Retired police officers are often times not quite ready to completely give up a life of work even as they leave law enforcement. This statement is even truer when an officer is forced to retire early for medical, mental health, or other reasons.
I can say from personal experience of being medically retired after just about seven years of service that it is daunting to face a future not knowing what you can do next. My major hindering thought was that I wasn’t qualified for anything else, and I know I’m not the only one who has had that thought.
What Kim Triplett-Kolerich, cofounder of Sheepdog Resume, reminded me and so many others of, though, is that [...]
For months, the country has been rocked by constant rioting and people screaming for “racial justice” and police reform. If there has been any good from all this anti-police, anti-American rhetoric, it’s the fact that so many have stood up to show support for our nation’s constitution as well as our peace officers to attempt to drown out all the contempt against them.
I fear that a large amount of that support for the police is slipping away.
It’s no secret to anyone paying attention that the ones who call themselves anti-fascists (Antifa, who are themselves using the tactics of- and often described as- domestic terrorists) have gotten a [...]
Growing up, I always took Thanksgiving for granted.
I never understood the true meaning of giving thanks for what I have or could have. It was a tradition I celebrated because those around me practiced it.
Four years ago, this all changed. On the eve of the day of thanks, I was working as a police officer in the most dangerous post of the most dangerous district in the most violent city per capita in the nation. As such, you expect and plan for the worst. I kissed my 1-year-old daughter and wife and told them I loved them as I walked out the door. As a police officer, this is a common practice since you are never sure if you are saying goodbye for a shift or [...]
A couple of weeks ago, the Washington Education Association (WEA), the largest union representing educators in Washington State, unanimously approved the “Black Lives Matter Resolution”. This resolution effectively ignores the fact there are thousands of students with family members in law enforcement in the state. It creates a hostile learning environment for those students and effectively shouts to them that they don’t matter.
Through this resolution, the WEA announced their support for, and belief in, Black Lives Matter, a political anti-police organization responsible for months of civil unrest, violence and destruction. The WEA has pledged to display the Black Lives [...]