Reacting to the national wave of anti-police activism, a Southern California public relations firm has launched a new service to prepare and represent individual law enforcement officers who find themselves facing media scrutiny. Cop PRotect (www.CopPRotect.com) provides police officers across the country with Web-based media relations and reputation management services. The company says the service is designed to both prepare officers for possible media scrutiny and represent them if the need arises.
The concept for the service was born from several incidents in recent years that have ended the careers of police officers following pressure from activists without regard for facts or evidence. One of the most notable of these incidents was the case of former Ferguson, MO, officer Darren Wilson whose life was turned upside down after he defended himself from a robbery suspect who tried to kill him. The service's creator, businessman Robert Parry, led an effort to help rehabilitate the reputation of Los Angeles Police officer John Hatfield whose career was destroyed after he was in a violent arrest of a car thief.
“Cops today are completely at the mercy of activists who don’t care about the truth,” said Parry, owner of Compass Check Consulting Services, LLC, a small business public relations and advisory firm based in Monrovia, CA. “Darren Wilson was nearly murdered and now lives in hiding, while the man who tried to kill him is declared a hero by activists. Cop PRotect gives cops like Darren Wilson a trusted friend to tell their stories in ways agency information officers, union representatives and the media cannot or will not.”
The service costs $50 per year and is structured similar to an insurance policy, requiring officers to subscribe 30 days before they have an incident. Each subscriber receives a Subscriber Guide to help officers develop media-savvy reputations in their communities. They also get access to an Internet data base to upload critical documents and information that are the tools for a media relations campaign. “Most cops are doing the right thing,” said Parry, “the challenge is ensuring that the story elements are presentable in a way the media can use.”
Parry has worked in public relations for over a decade and previously published a community newspaper in Southern California. He has also published several opinion articles for publications, including The Los Angeles Times, LA Daily News, Pasadena Star-News and Ricochet.com about misperceptions of police work, management practices, and police-community relations.
ABOUT COP PROTECT
Cop PRotect is a subscription-based product of Compass Check Consulting Services, an experienced business marketing and public relations firm with skills and experience in media relations, public relations, social media, and law enforcement. The firm’s founder, Robert Parry, has extensive experience in public relations, media relations, and marketing with expertise in controversial sectors including investment banking, oil and gas exploration, and policing. He is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, For more information visit www.CopPRotect.com, call (626) 407-3001 or email rparry@compasscheckconsulting.com.
