by Kevin Sullivan
    Recently several fellow members of policevets.org have written to C.O.P.S. to express our frustration with the lack of support, assistance, and benefits which we disabled police officers receive.  C.O.P.S., which represents the families of police officers killed in the line-of-duty, unfortunately, to date, has not found room within their organization or within their hearts for us.

     Approximately 13 months ago while at work I suffered a serious heart attack following the foot pursuit and capture of a criminal suspect.  I subsequently underwent emergency cardiac catheterization with angioplasty and placement of a stent in my coronary artery.  After months of physical therapy and rehabilitation my condition improved, but unfortunately, the remaining damage to my heart precludes my ever returning to duty as a police officer.     

     Approximately one year prior to my line-of-duty injury I had attended a C.O.P.S. seminar, “The Traumas of Law Enforcement”, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I was taken aback by the stories of the survivors who, in many cases, while still suffering the pangs of tremendous grief, were abandoned and forgotten after the funerals by their police “families”.  These same survivors were especially stung by this treatment because of the many times in the past they had heard the promise that we in law enforcement could be counted on to “take care of our own”.  With no idea of how or where to apply for benefits, which later turned out to be not as adequate or comprehensive as they had been led to believe, many survivors were left to carry on and to raise their minor children alone.  

     Our own experiences after becoming disabled in the line of duty are sadly similar.  Adding to our sorrowfulness, I am sorry to say, in terms of disabled police officers and their families, the C.O.P.S. organization is not part of the solution, but rather part of the problem:

      Upon my return to my police agency from the C.O.P.S. seminar, I set about putting to use the many materials I had received.  When I began writing our first ever Line-of-Duty Death Policy using the two models which were provided to me, (from the Metro Transit Police Department, Washington, DC, and Norman, OK, Police Department), I noticed that both of these policies began by talking about what to do in the event that an officer was seriously injured or killed in the line of duty – but, thereafter, only talked about and made provisions for the families of those who died.  My family and I would learn only one year later and all too personally how devastating the effects of these omissions can be.

     Recently members of our organization, policevets.org, were made aware of newly introduced federal legislation, H.R. 4424, to amend Title 5, United States Code, to make family members of public safety officers killed in the line of duty eligible for coverage under the Federal employee health benefits program.  The need for this legislation was first brought to the attention of Congressman Bart Stupak by Mr. Gary Hankins, a retired DC police officer and former President of DC FOP Lodge #1, Mrs. Yvette Johnson, a DC Metropolitan Police Widow, and the organization Concerns of Police Survivors.  H.R. 4424, while deservedly addressing the needs of police survivors, sadly fails to include disabled police officers and their families. 

     If C.O.P.S. were to include disabled police veterans in future legislative initiatives and in screening and devising model policies and educational materials, omissions such as these could be easily avoided.  

     I truthfully do not see in their organization’s mission statement* where it would be contrary or inconsistent to include and advance the needs of disabled police officers and their families.

 * Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. provides resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty as determined by Federal criteria. Furthermore, COPS provides training to law enforcement agencies on survivor victimization issues and educates the public of the need to support the law enforcement profession and its survivors. 

     The fact is, like Dr. Bobby Smith, author of Visions of Courage: The Bobby Smith Story, a presenter at the Chattanooga, TN seminar which I attended, and who was a Louisiana Trooper blinded by a gunshot in the line-of-duty; we believe that we can be an asset to their organization.  As but one example, police agencies and their officers would likely find added value and meaning in presentations from disabled colleagues about the need to always wear their seat belts and their body armor while at work.  As you may already be aware, vehicle crashes have surpassed criminal assaults as the leading cause of serious injury and death of police officers.  We want to add our voice, our experiences, and our expertise to the C.O.P.S. efforts to improve police vehicle safety initiatives.    

     Recognizing the similarity in the plight of the victims which C.O.P.S. represents, and our own, we came to realize that it shouldn’t be necessary for us to reinvent the wheel, and that the swiftest course of action would be to align ourselves with the members of C.O.P.S.  Alternatively, we have asked for their technical assistance and support in helping us to form our own organization – which we would hope they will come to accept as a sister organization and a valued ally in the fight to advance the needs of law enforcement officers and their families, and to ensure that in the future that we do “take care of our own”.   

     If you know someone who is a member of C.O.P.S., please ask them yourself why they do not want to include disabled police veterans and their families in their organization.  Perhaps if enough of us inquire they will reconsider the wisdom and advantages of such an alliance. 

     Regardless of what C.O.P.S. may decide, we have invited their members to visit, join and/or link to www.policevets.org.  We likewise extend this invitation to other police organizations and to police supporters.