It's not at all uncommon for men and women who have worn the uniform of one of our military services to dress in a law enforcement uniform in their next career after leaving the armed forces. Here's a short list of free and discounted goods and services for veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their dependents.
November 10, 2021
In looking at Minneapolis as a microcosm of the anti-police movement across America writ large, it is perhaps useful to view the activity there through the prism of Three Laws of Motion proposed by English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton.
November 4, 2021
The names of 394 officers who died in the line of duty were added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in our Nation's Capital—362 are those who died during 2020. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers are dying in the line of duty at a rate of nearly one per day in 2021. Where is the outrage?
May 14, 2021
Looking one more time at the highs and lows of the year that was… 2020 and seeing perhaps more clearly today than on those days that comprised the year.
December 31, 2020
The holidays offer myriad opportunities for officers to interact with the public in a positive and inspirational way. However, the season also holds the same perils officers face during the rest of the year—and potentially some heightened dangers due to holiday revelry and winter weather. Here's a quick recap of some of the things to watch out for.
December 20, 2019
A well-managed reserve officer program can enhance an agency's ability to serve the community and to better connect with the community—the key words being "well-managed."
November 29, 2019
A Citizens Police Academy has the potential—when well planned and well executed—to positively impact police-community relations. Here are a couple of observations I've had in attending a handful of CPAs.
November 22, 2019
Veterans of America's military tend to make excellent police officers—they have baked into their very being a commitment to service, an unusually high level of discipline, an understanding of chain-of-command, and other qualities that police officers also share.
November 8, 2019
Elected leaders and those seeking election routinely make statements—and enact policies—that put police officers in difficult positions at best and in danger at worst.
November 1, 2019
Several news items in the past couple of weeks clearly demonstrate two trends we've known for years to exist—that police supporters do exist, and where police are not supported, policing suffers.
August 30, 2019
Acts of heroism happen all the time in big cities and small communities alike. Officers with departments of all sizes rise to the occasion on a daily basis to ensure the health and welfare of the civilians they serve.
July 19, 2019
The blowback on Facebook against Starbucks was especially vitriolic, leading an outside observer to conclude that mistreatment of law enforcement officers in the company's stores is a pervasive problem (spoiler alert: it's not).
July 12, 2019
An organization recently made available to the media a significant database of social media posts—that they deem to be potentially offensive—from thousands of officers from places such as Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, St. Louis, and elsewhere. Internal investigations have been launched at several of those agencies. Here's why cops need to use social media cautiously.
June 14, 2019
This week's column is about my deep appreciation for the family of the Thin Blue Line allowing me—a civilian scribe from a city and state not well known for supporting police—to be your adopted brother.
June 7, 2019
During this one extraordinary week you will experience every emotion. In one moment you might be laughing with a group of cops and then mere moments later crying with one guy or gal who is overwhelmed with grief.
May 16, 2019