By Stephen Owsinski Scrolling social media while sitting in a candlelit room after Hurricane Milton knocked out my power in Tampa Bay, I was uplifted to see many posts from scores of South Florida law enforcement agencies holding prayer sessions before departing for my region. These observations of prayerful backup officers departing from afar were Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Coconut Creek, Florida, police Officer Ethan Rodriguez was off duty and traveling way outside his jurisdiction when he observed a clog of drivers who stopped because of a roll-over crash on a bustling New York expressway during rainfall. As any on-the-spot cop would, Officer Rodriguez told his family to remain in their Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Bandied a lot lately is the cynical statement “No one is coming to save you!” Those words are largely directed at the federal government and the current administration’s admission that the FEMA bank is broke, allegedly due to pouring billions into the illegal immigration debacle, betraying stranded help to citizens who lost Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski No matter where you are geographically located in America, you likely learned about Hurricane Helene, the daunting devastation, and the waves of first responders who braved the life-threatening elements to roll out rescue operations—as always. In my Tampa Bay county, Emergency Operations Center managers provided data after Hurricane Helene made her way Read more »
By Steve Pomper I have a sweet follow up for you. Well, perhaps, it’s somewhat bitter-sweet because this outstanding cop shouldn’t have been put through this ordeal in the first place. LAPD Ofc. Toni McBride was involved in an officer-involved shooting (OIS) in April 2020 (you can refresh yourself with these NPA articles, #1, #2, #3), Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Some might call it fate that National Police K9 Day was celebrated during Labor Day weekend 2024. I call it an ideal illustration of the always-paying dividends of dogs in policing, unrelentingly pursuing justice by sleuthing and capturing bad actors preying on innocents. Per a press release from the Bradenton Police Department, Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D There are a lot of ways to identify a hero. It may be overcoming personal struggles or making big sacrifices for family and friends. Some are professional heroes like first responders. It may seem trite to say that every police officer is a hero, but no one dons the Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski No matter the tenure any fallen law enforcement officer nobly served the citizenry, their name engraved in stone depicts undeniable bravery and courage under fire, willingly working in an increasingly volatile environment on behalf of people who do not necessarily know the cops’ names or anything about them…other than that they respond Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Given the tragedies involving autistic children who eloped and drowned in a body of water, we have a happy ending thanks to a Florida deputy who, despite the ugly odds, went all in on finding a missing child, using his agency-provided Autism Awareness Training to save a youngster’s life. With this, we Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski While divisive rhetoric from politicos and others continues across the country, public safety professionals, smack dab in the middle of all the needless nonsense, continue to show up and give it their all…on behalf of everyone, regardless. Recently, we witnessed not only elected officials but also those deemed “elitists” at the cauldrons, Read more »