AR-15

Border

rifle

on

Patrol

December

Agents

27

will

in

cease

a state

the

taxpayer-subsidized

use

of body-worn cameras

hotel room

(BWC)

of

Massachusetts’

in all operational

emergency

environments."

housing

The

program.

directive follows notification

"regarding

Leonardo

a

Andujar

potential

Sanchez,

security

28,

as

risk."

reported by Fox News, was

arrested

The statement

by the Revere

read, "Pending

completion

Police

Department and

of

was

investigation

arrested

on

and

firearm

risk mitigation,

charges, including

all Agents

an

alien

will stand

in possession

down the

of

use

a firearm,

of their

and

BWCs

for

[body-worn

possession of

cameras]

about 10

pounds

until further

of the

notice.

lethal

Additional

guidance and information

synthetic

drug.

will

According

be disseminated

to a press

as

release

it is

from

received."

Immigration

On the social

and Customs

media

platform Reddit,

Enforcement (ICE) Andujar

one user

Sanchez

claimed

is currently

that agents

in state

could

custody

be

identified

and is under

by using

an immigration

BLE Radar by

detainer.

F-Dorid. BLE Radar is a mobile

application

Enforcement

that

and

functions

Removal

by

Operations

scanning for

Boston

Bluetooth

acting

low-energy

devices

Field

Office Director

like

Patricia

phones,

H.

smartwatches,

Hyde

told reporters,

and speakers.

“Mr. Andujar

has

Other

been

social

accused

media

of serious

posts

crimes, and ERO Boston takes

stated that the devices can be

tracked from a distance of 100

yards or more and can trigger

improvised explosive device attacks.

Fox News reported that the

cameras used by border patrol

agents are Avon body cameras,

which the social media post

claims are devices BLE Radar and

can be detected.

come check out our custom clothing


The The BLUES The BLUES -- APRIL JANUARY ‘26 ‘25‘26 105

WORDS BY SGT. MICHAEL BARRON, RET

MEXICAN NAVY PLANE CRASHES

Two Passengers and Four Crew members were killed when the Twin

Engine Airplane crashed short of the runway into Galveston Bay.

GALVESTON, TX – On a day

when the visibility had dropped

below flight minimums, a Mexican

Navy King Air Aircraft on

a medical flight with 8 people

on board, crashed into Galveston

Bay one mile short of the

runway at Galveston Scholes

Field. On board were four Naval

crew members, a doctor, a

flight nurse, and a mother and

a 2-year-old burn patient. Only

the nurse and the child’s mom

survived.

The first to arrive on the scene

was Sky Decker, a local yacht

captain and childhood plane

crash survivor. Decker jumped

in to rescue a woman trapped

in the debris before divers had

arrived on scene.

“Everyone was just waiting for

divers to arrive. And I thought

if there’s a woman alive in that

plane, she’s not going to be alive

for long,” he told reporters from

CNN. “It was critical to get her

out of there.”

Inside the wreckage, Decker


found a woman who was surviving

by breathing in a pocket of air

just inches from the roof of the

plane.

“It was hard to believe that there

could (be) any possibility that

anybody could be alive in that

wreckage,” Decker said. When he

saw her inside, he said, “it was

just unbelievable.”

He went back through the debris

and pulled out the body of a man

who was already dead, he said.

Decker, whose mother was Mexican,

said he was initially the only

person at the scene who could

speak Spanish and console the

surviving woman. Decker said he

was tormented by dreams about

plane crashes for years after he

survived the crash of his father’s

plane when he was 10 years old.

He said the traumatic accident had

a “huge impact” on him.

“Oddly, it almost seems like it

fits in with my life in some strange

way,” he said of the crash.

Officers from the Galveston

Police Department arrived shortly

after the woman was rescued and

began searching the wreckage.

They were joined by the U.S. Coast

Guard, Texas DPS, and the Galveston

County Sheriff’s Office.

All but one of the victims was

recovered on the day of the crash

and the final victim, one of the Naval

crew members bodies was recovered

the following day thanks

to assistance from the team from

Equi search.

Only hours before the crash,

I had visited a flight school at

Galveston Island, and the airport

was showing the ceiling at 700

feet and visibility at ½ mile. But just

before the accident occurred, the

field was reporting ¼ mile visibility

and at times was zero/zero,

meaning you could see 20 feet in

front of the you if you were standing

on the runway.

Robert Katz, a veteran commercial

pilot and flight instructor says

early evidence suggests the tragedy

may have been preventable.

Local TV station KHOU 11 spoke

with Katz, a pilot with more than

44 years of flying experience,

who reviewed publicly available

flight-tracking data and federal

aviation records tied to the crash

near Scholes International Airport.

Katz says the data shows the aircraft

was well off its proper glide

path as it approached the runway.

According to flight information,

the plane should have been flying

at about 200 feet just before

landing. Instead, it went down

in the water roughly half a mile

short of the runway.

“This was tragic, and this was

entirely preventable,” Katz said.

Visibility below legal minimums

Federal Aviation Administration

records show the minimum visibility

required to land on Runway

14 at Scholes Airport is half a

mile. Katz says a special weather

bulletin was issued to pilots just

minutes before the crash, warning

that visibility had dropped to

about a quarter mile due to dense

fog.

“This pilot would have been

aware of the weather conditions

before he attempted the approach,”

Katz said. “There was a

special observation taken three

minutes prior to the landing attempt.”

Under those conditions, Katz says

the pilot should not have continued.

“It was not lawful at that point

to continue the approach,” he

explained. “They should have

conducted a missed approach and

diverted somewhere else.”

Katz says the aircraft’s flight logs

also indicate the plane descended

too low, too early, a move he believes

may have been an attempt

to spot visual landmarks through

thick fog.

“That’s a very common mistake

pilots make,” Katz said. “We want

the confidence that comes from

seeing something instead of flying

blind."

After what appeared to be an

uneventful two-hour flight across

the Gulf, Katz says the landing

decision combined with the early

descent likely proved fatal.

“It’s the pilot’s prerogative to

attempt an approach,” Katz said.

“But doing so when visibility is

known to be below published

minimums is foolish.”

Katz adds that based on the

information available so far, there

is no indication of a mechanical

problem with the aircraft. He

describes the plane’s model as

reliable when properly maintained

and flown by pilots familiar with

its systems.

The NTSB investigation is ongoing,

and officials caution that final

conclusions will be based on a

full review of evidence, including

weather data, flight records, and

aircraft wreckage.

The The BLUES BLUES - JANUARY ‘26 ‘26 107

BLUEPRINTS OF RESILIENCE

Emmanual Gonzalez Sosa

Working the Line,

Preserving the Home:

Why Officers Must Separate the Job From Family Life

Police work is a vocation that

requires exceptional resilience,

bravery and selflessness. Behind

each badge lies an individual

who bears the burden of their

experiences. The nature of the

job, filled with conflict and trauma,

can heavily impact not only

the officers but also their families.

Therefore, one of the most

crucial yet difficult skills for

officers is to learn how to distinguish

their professional life from

family life.

Understanding the separation

between work and personal life,

especially for police officers, is

essential for multiple reasons.

This separation plays a critical

role in safeguarding the wellbeing

of families, promoting mental

health and fostering healthier

relationships. Law enforcement

jobs can be incredibly stressful

and this stress can spill over into

family life. Research indicates

that occupational stress is linked

to increased irritability, emotional

fatigue, and withdrawal

behaviors, which can strain relationships

with family members.

The emotional toll of police

work can lead to a disruption in

family dynamics, making it essential

for officers to consciously

separate work stress from home


life.

Maintaining clear boundaries

between work and home life is

critical for mental health. Officers

are often in a constant state

of alertness while on duty, and if

this state is not managed appropriately

during off-duty hours, it

can lead to chronic stress. Creating

a distinct line allows for

relaxation and recovery, which

are essential steps in managing

stress and preventing burnout.

Research has shown that effective

detachment from work-related

stressors is associated

with improved mental health and

well-being. By allowing officers

to disengage from their work

environment, they can cultivate a

healthier mental state outside of

their demanding jobs.

Additionally, being emotionally

present and engaged with family

and friends is crucial for maintaining

healthy relationships.

Officers who effectively detach

from work-related emotions are

likely to experience improved familial

relationships because they

can invest the necessary time

and emotional energy into their

families (Taylor-Smith, 2021).

The establishment of emotional

boundaries helps officers become

more involved as partners

and parents, enhancing overall

family functioning and satisfaction.

This engagement is vital,

as the pressures of policing can

create distance and strain within

family dynamics.

To achieve effective separation

between work and home, several

practical strategies can be

employed. One useful approach

is developing transition rituals,

such as calming drives home,

workouts or brief meditation

sessions. These rituals help signal

the end of the workday and

the beginning of family time.

Additionally, establishing clear

communication agreements

with family members can greatly

help, allowing officers to share

brief overviews of their workdays

without delving into graphic

details. This practice fosters

understanding and support

among family members while

minimizing emotional overflow

from work.

Another important strategy is

practicing compartmentaliza-

tion and emotional processing

instead of suppression. Officers

should acknowledge and process

their emotions intentionally,

which can involve journaling,

discussing experiences with

trusted colleagues, or participating

in regular mental health

check-ins. These methods provide

crucial emotional outlets

and contribute positively to mental

well-being. Engaging with

peers who understand the specific

challenges of police work,

whether through peer support

groups or counseling, can significantly

help alleviate emotional

stress.

Departments play a crucial

role in supporting officers'

well-being, recognizing that

their mental and emotional

health directly impacts performance

and community relations.

Research shows that the psychological

demands of police

work can lead to higher levels

of stress, burnout, and mental

health issues. Encouraging

supervisors to model healthy

behaviors is essential. When

leaders actively respect time off

and emphasize the importance

of work-life balance, officers are

more likely to prioritize their own

well-being.

To enhance officer wellness,

it is vital to provide a comprehensive

array of resources integrated

into the organizational

culture. Regular mental health

evaluations can normalize seeking

help and allow officers to

assess their well-being without

stigma. A study by the National

Institute of Justice (2018) found

that routine mental evaluations

can help mitigate the long-term

effects of occupational stress.

Additionally, resiliency training

equips officers with skills to

bounce back from stressors and

challenges encountered in their

line of work. Family wellness

programs are also beneficial.

Studies indicate that family support

can significantly improve an

officer's coping mechanisms.

Access to confidential counseling

services is critical. Officers

often face unique challenges

that require a safe space to

discuss their experiences. The International

Association of Chiefs

of Police (IACP) emphasizes

that providing accessible mental

health resources can reduce the

stigma associated with seeking

help.

Moreover, responsible scheduling

is vital for maintaining

officers' mental health. Excessive

overtime can impede recovery,

leading to decreased job performance

and increased absenteeism.

By prioritizing balanced

schedules, departments not only

support mental health but also

enhance job satisfaction and

performance. Research conducted

by the Police Executive

Research Forum highlights the

importance of sustainable work

practices in promoting overall

officer welfare.

Ultimately, maintaining a

separation between work and

home life is not about ignoring

the realities of policing.

Instead, it ensures that officers

can thrive both on and off duty.

When officers are grounded and

emotionally available at home,

family dynamics improve. This

stability translates to the entire

profession, making it safer, more

compassionate and effective.

Protecting the community starts

with taking care of those who

serve it.

In summary, understanding the

importance of separating professional

stresses from home life

is essential for police officers.

Implementing strategies that

promote mental health, protect

family wellbeing, and foster

healthy relationships is crucial

for their overall wellbeing. Research

indicates that with proper

boundaries and support, officers

can navigate their demanding

profession while maintaining

fulfilling personal lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emmanuel Gonzalez Sosa holds

a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

from the University of Puerto

Rico, along with a Master’s degree

in Criminal Justice with a

concentration in Criminology and

Investigation from Eastern University

of Puerto Rico. In addition,

he coursed a Master’s degree in

Psychology from the Inter-American

University of Puerto Rico. E.

Gonzalez Sosa currently is completing

a Ph.D. at Keiser University

in Florida, further strengthening

an academic foundation that integrates

social sciences, psychology,

and criminal justice.


A BADGE OF HONOR

Healing Our Heroes

Recovering from the Trauma

of Working a Plane Crash

This month’s issue reports several

instances of airplane crashes. There

is nothing more violent and destructive

than the aftermath of an airplane

crash. Any first responder who has

worked on one of these crashes will

testify it’s the worst experience of

their professional life and the images

stay with them forever. So then, how

does a first responder recover from

the trauma of working such a horrible

scene.

For many First Responders, the

thought of responding to an

Airline Crash is the furthest from

our minds during our daily shifts.

We mentally prepare ourselves

for everything from car crashes,

shootings and violent assaults,

which for many of us are routine

assignments that we encounter

each day. We train and prepare

our minds even before we get

the call. If we know the punch is

coming, we are less likely to sustain

the physical damage or pain

it can cause as when we are blindsided

by that same punch.

So how do we prepare? Why

should we prepare for an incident

that statistically will never happen

within our jurisdiction? Because it

may happen!

Our job is never routine; it is far

more complex than any other career.

It is forever changing and the

unexpected needs to be expected no

matter how rare it may be.

We see cars, bikes and people

during our patrols. We run scenarios

and “what ifs” continuously. How

often do we look up and see the Air

traffic above our heads. Many airlines


pass right over us each day without

us even giving a thought to what if

that plane loses an engine or that

student pilot panics and crashes into

a building. We don’t think about it,

because it’s not routine.

Just like Active Shooters, years

ago we never prepared for it the way

we prepare now. Even if it is still

statically rare it will happen in your

district, we still must be trained both

physically and mentally to what we

may encounter

We train for the routine, which our

job is anything but.

A plane crash not only involves

multiple fatalities but at times major

destruction to the area involved.

The scene is usually littered with

widespread debris and chaos. It can

involve multiple response agencies,

structure fires, fuel releases and

more. When you arrive at a scene it

is a lot for your brain to process in

such a short time span. The fatalities

are the least of those. It’s mass

destruction that overloads our minds.

We have all seen fatalities throughout

our careers, but destruction

caused by the crash is not as easily

cleared with a tow truck or crime

scene clean up. The damage caused

impacts on our mental status which

cannot be as easily cleared.

None of these first responders could

ever have expected this to happen

• January 26th, 1990-Avianca Flight

52 crashed in a Small Town in Cove

Neck, NY

• July 17th, 1996, TWA Flight 800

crashed off the shore of Center

Moriches, NY

• September 11th, 2001, four

planes were hijacked crashing

into the Twin Towers, The

Pentagon and an empty field in

Shanksville, PA.

• November 12th, 2001, American

Airlines flight Crashes in

Queens Ny

These are just a few of the

many crashes that have occurred

across our nation.

Both career and volunteers First

Responders responded to these

incidents and many still today can

remember the scene as vivid as it

was the day they arrived.

Most remember the destruction,

not the fatalities.

A plane Crash is far from routine,

but so is our job. We must make sure

we are mentally prepared for both

the expected and unexpected.

Prepare your mind for the worst

and hope for the best.

There is no absolute, but proper

preparation is key to a healthy mental

mindset.

John Salerno, Ret. Detective NYPD


DARYL'S DELIBERATIONS

Wartime Industry and

Tragedy in Houston

The year 1943 marked a halfway

point of sorts for World War

Two, or, at least, the U.S. participation

in the worldwide conflict.

The year found Houston to be a

leader in wartime production.

Houston’s two largest industries

should come as no surprise:

shipbuilding and petrochemicals.

Houston Shipbuilding Corp

alone had 21,000 workers. Those

men (and women) had already

launched sixty-six merchant

cargo ships for the war effort

while another company, Brown

Shipyards, worked on U.S naval

vessels.

The other industry

was petrochemicals.

Shell-Deer Park and

Humble Oil specialized

in high octane aviation

fuel and chemicals for

explosives like TNT.

If allied planes were

in the air, there was a

good chance that the

fuel they burned came

from Houston.

Tens of thousands

of workers flocked to

Houston looking for

full-time employment.

It was easier to find a

job than to find a place to live.

This was not a Houston problem

alone. America’s production


centers lacked housing for factories

and plants. Tent cities sprung

up in places like Washington DC,

Oakland, Detroit, Los Angeles,

and other production centers.

The Pentagon had just completed

construction and put the military

in a central location and moved

them out of tents scattered

across the national mall.

The year saw another unprecedented

event: a hurricane with no

warning. A Cat 2 hurricane struck

Bolivar and drove inland on July

27, killing 19 people and setting

our industry back with power

failures, etc. Housing construction

stalled as workers rallied to restore

the critically needed plants

for aviation fuel and explosives.

DARYL LOTT

The hurricane is “unprecedented”

not because it was a hurricane

that struck the upper Texas

coast and Houston, but because

of the secrecy involved. Due to

German U-boats prowling the

Gulf, ships were prohibited

from radioing warnings and

storm positions to the weather

bureau which had been the

custom.

Colonel Joe Duckworth of

the Air Corps flew an AT-Texan

to the hurricane and into

the eyewall, becoming the first

“hurricane hunter” in history.

Unfortunately, his feat and the

information it contained fell

victim to censorship. Wartime

secrecy of our plants and the

conditions they might be enduring,

were more important

than warning people about the

hurricane.

This hurricane complicated an

already overburdened construc-

tion sector.

With the extraordinary demand

for housing, workers had to find

places to live. Many of them were

from out of town and had no

family connections to Houston.

The old “flophouse” type of hotels

in downtown Houston, saw a

resurgence. The bus station and

train station, the main travel hubs

of the city, were mere footsteps

from these old hotels.

As men arrived in Houston,

many of them opted to stay in the

hotels. A room with a bed was 40

cents, double occupancy. Some

of the old common areas like ball

rooms were converted to barracks

style accommodations with

cots scattered throughout the

room. A cot was 20 cents a night.

Fire marshals targeted these

dilapidated buildings and issued

warnings, calling them “firetraps.”

But, Houston being Houston,

the fire marshals only had

civil authority. No criminal sanctions

could be carried out, nor did

they have the power to shut down

an unsafe building. Additionally,

regulations of any kind might

hamper production.

A mere seven weeks after the

devastating hurricane, a hotel

clerk was managing the desk at

the hotel located at 314 Louisiana

@ Preston. He smelled smoke

and ran to the affected room and

took a smoldering sheet off a bed

and doused it with water. Then

he threw it in a closet for the day

manager to dispose of. Unfortunately,

the sheet hadn’t been put

completely out. The closet was

full of cleaning chemicals and

other solvents. The old firetrap

the City Fire Marshal had been

complaining about, exploded into

a fire the likes of which HFD had

never seen.

According to Brady Hutchinson,

a college history instructor, it

took two hours for HFD to get the

blaze under control.

During the two-hour hellish

interval, Captain A.C. Martindale

of HPD Homicide ran down

the street from his office to the

scene. He saw men jumping

from the top (third) floor to their

deaths. He saw others die at the

windows and the so-called fire

escape. Reporters and photographers

ran to the macabre scene

to record the event for posterity.

Dazed and injured survivors

were whisked away to hospitals

like Jeff Davis. Fifteen of the injured

died in local hospitals. HFD

recovered another thirty-eight

bodies in the building and two

more outside. Fifty-five men perished

in the fire. Captain Martindale

confirmed that the hotel had

eighty-seven beds and forty cots.

Of the fifty-five men who died,

twenty-three victims were never

identified. The bodies were

burned beyond recognition and,

of course, DNA had not been

discovered yet. At least one man

was tentatively identified because

of the laundry mark on his shirt.

Kind of spotty reporting on the

face of it, but by this time in 1943,

the U.S. had over a quarter of a

million war casualties. Believe it



or not, the U.S. had over 17,500

industrial/factory deaths in 1943

alone. The homefront was incredibly

risky. No OSHA. No nuthin’.

Wartime safety was not a

premium consideration. Even so,

this fire made headlines in Houston

and put the firetraps on display.

No substantial regulations

were put into place. Again, bigger

fish to fry with Nazis and fanatical

Japanese breathin’ down our

necks.

The American Red Cross organized

a fund to pay for burial

services for the twenty-three

unclaimed victims. A war weary

public chipped in and paid for

an interfaith memorial service at

South Park Cemetery in Pearland,

Texas.

Like most things, historical, this

part of the story may have been

lost except for the efforts of a

historian working at the South

Park Funeral Home. “I see this as

a calling,” she said. “Most people

like to know something about the

place where they will rest with

loved ones.” Dianne DeArmond,

Community Service Supervisor,

arrived in Pearland and heard

of the 1943 fire and the unidentified

victims. Thankfully, she

and another staffer launched an

investigation to find out what they

could about the burial mentioned

in news sources, but nobody had

any firsthand information. A card,

however, was found in a file.

The unmarked grave was located

by the superintendent. It

has been described as a “trench.”

I suppose that it is a trench, but

DeArmond is quick to point out

that each person was buried

individually in their grave in their

own casket. She provided the

photo in this article, and it supports

her belief about the individual

graves.

She gave me the cemetery map

and marked it. I have scanned it

and submitted it with this article

in the event anyone wants to pay

their respects. In the photos one

can see the vantage point and

landmarks so one can easily find

the unmarked graves.

September 7, 1943, in World

War 2 history is known for the

following: the U.S. Army invaded

the Gulf of Salerno in Italy. The

German Army began an agonizing

retreat from Ukraine. The Australians

suffered devastating losses

in Papua. The Eighth Air Force

conducted strategic daylight

bombing of targets in France with

high losses. And the Gulf Hotel in

Downtown Houston, Texas, erupted

in a fire that produced the

worst loss of life due to fire in the

city’s history to this very day.

When we reflect on the lives

lost in World War Two on the

battlefields of Europe and the

Pacific, and in the skies and seas

beyond them, we must also remember

those who died on the

Homefront. Many workers labored

under dangerous conditions, believing

their work sustained those

in combat. Even today, industrial

accidents claim lives despite

modern protections. In 1943, those

protections were nonexistent.

Most went to work out of duty.

Some never knew a hurricane

was closing in on them. And others

were forced to live in unsafe

firetraps like the Gulf Hotel.


BLUE METAL HEALTH

Voices from the Field:

Amanda Dozanti, author of Beat the Burnout

and Responder Reset

As we begin a new year, I continue

to share the knowledge

and journey of those who have

dedicated their lives and careers

to helping others through their

insight and experience. I recently

had the blessing to meet an up

and coming professional who is

making a significant difference

in responder mental health. In

this month’s “Voices from the

Field” series, I highlight an excellent

excerpt by Amanda Dozanti,

author of Beat the Burnout and

Responder Reset.

HIGH-FUNCTIONING BURN-

OUT: THE PERFORMANCE

BLIND SPOT

By AK Dozanti, MA

Burnout in law enforcement

rarely announces itself through

failure.

More often, it shows up as an

officer or supervisor who keeps

going. The work gets done. The

shift is covered. The call is handled.

Forward motion continues,

even as the internal system carrying

that motion starts to break

down.

This is high-functioning burnout.

And it is one of the most

overlooked threats to officer

wellness, peer support effectiveness,

and suicide prevention


efforts in policing.

The profession has unintentionally

trained itself to equate

performance with health. Reliability,

productivity, and composure

under pressure are treated

as evidence that an officer is fine.

That assumption allows physiological

burnout to progress

quietly, because the most visible

metric…output…remains intact.

When Performance Becomes

the Regulator

Policing requires constant

vigilance, rapid decision-making,

and repeated exposure to threat,

urgency, and human suffering.

The nervous system adapts

accordingly. Stress hormones

stay elevated. The body learns to

remain alert. Urgency becomes

familiar.

This adaptation is a survival

strategy shaped by the demands

of the job.

The problem arises when that

strategy never stands down.

Chronic activation without sufficient

recovery changes how the

nervous system functions. Sleep

becomes lighter or disrupted.

Emotional range narrows. Stress

tolerance shrinks. These shifts

rarely prevent performance. In

many cases, they sharpen it in

the short term.

DR. TINA JAECKLE

Research on cumulative stress

and trauma shows that prolonged

activation affects mood

regulation, cognitive flexibility,

and physiological resilience

long before outward functioning

declines (McEwen, 2007; Violanti

et al., 2017). Officers often become

highly skilled at overriding

internal cues in order to stay

operational.

What keeps someone effective

on the job can quietly erode their

capacity to live well elsewhere.

WHEN SYMPTOMS BLEND

INTO CULTURE

High-functioning burnout

thrives in environments where

indicators are normalized.

Short sleep is expected. Irritability

is written off as job

stress. Emotional detachment

is mistaken for professionalism.

Hypervigilance off duty is reframed

as experience. Increased

reliance on caffeine, stimulants,

or alcohol rarely raises concern

if performance remains strong.

These patterns are not moral

failures, but they are predictable

physiological responses to

prolonged stress exposure. The

danger is not that they occur, but

that they stop being recognized

as signals.

When symptoms become culturally

acceptable, they fade into

the background. Officers don’t

seek support because they believe

what they are experiencing

is typical or manageable. Supervisors

do not intervene because

nothing appears operationally

wrong. Peer support engagement

is delayed until a critical

incident or visible breakdown

forces attention.

By then, burnout is no longer

early-stage. It has been accumulating

for months, if not years.

BURNOUT PROGRESSION

Burnout does not arrive suddenly.

It progresses.

Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger,

who first defined burnout,

described it as a 12-stage

process rather than a single

event. His model outlines a gradual

progression that begins with

overcommitment and intensifies

through emotional suppression,

withdrawal, depersonalization,

and loss of meaning. Throughout

much of this process, outward

performance can remain intact.

In later stages, burnout becomes

less about exhaustion and

more about disconnection.

At the end of the burnout cycle

is a belief that is rarely spoken

out loud: “I can no longer go on.”

This belief develops slowly.

Officers continue to serve, lead,

and function while feeling increasingly

detached from themselves,

their relationships, and

any sense of identity beyond

their role. The gap between who

they are and how they are living

widens until the mere act of

existing feels burdensome.

This is not a dramatic exaggeration

but rather the logical

outcome of prolonged disconnection

paired with relentless

demand.

WHY THE BRAIN MAKES THIS

HARD TO SEE

Chronic stress and trauma also

affect how the brain processes

information. Under sustained

threat, access to the prefrontal

cortex (the region responsible

for perspective, reasoning, and

long-term planning) is reduced

(Arnsten, 2015). This is why law

enforcement relies so heavily on

training. When stress is high, the

brain defaults to what is familiar.

That adaptation saves lives in

the field.

It becomes dangerous when

someone feels internally overwhelmed

or trapped. A person

who believes they are drowning

under the weight of their own

life is not operating from logic

or big-picture thinking, they

are operating from survival. In

that state, options narrow. Perspective

collapses. The ability

to imagine an alternative future

diminishes.

This is why performance cannot

serve as a proxy for wellness,

and why waiting for someone

to “speak up” often fails. The

nervous system most in need of

support is frequently the least

able to see it clearly.

THE SUICIDE PREVENTION GAP

Suicide prevention efforts in

law enforcement often emphasize

crisis response. Hotlines,

awareness campaigns, and

post-incident resources matter

and can be effective. But they do

not address the full scope of the

problem.


conceals many upstream risk

factors. Because officers remain

effective, concern is postponed.

Because symptoms are normalized,

distress goes unnamed. By

the time performance declines,

the most critical windows for

prevention may already have

closed.

Effective prevention requires

earlier intervention, informed by

an understanding of cumulative

stress, burnout progression, and

nervous system overload. It also

requires aftercare that addresses

long-term load, not just isolated

events.

How a department responds

after a loss sends a powerful

message. It can either reinforce

silence or signal that officers are

valued beyond their productivity.

RECRUITMENT, RETENTION,

AND THE COST OF IGNORING

CAPACITY

This blind spot affects the future

of the profession.


contributes to early exits, lateral

transfers, disengagement, and

the loss of experienced officers.

People are not leaving in droves

because they cannot do the job.

They leave because the job no

longer allows them to exist fully

in their own lives.

Newer officers are watching


closely. They pay attention to

how burnout is handled, whether

wellness is supported with real

infrastructure, and whether sustainability

is treated as an operational

priority or a talking point.

A culture that rewards endurance

while ignoring depletion

sends a clear message: you are

valuable as long as you can keep

going. That message undermines

recruitment, accelerates attrition,

and erodes trust.

WHAT MUST CHANGE

This is not about lowering

standards or reducing expectations.

It is about changing what

departments measure and support.

Performance alone cannot

serve as a wellness indicator.

Supervisors and peer support

teams need training to recognize

early signs of capacity erosion,

including chronic sleep disruption,

emotional withdrawal,

rigidity, difficulty downshifting

after stress, and loss of engagement

outside of work.

Peer support should not carry

this responsibility alone. Department

wellness teams must

include licensed, trained mental

health professionals who understand

trauma, burnout progression,

and law enforcement

culture. These professionals provide

clinical insight, continuity of

care, and a layer of support that

peers are not trained or expected

to offer.

Leadership modeling matters.

When leaders demonstrate

boundaries, recovery, and respect

for nervous system health,

they redefine strength without

policy changes or slogans.

Healthy systems do not wait for

collapse; they intervene while

people are still performing.

A DIFFERENT MEASURE OF

HEALTH

Law enforcement has mastered

survival. The next challenge

is sustainability.

Performance is not proof of

wellness. In many cases, it is

what allows burnout to remain

hidden until the cost becomes

impossible to ignore. If the

profession wants to strengthen

suicide prevention, improve

retention, and protect its people,

it must stop rewarding depletion

and start safeguarding capacity.

Sustained performance should

never require the quiet loss of

the person behind the badge.

REFERENCES

Arnsten, A. F. T., et al. (2015).

The effects of stress exposure

on prefrontal cortex: Translating

basic research into successful

treatments for post-traumatic

stress disorder. Neurobiology of

Stress, 1(1), 89–99.

Freudenberger, H. J. (1974).

Staff burnout. Journal of Social

Issues, 30(1), 159–165.

McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology

and neurobiology of stress

and adaptation. Physiological

Reviews, 87(3), 873–904.

Violanti, J. M., et al. (2017). Police

stressors and health: A stateof-the-art

review. Policing: An

International Journal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AK Dozanti, MA is a nationally

recognized speaker and former

deputy sheriff known for

addressing burnout in modern

policing without compromising

performance. Her work integrates

the physiology of stress

and trauma with nervous system

regulation and emotional

intelligence, translating science

into tools officers can actually

use. As the author of Beat the

Burnout and Responder Reset,

AK focuses on helping officers

sustain their edge, capacity,

and longevity without sacrificing

their humanity to the job.



NOT SO BRIGHT AWARD

Light Bulb

Mamdani Wins LB Award AGAIN

Mamdani taps ex-con rapper Mysonne Linen, who served 7 years for

armed robbery, as his justice adviser on his transition team.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

has picked a controversial rapper

who did seven years in state

prison for armed robbery to advise

him on the criminal justice

system, The Post has learned.

Mysonne Linen, 49, a Bronx

convict-turned-activist who

was found guilty of two felony

heists in the late 1990s, was

appointed by the democratic

socialist to sit on his mayoral

transition’s “criminal legal system”

committee — just one of

many questionable picks.

“This is a testament to our

decades of work advocating

on behalf of black and brown

communities and our expertise

in gun violence prevention, legislative

advocacy and criminal

justice reform,” Linen boasted

on Instagram last month after

the position was announced.

“We are building something

different.”

Mysonne Linen, 49, had a

promising rap career when he

was convicted of armed robbery

in 1999 in the Bronx.

The conviction came just as

Linen’s debut album was due for

release by Def Jam Recordings.

Bronx prosecutors said his

crew pulled off the June 8, 1997,

robbery of taxi driver Joseph


Eziri, and the March 31, 1998,

gunpoint theft from cabbie Francisco

Monsanto, according to the

News.

According to officials at the

state Department of Correction

and Community Renewal, Linen

was hit with a sentence of seven

to 14 years and was sprung on

parole on July 5, 2006.

Linen, who had faced up to 25

years behind bars, continued to

deny he was involved and rebranded

himself as a community

activist following his release

from state prison.

He spent years volunteering as

a so-called violence interrupter

and also founded Rising Kings,

a non-profit group that teaches

classes to inmates at Rikers

Island.

Linen also partnered up with

anti-Israel activist and adviser

of Mamdani, Linda Sarsour, to

found the group Until Freedom,

a social justice activism organization.

Critics slammed his appointment

to the 20-member “Committee

on the Criminal Legal System,”

which will advise Mamdani

on criminal justice policies.

“It is both disheartening and

deeply disturbing that individuals

who are convicted felons and

have a history of breaking the

law are being given the opportunity

to help shape the future

of New York’s criminal justice

system,” said Benny Boscio, president

of the Correction Officers’

Benevolent Association.

“The men and women who risk

their lives every day to enforce

the law have been shut out from

this process entirely.”

Recently retired NYPD Chief

of Department John Chell said

Linen’s appointment was par for

the course for the democratic

socialist, who has made a slew

of contentious picks to his 17

transition committees.

“It’s just another appointed

adviser that has a questionable

past, which is in line with some

of his other recent appointees

who were anti-police and establishment,”

Chell said.

My eyebrows? I paid a lot of money for them.


WHAT'S NEW

Products & Services

SoRite’s New Fast-Acting

Defense Cleanse Solution

Eradicates Tear Gas, Pepper Spray, and Chemical Irritants.

Defense Cleanse helps law

enforcement officers, correctional

personnel, and security professionals

recover from direct exposure

to defense sprays in as little

as three minutes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December

10, 2025) - SoRite today announced

the release of SoRite®

Defense Cleanse (Defense

Cleanse), a fast-acting decontamination

solution engineered

to quickly neutralize the effects

of tear gas, pepper spray, and

other chemical irritants. Developed

specifically for law

enforcement officers, correctional

personnel, and security

professionals who carry defense

sprays, it helps users rapidly

recover from direct exposure as

well as “spray blowback” that

can occur during tear-gas deployment.

Defense Cleanse is the only

non-toxic, sodium-chlorite–

based solution on the market

that both neutralizes irritants

and lifts contaminants from

the skin. It is also suited for the

hunting, outdoor, and self-defense

environments.

Member tested and recommended

by the National Tactical


Officers Association, Defense

Cleanse is engineered to remove

capsaicin oil found in OC

(pepper spray), CS (tear gas),

CN (riot control agents), and

bear spray. It delivers one of the

fastest recovery times available

on the market, significantly reducing

eyetearing and burning,

sneezing, coughing, skin irritation,

sore throats, and in extreme

cases, vomiting.

In field use and training environments,

users have reported

“eyes open” after direct exposure

of defense sprays to the face and

eyes in as little as three minutes

and full recovery within five to 10

minutes. For lesser “blowback”

applications recovery times are

even faster. Competing solutions

can take up to 15 minutes

to begin working. Unlike wipes

or soaps that provide partial

relief, Defense Cleanse targets

contaminants at the chemical

level. It reduces the “afterburn”

effect that occurs when residual

contaminants reactivate during

sweating or showering.

“Defense Cleanse was developed

because there was a

distinct need in the field for a

non-toxic solution that would

rapidly counteract the effects

of all types of tear gases and

pepper sprays,” said Autumn

Ryan, CEO and founder of SoRite.

“Whether the exposure happens

during duty, training, outdoor

activity, or an unexpected encounter,

it is imperative that everyone

has access to a solution

that is easy to deploy, works immediately

and consistently, and

enables them to rapidly return to

normal activities.”

Defense Cleanse is formulated

to be non-toxic, non-corrosive

and fragrance-free. “It requires

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and is safe for use on skin,

uniforms, duty gear, and equipment,”

adds Ryan. “It is ready to

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no mixing or preparation, and

is built around SoRite’s W.A.R.P.

protocol of “Wipe, Apply, Rinse,

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Defense Cleanse is available

in gallon jugs for use by large

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Cleanse can also be used as a

laundry additive to decontaminate

defense sprays from clothing.

For agencies, officers and outdoor

professionals who depend

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safety and operational readiness,

Defense Cleanse sets a new

standard for chemical irritant

aftercare.

About SoRite

SoRite develops high-performance

decontamination and

cleaning solutions for professional,

tactical and consumer use.

The company is on a mission to

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industrial-strength performance

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is a Woman-Owned Business and

was established in 2015.

Streamlight launches ultra-bright MegaStream HP USB

EAGLEVILLE, Pa. — Streamlight,

Inc., a leading provider of

high-performance lighting, announced

the launch of the MegaStream

HP USB, the newest

addition to the Stream series of

handheld flashlights. The Mega-

Stream HP USB is a high candela

powerhouse, delivering 310,000

candela and a beam distance of

1,114 meters, an impressive performance

for a light of its size.

Engineered for professionals and

everyday users alike, the Mega-

Stream HP USB offers three lighting

modes, a push-button tail cap

switch with momentary or constant

on operation, and a USB-C

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convenient, handheld, lightweight

format.

The light provides 1,350 lumens

on High, 470 lumens on Medium,

and 145 lumens on Low, with run

times of two, four, and 15 hours

respectively. The MegaStream HP

USB is powered by a 3,500mAh

Streamlight SL-B34 lithium-ion

battery pack with an onboard

safety circuit. Charging is simple

with a sliding sleeve that reveals

the USB-C port, and an LED indicator

shows charging status: red for

charging, green for charged.

“The MegaStream HP USB is the

perfect blend of extreme performance

and everyday portability,”

said Michael F. Dineen, Streamlight

president. “It delivers a powerful

downrange beam, ideal for users

who need serious light in a convenient,

rechargeable package.”

Built to withstand tough conditions,

the MegaStream HP USB is

constructed from machined aluminum

alloy with a Type II MIL-Spec

anodized finish for abrasion resistance.

It features an unbreakable

glass lens, is IPX7 waterproof to 1

meter for 30 minutes, and is impact-resistance

tested to 1 meter.

The MegaStream HP USB measures

6.61 inches in length, has a

1-inch body diameter and 2.24-

inch head diameter, and weighs 9

ounces with battery. It is available

in Black and ships with a USB-C

cord, removable pocket clip and a

holster. The light has an MSRP of

$219 and comes with Streamlight’s

Limited Lifetime Warranty.

For additional information,

please call 800-523-7488 or visit

streamlight.com.


ADS BACK IN THE DAY

124 The The BLUES Blues BLUES JANUARY - January - DECEMBER ‘26

‘24 ‘25

The The BLUES Blues The - The BLUES DECEMBER - January BLUES - JANUARY ‘24‘25 ‘26 ‘26 125

ADS BACK IN THE DAY



127

THERE ARE

parting shots...


NO WORDS


THERE ARE

parting shots...


NO WORDS


NOW HIRING

LE job positions

Chandler Police Department Police Officer 12/30/2025

Giddings Police Department Police Officer 01/05/2026

Johnson City Police Department Peace Officer 01/05/2026

Jack County Sheriff's Office Deputy 01/07/2026

Comptroller of Public Accounts State Police Corporal (Austin) 01/09/2026

Brookshire Police Department Police Officer 01/10/2026

Brenham Police Department Police Officers 01/02/2026

Mustang Ridge Police Department Peace Officer 01/11/2026

De Witt County Sheriff's Office Patrol Deputy 01/11/2026

De Witt County Sheriff's Office Jailer 01/11/2026

Bastrop Police Department Get Info Detective 01/12/2026

Hill County Sheriff's Office Get Info Criminal Investigator 01/12/2026

Community ISD Police Department Police Officer 01/12/2026

Community ISD Police Department Security Guard 01/12/2026

Nacogdoches ISD Police Department Police Officer 01/14/2026

CapMetro Police Department Captain, Police Training, and Patrol Operations 01/17/2026

Log Cabin Police Department Police Officer 01/16/2026

Mustang Ridge Police Department Code Enforcement Officer | Police Officer 01/18/2026

Nassau Bay Police Department Patrol Officer I 01/07/2026

Baytown Police Department Patrol Officer 01/02/2026

Borden County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sheriff 01/15/2026

Shoreacres Police Department Police Officer 01/19/2026

Grand Prairie Police Department Police Officer 01/10/2026

CapMetro Police Department Police Officer 01/17/2026

Aransas County Sheriff's Office Deputy 01/04/2026

Vernon College Coordinator of Protective Services (Training) 02/01/2026

Brown County Water Improvement District Lake Patrol 01/30/2026

Vernon College Campus Police Officer 02/02/2026

Hutto Police Department Peace Officer 02/07/2026

Southwestern Baptist Police Department Part Time Police Officer 02/09/2026

Oldham County Sheriff's Office Patrol Deputy 02/10/2026

China Spring ISD Police Department School Resource Officer 01/08/2026

City of Midland Municipal Court Security Officer 02/11/2026

Pleasanton Police Department Patrol Officer (Multiple Positions) 02/11/2026

Collin College Police Department Police Officer 01/11/2026

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy 02/14/2026

Morgan's Point Police Department Police Officer 02/17/2026

Hempstead Police Department Police Officers 01/15/2026

Round Rock ISD Police Department Peace Officer 02/16/2026

Westover Hills Police Department Patrol Officer 02/16/2026

Texas A&M University-Victoria Director of Campus Safety 02/17/2026

Montgomery ISD Police Department Police Officer 02/01/2026

Lone Star College Police Department Police Officer 02/07/2026

Nacogdoches County Lake Officer & Lake Manager 01/30/2026

Lockhart Police Department Police Officer 02/26/2026

University of Texas Police Department Lateral Police Officer 02/27/2026

Howe Police Department Police Officer 02/27/2026

Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office Field Deputy 02/27/2026

Travis County Sheriff's Office Courthouse Deputy 01/06/2026

Big Spring Police Department Peace Officer Exam 01/20/2025


NOW HIRING

WELCOME OUR NEWEST DEPARTMENT

LE job positions

WELCOME ABOARD PASADENA PD



NOW HIRING

job positions

JOIN MPD

TEXT "JOINMPD" TO

TO APPLY OR SPEAK

WITH A RECRUITER

SALARY

Up to $20,000 lateral officer signing bonus

Police officer entry-level: $6,883 monthly

Custody officer salary range: $5,970–$7,132 monthly

EDUCATION INCENTIVE

90 quarter credits/ 60 semester credits/ AA: 6%

BA/ BS: 8%

RETIREMENT PENSION

Police officers: LEOFF 2

Custody officers: PERS 2

VACATION

Police officer range: 200 hours annually, up to 320

hours annually depending on years of service

Custody officer range: 192 hours annually, up to 312

hours annually depending on years of service

SPECIALIZED UNITS

Police officer: Investigations, Traffic, Pro-Act

(N.I.T.E.) and K9

Custody Officer: Court Security Unit


HEALTH COVERAGE

Medical, Dental and Vision covered 100% for

employees and 90% for dependents





ALDINE ISD

POLICE DEPARTMENT

JOIN OUR TEAMAPPLY AT

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

• Sick Leave

• Paid Vacation

• Paid Holidays

• Personal Days

• Teacher Retirement System

TCOLE CERTIFICATION INCENTIVE

• Intermediate PO: $2,400

• Advanced PO: $4,800

• Master PO: $7,200

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Must be 21 Years Of Age

• Must Hold an Active Tcole Peace Officer License

• Must Complete the Following:

• Pass Physical Agility Test

• Background Investigation

• Psychological Evaluation

• Drug Screening

ALDINEISD.ORG

STARTING SALARY $55,000 WITH NO EXPERIENCE

UP TO $85,000 DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE

ALDINE ISD PD OFFERS

DEPARTMENT BENEFITS

• Uniforms Provided, Including Duty Weapon

• Department Provided Training

• Starting Pay Depends on

Qualifications / Experience

• TCOLE Certification / Education Pay

• Most Officers work Day Shift with Weekends Off

(INCENTIVE PAY FOR DETECTIVES, K-9 HANDLERS, AND

FIREARM INSTRUCTORS.)

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT

SGT. HALL AT 281.442.4923

OR VISIT ALDINEISD.ORG

SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS

• Criminal Investigations

• Emergency Response Team

• Honor Guard

• Gang Task Force

• Community Outreach Division

• K-9 Division

• Firearm Instructor

$1,000 SIGNING BONUS


WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO

Make a DIFFERENCE

Provide SERVICE to YOUR community!

MEANINGFUL careers

Growing Organization

Career DEVELOPMENT

*Our agency is a certified OJT training agency for qualified Veterans


BUDA POLICE DEPARTMENT

NOW HIRING - POLICE OFFICER

Starting Salary

$64.5K to $74.8K

*TCOLE Licensed Only

We are proud to be one of the safest cities in the State of Texas

and have tremendous support from our community.

Benefits

Retirement

2-1 City Match with TMRS

Medical/Dental/Vision

100% Medical Coverage

Offsetting Copays

Educational Pay

$50- $150 Per Month

Incentive Pay

$75-$150(max) per Month for

assignments such as:

FTO, Bike Patrol, SWAT

Annual Leave Accruals

15 Paid Holidays

80 Hours Vacation

120 Hours Sick Leave

Bilingual Pay

Shift Differential Pay

Lateral Entry Program

On-site Gym

Officer Wellness Program

www.budatx.gov/92/Employment





BRAZORIA COUNTY

CONSTABLE PCT 3

2436 S. GRAND BLVD. PEARLAND TEXAS 77581

Recruiting

deputy constables

Full & Part Time Positions


Must be 21 years of age

Must hold an active TCOLE Peace Officer License

Pass Background Investigation

Psychological Evaluation

Drug Screen

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Pension & Retirement Benefits (401k)

County Alternate Retirement (SSN Alternate)

TCDRS Transfer

Healthcare, Dental, Vision and other Benefits (+ AFLAC)

Take Home Vehicle Program (If within Brazoria County)

Uniform Allowance

Certification Pay

A Career that Gives You

a lot of Pride & Benefits


Hiring

Police Officers

Annual Salary $57,592 - $62,899 range + Benefits | Certification Pay | Longevity Pay | Bilingual

Certification by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)

Pay 12 Hour Shift Schedule - Alternating weekends off and good life/work balance

All equipment/uniform provided | Take home patrol car program | Visible tattoo & beard policy

Benefits at NO COST TO EMPLOYEE:

• Education Reimbursement Program

• 80 hours of Vacation (accrued annually)

• 96 hours of sick leave annually (accrued annually)

• 14 Paid Holidays

• Life Insurance 2x annual base salary

• Employee Assistance Program

• Paid Training Opportunities

Additional Benefits

• TMRS retirement system - 5% employee

contribution - City matches 2:1 at retirement

• Medical Insurance: - United Health Care

† Ask about our Lateral Transfer Program

requirements

Questions? Contact Lt. Kelvin Raven at kraven@cityofbrenham.org | 979-337-7363


jobs.cityofbrenham.org

NOW NOW

HIRING HIRING

CERTIFIED OFFICERS

OFFICERS

CERTIFIED

JOIN A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING COMMUNITY

OPPORTUNITIES

BENEFITS

TRAFFIC UNIT

CRASH RECONSTRUCTION

TEAM

DETECTIVE

SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM

(SRT)

BICYCLE TEAM

DRONE TEAM

FIELD TRAINING OFFICER

INSTRUCTOR

COMMUNITY SERVICES UNIT

STARTING PAY

up to $67,721

Established Pay Scale

PAID VACATION, SICK,

HOLIDAY

HEALTH, DENTAL, LIFE INS.

TATTOOS ALLOWED

BEARDS ALLOWED

DUTY EQUIPMENT PROVIDED

DUTY WEAPON PROVIDED

PATROL RIFE PROVIDED

TAKE HOME CAR

12 HR SHIFTS

(OFF every other weekend)

BRAND NEW POLCE STATION

COMMUNITY FIRST

Inquire at: EPDRECRUITING@ELGINTEXAS.GOV


at: EPDRECRUITING@ELGINTEXAS.GOV

Inquire

The City of Elgin is an EEO Employer

The City of Elgin is an EEO Employer

$

U

T

S

v

e

b

o

w

FRIENDSWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRIDE DEDICATION PROFESSIONALISM

UP

TO

$ 15,000

* FOR QUALIFIED TCOLE-CERTIFIED OFFICERS

HIRING

INCENTIVE

C

AVAILABLE PROGRAMS

• Special Weapons & Tactics Team

• Crisis Negotiation Team

• K-9 Program

• Drone Pilot Program

• D.O.T. & Traffic Safety Unit

• School Resource Officers

• Bicycle Patrol

• Marine Patrol

• Honor Guard



GARDEN RIDGE

POLICE DEPARTMENT

NOW HIRING!

Garden Ridge Police Department

9400 Municipal Parkway · Garden Ridge · Texas · 78266

Office: 210-651-6441· Fax: 210-651-1639


NOW HIRING

Lateral Police Officers

QUALIFICATIONS

• MUST BE A CERTIFIED TEXAS PEACE

OFFICER

• MUST PASS DRUG SCREEN AND PHYSICAL

• MUST POSSESS A VALID TEXAS DRIVER

LICENSE WITH A GOOD DRIVING RECORD

• MUST PASS ALL INTERVIEWS

• MUST PASS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

CHECK

SALARY AND BENEFITS

• PATROL OFFICER ANNUAL SALARY

5,000

HIRING PROCESS

• PHYSICAL FITNESS TESTING

• SCENARIO TESTING

• CRIMINAL BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

• FORMAL ORAL BOARD

• CHIEF’S INTERVIEW

$67,045

• STEP/LATERAL PAY

• HIRING INCENTIVE LUMP SUM PAY $________________

• INSURANCE: COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL, DENTAL, VISION PAID BY CITY

• SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE PAID BY CITY

• OVERTIME & COMPTIME OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

• RETIREMENT: TMRS 2:1 CONTRIBUTIONS, WITH 20-YEAR RETIREMENT

• LONGEVITY: $120 ANNUALLY FOR EACH FULL YEAR OF SERVICE

• PAID TIME OFF (PTO) ACCRUAL BEGINS IMMEDIATELY AT 4.50 HRS. PER PAY PERIOD

• 15 CITY HOLDAYS PER YEAR

• LICENSE PAY (MONTHLY): INTERMEDIATE - $25, ADVANCED - $50, MASTER - $100

• WEAPONS: DEPARTMENT FURNISHES ALL OFFICERS WITH A GLOCK HANDGUN & AR-15

RIFLE W/SUPPRESSOR, WEAPON LIGHTS, TASER AND LESS-LETHAL IMPACT WEAPON

• UNIFORMS: DEPARTMENT FURNISHES ALL OFFICERS WITH CLASS B, CLASS A AND

TRAINING UNIFORMS, RAIN GEAR, BOOTS AND WINTER APPAREL

• EQUIPMENT: DEPARTMENT FURNISHES ALL OFFICERS WITH BALLISTIC HELMET & SHIELD,

SOFT ARMOR, RIFLE PLATE ARMOR, DUTY BELTS, AND BODY CAMERAS

• PATROL VEHICLES: THE DEPARTMENT SUPPLIES OFFICERS WITH SUV PATROL UNITS

EQUIPPED WITH LAPTOP, IN-CAR VIDEO, AND RADARS

• SHIFT SCHEDULE: PATROL OFFICERS WORK A PANAMA STYLE 12-HOUR SHIFT

• EXTENSIVE ANNUAL TRAINING BUDGET ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO SUPPLY ADVANCED

TRAINING CLASSES TO OFFICERS INCLUDING A POLICEONE ONLINE TRAINING ACCOUNT

• BEARD AND VISIBLE TATTOOS ARE ALLOWED

• ENVIRONMENT WITH STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND PROFESSIONAL, GROWTH-

MINDED COMMAND STAFF







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!

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

For additional information contact

Harris County Sheriff’s Office

Recruitment Unit

(713) 877-5250


TO APPLY

www.harriscountyso.org | www.hcsojobs.com

SCAN

THIS CODE Harris County

@HCSOTexas

Sheriff’s Office

HCSOTexas HCSOTexas @HCSOTexas






THE KILLEEN POLICE DEPARTMENT

IS NOW

Hiring

FOR THE POSITION OF

Police Officer

Online Applications

will open:

July 31, 2023

Application Deadline:

September 15, 2023

Civil Service Exam will

be:

September 24, 2023

To apply, go to:

www.killeentexas.gov/16

8/Job-Opportunities

Wear The Badge,

Make a Difference

D

b

th

a

Officer De'Vonte Johnson

Recruiter

254-200-7987

DJohnson@killeentexas.gov

The Killeen Police Department is an

166 Equal The BLUES Opportunity JANUARY ‘26 Employer

Starting pay - $57,889

Paid: Vacation, Holiday & Sick Leave

$15K Sign-on incentive for TCOLE

certified Peace Officers

College Degree pay incentive

7% retirement plan through TMRS

with a 2:1 match ratio

Comprehensive Benefits Package

Opportunity to work in various

specialized units

The Killeen Police

epartment is dedicated to

uilding a partnership with

e community to fight crime

nd improve every citizen's

quality of life.

Follow us at:

KilleenPD

KilleenPolice

JoinKilleenPD

Visit www.KilleenPD.com for further The BLUES details

- JANUARY ‘26 167


NOW HIRING

LEAGUE CITY POLICE

ositions

D E P A R T M E N T

RECRUITING

LATERAL OFFICERS

LATERAL INCENTIVES:

Salary Equal to Years of Service (3 - 7 yrs)

$5,000 Hiring Bonus

REQUIREMENTS:

To be Considered as a Lateral Applicant, You Must Meet the Following Qualifications:

Lateral Pay Credit Will be Granted Only for Whole Years of Qualified Experience.

Cannot Have a Break of Service More Than 180 Days to Qualify for Experience Credit.

Must Have at Least Three Years of Qualified Law Enforcement Experience (Commissioned,

Full-time, Paid).

TCOLE Licensed Peace Officer or Equivalent Out-of-State Certification Accepted by TCOLE

will Qualify.

3 YEAR PAY --

4 YEAR PAY --

5 YEAR PAY --

6 YEAR PAY --

7 YEAR PAY --

VISIT LCPDJOBS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION!



Patrol Officer

The City of Manvel Police Department is looking to find qualified candidates to fill the ranks of the patrol

division.

The City of Manvel is a rapidly growing and diverse community. The current population is estimated at a

little over 16000 and is located in the northern part of Brazoria County along the State Highway 288

corridor approximately 4 miles South of the City of Houston.

The Manvel Police Department has a competitive pay structure for cities of the same size. Salary is based

on experience and certification levels.

Requirements:

High school diploma or GED

Valid Texas Driver’s License

with good driving record

TCOLE certified OR currently

enrolled in Academy

program

Preference for LE experience

Hiring Process Includes :

Written test

Oral board interview

Physical agility test

Thorough background

investigation

Accelerated Field Training

Program for experienced officers

One year probationary period

Pay and Benefits:

Competitive pay with an employment

improvement step program

TMRS retirement up to 7% with 2:1 match

by city

Retirement vested after 5 years of service

Medical Insurance covered 100% for

employees and 100% paid for employees

and dependent by the city after 3 years

12 hour shifts (DuPont Schedule)

Personal time off - Vacation and Holiday

accruals

Paid sick time

Lateral transfers

For more information you can contact

The City of Manvel Police Department at

281-489-1212

Rochelle Carr-Lacy

rcarrlacy@manvelpd.org






Serving Bunker Hill, Piney Point, and Hunters Creek Villages

Opportunity for Experienced Police

Officers

Benefits:

$89,432 - $108,585

Starting Salary Range DOQ

Requirements:

Strong Community and Department Support

5 Years Patrol Experience

Hiring Bonus $1500

(Night Shift Differential $12,000)

Bi-Lingual Pay

Educational / Certification / Longevity Pay

Health care Insurance 100% for Employee, 75%

for Spouse/Dependents

TMRS Retirement 7% 2:1 match, 20-year

retirement. COLA 50% of retirement

TCOLE Certified

Valid TX Driver’s License

US Citizen

Positive Attitude

Strong Work Ethic

Problem Solver

Desire to Succeed

Department Funded 457 Deferred Compensation

Plan with employer contribution of 2.5% annual

salary

Tuition Reimbursement

Work life balance with 12 Hour shifts every other

weekend off

WWW.MVPDTX.ORG

EOE/M/F/D

11981 Memorial Dr.

Houston, Tx 77024


713.365.3700


SALARY RANGE

$79,201 - $105,716

ADDITIONAL PAY

(MONTHLY)

ASSOCIATES DEGREE

$99-$250

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

$180-$400

MASTER’S DEGREE

$230-$500

TCOLE CERTIFICATES

$60-$150

OTHER INCENTIVES

FIELD TRAINING OFFICER

$700

FIELD TRAINING SERGEANT

$600

TACTICAL UNIT ASSIGNMENT

$200

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

$200

HONOR GUARD

$200

W W W . M I D L A N D T E X A S . G O V / 1 3 1 7 / L A T E R A L - O F F I C E R S


NOW HIRING

ositions



STARTING SALARY $66,497.60 WITH NO EXPERIENCE

BENEFITS

• Competitive pay with scheduled increases every 2 years

• Friday/Saturday or Sunday/Monday days off

• Flexible work schedules

• Overtime available

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• Tuition Reimbursement - $5000/yr

• Paid vacation, employee days, well day, sick days, and holidays

• Uniforms and Equipment

• Department Provided Training

TCOLE CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS

FULL TIME

INCENTIVE PAY

• Bilingual

• TCOLE Certificate

Intermediate $1,560

Advanced $3,420

Master $6,000

• Education

Associate $1,320

Bachelor $3,180

Master $4,500

$8,000.00 HIRING INCENTIVE*


21 YEARS OF AGE

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR GED

MUST HOLD AN ACTIVE TCOLE PEACE OFFICER LICENSE

VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE

MUST PASS BACKGROUND CHECK, PSYCHOLOGICAL,

DRUG AND MEDICAL SCREENING

*$2000.00 after 3 months, $2000.00 after 6 months, $4000.00 after 1 year


Your Department's

Recruiting Ad

could be right here!

email us today at

bluespdmag@gmail.com




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.

Pearland Recreation Center & Natatorium

4141 Bailey Road, Pearland, TX 77584.

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

For additional information and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, visit

pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers



PORT HOUSTON

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Thinking of retiring?

Want a change but still want to serve?

Put on a NEW uniform and JOIN US!

YOUR CAREER

OUR PORT

ONE MISSION

NEW!

• No BMI Requirements

• No Polygraph Required

• No Physical Agility

STARTING PAY*

$71,000 up to $81,000

* Salary depends on experience

EMPLOYMENT

TESTING

Employment is contingent on pass

any post-offer pre-employment

screening as listed below:

• Criminal background check

• Motor vehicle record check

• Drug screening

• Physical exam

• Psychological exam


BENEFITS:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

eligible first day of employment

• Vacation & Sick Leave, PLUS Paid Holidays.

(12 days/year).

• 401a & 457 Plans

• Tuition Reimbursement

(Up to the IRS annual limit and a maximum lifetime

reimbursement $25,000)

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be 21 years old

• Must have 2+ years of police officer

experience

• Must have valid Texas Driver’s

• License & 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

• Not been convicted of a Class B

misdemeanor within the last 10 years

• Must have a GED or high school diploma

ing

SIGN UP TODAY!

www.porthouston.com/careers-2


SEGUIN PD

NOW

HIRING

POLICE OFFICER

STARTING PAY IS $67,012

LATERAL: UP TO $73,968

UP TO $3,000 SIGN ON BONUS

INCENTIVE PAY FOR TCOLE CERTIFICATION,

BILINGUAL SPEAKERS, & EDUCATIONAL PAY.

100% EMPLOYEE MEDICAL/DENTAL PREMIUM

COVERED BY CITY

EQUIPMENT AND UNIFORMS ARE PROVIDED

INCLUDING TAKE HOME VEHICLES, HANDGUN

WITH RED DOT SIGHT & SUPPRESSED PATROL

RIFLE

TMRS RETIREMENT (2:1 CITY MATCH)

PROGRESSIVE IN-SERVICE AND EXTERNAL

TRAINING EXCEEDING NATIONAL TRAINING

AVERAGES

OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIVERSE EXPERIENCE IN

SPECIALIZED UNITS AND ASSIGNMENTS

SUCH AS SWAT, K9, NARCOTICS, SPECIAL

CRIMES, MENTAL HEALTH, TRAFFIC, AND

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION

APPLY NOW AT:

WWW.APPLITRACK.COM/SEGUINTEXAS/ONLINEAPP








Jan 2026. Blues Vol 42 No.1

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