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Abraham Lincoln spoke of the willingness to fight and die for others as "the last full measure of devotion." Officers who agree to have their organs donated upon death exemplify that devotion.
The spike in duty deaths has occurred despite the many advancements in police training, equipment (particularly protective armor), and emergency medical trauma care. What does appear to be occurring is more and more criminals are showing an increasing willingness to engage police in armed confrontations.
Pope said he was reluctant at first to accept the award, but embraced it when he realized it would be shared with fellow officers involved in the Oakland ambush.
The names of almost 19,000 law enforcement men and women have been added to the curving, 304-foot marble walls of the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial. The officers and families who knew them arrived at the memorial during National Police Week to pay tribute by leaving roses, photos, wreaths, a SWAT helmet, a duty flashlight, and other personel items.
As in Oakland, Pittsburgh police have had a very rough year, grieving and recovering from the murders of three fellow officers. All the while, continuing to serve and protect the citizens of Pittsburgh as the professionals they are.
For two months after the tragic shootings, OPD SWAT went into "stand down" mode, to regroup and train replacement Sergeants. Oakland is part of Alameda County, so Alameda County's tactical team handled any callouts while the OPD team regrouped. In May 2009, OPD SWAT became operational again and has since handled dozens of missions, successfully.
It's critical that only the best warriors get promoted up the ranks in law enforcement. Wearing sergeant's stripes or lieutenant's bars on your uniform has to be about more than just time served or passing a test.
In March of 2009, 21,000 people attended memorial services at Oracle Arena for the four Oakland police officers killed in the line of duty. A desperate parolee shot two motor officers and later two sergeants during a SWAT raid of an apartment. The video was produced by the Contra Costa Times.
The Oakland Police Department's SWAT unit will get an additional third-party review, following a Board of Inquiry report that harshly criticized its handling of a desperate parolee's killing of four officers in March.