By Stephen Owsinski Hurricane Idalia moved swiftly along the Gulf Coast of Florida before creeping inland at the Sunshine State’s “armpit” (otherwise known as the Big Bend, where the coast curves) before flattening the city of Perry and others in the region. Even before that instance, first responders whose jurisdictions were spared already had a Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski As the natural disaster on the island of Maui, Hawaii, sees the death toll uptick, U.S. Border Patrol agents put boots on the ground to search for many missing individuals while also catering humanitarian aid to survivors hard-pressed for basic sustenance. As the Maui wildfires news broke and hit the airwaves, the Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Little Riley Cottongim faced his first day of kindergarten without his father, Zachary Cottongim. An officer with the Louisville, KY police department, Cottongim was investigating an abandoned vehicle on Interstate 64 in December of 2021 when he was struck and killed by a vehicle whose driver had lost control Read more »
By Steve Pomper Las Vegas Metropolitan police officer with mother and child I’m not gonna lie. I get warm and fuzzy when I hear about cops coming to the rescue—especially for kids. On the job, I felt a sense of pride when I saw people—well, victims, anyway—relax or become somewhat calmer when we showed up to Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Law enforcement officers everywhere know they have chosen a profession that could end their existence at any moment. Despite this omen, they forge on with that ominous cloud hovering wherever their duty boots step, which is heroic momentum. With that, casualties are tolled and homage is lavished. Physical signs of heroism mark Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Dealing with a suicidal person is one of the most challenging jobs facing police officers. Even though many agencies are trying to relieve law enforcement from mental health calls, the frequently dangerous circumstances of these calls put police on the front lines of intervention. The need for compassion for Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Phoenix police Officer Morgan Bullis is definitely bullish on police work, so much so that she pushed through tons of physical therapy and rehabilitative efforts to return to patrolling, after being shot on March 24, 2023. In what Phoenix Police administrators called an “unprovoked attack,” a recently paroled violent felon, armed with Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Ordinarily coinciding with National Police Week is the awarding of medals, ribbons, plaques, commendations, and bragging rights for first responders who have notably gone above and beyond in various ways during duty. In a climate oozing with wrongly placed anti-police sentiment and unabated violence aimed at law enforcement officers, all first responders Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski The weeklong commemorations at law enforcement agencies paying homage to fallen cops are formally calendared for May 15-21, 2023 —proclaimed National Police Week— embracing eternally grief-stricken families of first responders at respective police memorial sites throughout America. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC is generally the hub where folks Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski A recent sermon I heard from a pastor was ripe with declarations of not shrinking to naysayers’ condemnations. This is perhaps best exemplified by the men and women comprising America’s law enforcement institution and its parlay of public safety feats ignored by police-negating mainstream media. This particular preacher mentioned the anti-this and Read more »