Crisis Intervention for Cops; Thin Blue Line Flag Voted Down; Our Challenges Ahead

Plus news and action alerts

Police officers are exposed to a steady diet of trauma, tragedy, and heinousness. There are some things you can never unsee, officers have told me. They deserve our empathy. Most of us will thankfully never know and feel what it’s like to investigate and respond to bloody crime scenes, witness someone take their own life, or use justified force in order to protect others.

Every cop reacts to -and copes with- trauma differently. Some may engage in gallows humor, become experts at compartmentalizing, turn to prayer, or find comfort in loved ones. Some officers will develop chronic physical disorders, or a serious mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and clinical depression.

These are insidious diseases that can infect even the strongest of psyches. It’s difficult to find precise statistics on how many officers develop PTSD, perhaps in part because cops have a tendency to suffer in silence. What scientists do know is that as a group, they (unsurprisingly) suffer at higher rates than the general population. Roughly between 7% to 35% police officers will be impacted.

One of these officers was Craig Tiger, a Phoenix police officer, who after having to use justified fatal force, developed PTSD. He was subsequently fired from his job for a DUI (he was apparently drinking to numb the painful images) and ultimately took his own life.

The Arizona legislature had the good insight to introduce the Officer Craig Tiger Act, which then-Governor Doug Ducey signed into law in 2018. Because of this law, first responders exposed to traumatic events during the course of their work can now receive dedicated care.

The state of New Jersey is considering a similar bill (New Jersey bill A4135 / S3296), which the bill’s authors are also referring to as the Craig Tiger Act.

The bill (which you can read more about here) would mandate each county in the state to establish its own crisis intervention program. As part of this bill, officers who respond to critical incidents would receive up to 36 sessions with a licensed professional. Agencies would be prohibited from forcing officers to use personal paid time off for the sessions; and officers wouldn’t lose pay or benefits for up to 30 days after the incident if it’s determined that returning to work isn’t recommended.

If you live in New Jersey, please contact your state representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.

A version of the Craig Tiger Act needs to be passed in every state in the union. Police officers are human like you and me, and are subject to experiencing the same range of emotions. They aren’t disposable, interchangeable items that can be thrown away because a few think they’re broken.

We need to do better by police officers. Bills that provide mental health services in their time of need is one excellent way to do this.

Continue to Lobby for the Protect and Serve Act (H.R. 743 / S. 4258)

Please continue to urge your U.S. senators and congressperson to co-sponsor the Protect and Serve Act. Assaults on police officers are at a record high. I’m sick of it, as we should all be.

Tell the Governor of Missouri to Pardon Eric DeValkenaere

Eric DeValkenaere, a decorated detective with the Kansas City (Missouri) Police Department was indicted (and convicted) for using justifiable force. It’s a case that’s tragically become all too familiar.

“Fearing that Lamb was going to shoot Det. Schwalm, Det. DeValkenaere discharged his firearm four times into the windshield of the pick-up. Lamb was struck multiple times.”

He now sits in prison and has lost his appeal. His only opportunity for freedom rests with a full pardon from Missouri’s Governor Michael Parson.

Please take a moment to call Governor Parson and request a full pardon.

It will take just a few minutes from your day, but will make a difference for this officer and his family, who are undoubtedly suffering. I can tell you that this one act will do more to advocate for police officers than pounding away on social media.

I was hoping to get a dedicated link to the video and articles for the Independent Women’s Network new police and public safety action center, but staff want to keep this content exclusive to members. You do have the option of signing up, viewing the content, then unsubscribing if you’d like.

We have more great content and activities planned, so stay tuned. : )

It’s Not Just Soros or WEF

You’ve likely read about how those like Soros and World Economic Forum are having a profound impact on our nation. There are others.

I encourage you to read this excellent article by City Journal (of the Manhattan Institute) to learn about another such organization that has largely managed to escape the public’s radar.

“These examples from just the last year—collected via a semi-random tour of the Ford Foundation’s vast Grants Database—represent a tiny fraction of the nearly $1 billion that the foundation gives away yearly, on average. Almost a century old and sitting on a mountainous $16.4 billion endowment in 2022, the foundation is a “philanthropic” giant—one of the five largest in the U.S. If it were a for-profit firm, its market capitalization would rank it among the Fortune 500. Instead, “guided by a vision of social justice,” as its mission statement puts it, the Ford Foundation’s enormous flood of untaxed money flows annually to an immense ecosystem of overwhelmingly left-wing—and often outright revolutionary—causes.”

The Law-Abiding of This Connecticut Neighborhood are Self-Policing

A group of neighbors in Hartford, Connecticut have formed an armed group to defend themselves against growing crime.

“The so-called "Self-Defense Brigade" — made up of about 40 legally armed citizens — are voluntarily patrolling the streets of Hartford’s North End wearing body cameras mostly on nights and weekends . . .”

Given our nation’s policing staffing shortages, wasn’t this just a matter of time? The city’s mayor is apparently opposed to this project because he’s fearful of vigilante justice. Perhaps had the elite and our elected officials ventured outside their ideological bubbles, the citizenry wouldn’t be placed in this predicament.

Thin Blue Line Flag Voted Down

Last week at a Wethersfield (Connecticut) Council meeting, members voted (5-3) against flying the Thin Blue Line Flag in honor of a state trooper who had died in the line of duty. Apparently, they find this flag, which represents the men and women who stand between us and disorder, as “racist” and “antagonistic.” They just don’t get it, and likely never will.

Thankfully, residents have displayed outrage over this decision. And more than half a million dollars has been raised for the trooper’s family.

My thoughts are still on D-Day, and those whose courage essentially saved the world. Those soldiers were members of the Greatest Generation, where values like patriotism, faith, selflessness, and a strong work ethic (my dad used to tell me to give 110% to my job) were the dominating themes.

At a time when our country is imploding and facing an increasing number of global threats, we desperately need a return to those values. This will take time. In the meantime, each of us can find a way to create positive change for our country.

While I know we can get through our current situation, I also think we’re in for a bumpy ride ahead. And we shouldn’t expect change to be linear. Instead, I think it’ll sometimes feel like we’re progressing, only to take 10 steps backward. It’ll be tempting to want to give up, but don’t. Setbacks are part of the process. I recommend looking at the bigger picture and remembering that we’re in this together.

Plus it’s not all bad. There is still a lot of goodness in the world, and we should work to cultivate joy in our lives and the lives of others. Remember to take good care of yourself and those you love.

Something you can do that will get us closer to normalcy is to lobby your elected officials for prudent police and public bills, including the Protect & Serve Act and the Craig Tiger Act. Yes, we can get through this, but we can’t do it without you.

Best. : )

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For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.