What PTSD Really Feels Like; Request Sent to Department of Justice; Lobbying for a Key Police Bill

And a wish for this Holy Week

As civilians, we can empathize with police officers plagued with mental anguish. We can understand, at an intellectual level, that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an insidious disease that leaves one with feelings of hopelessness. Perhaps those who’ve suffered from a debilitating mental illness like depression, can even relate.

We’ll never really, truly understand their plight, though.

To get deep insights into the experiences of an officer navigating the challenges of PTSD -including the departmental politics it can produce- I highly recommend this riveting article by retired officer,

Keith Graves

. While none of us can ever completely relate to another person’s experiences, this piece, IMO, is close as it can get.

If you’re an officer who is struggling, I hope you read the article, and especially absorb the last part:

You’re not broken. You’re not weak. You’re not less of a warrior because you’re struggling. You’re human. And you can come back from that place.
I’m still here. And if I can be, you can be too.

—Keith Graves

Although it can’t happen quickly enough, there has been a definitive uptick in legislative bills (both state and federal) designed to provide more effective resources for police officers and other first responders.

One of these is the Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act of 2025 (S. 825), introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) in the U.S. Senate. It would mandate the U.S. Department of Justice to propose a PTSD treatment program for first responders, similar to what’s currently available to members of the U.S. military.

S. 825 is one of the bills our team will be discussing with key federal lawmakers in D.C. during National Police Week next month. Our coalition, which we’ve named Stand with Blue, is a group of organizations and individuals united to advance law enforcement and public safety issues.

These are some of the most amazing, dedicated humans I’ve had the pleasure to know. I’m energized by the work we’re doing and look forward to growing.

Request Sent to Department of Justice

The National Police Association (NPA) has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting a Federal civil rights investigation into the New Mexico Attorney General, Raul Torrez.

You may already be familiar with the case of Brad Lunsford, a Las Cruces, New Mexico police officer who was charged with voluntary manslaughter. For doing his job. He’s one of the growing number of officers being wrongfully indicted for acting constitutionally and in alignment with their training.

As colleagues at NPA explain,

“On August 2, 2022, Officer Lunsford responded to a theft in progress. The suspect, Presley Eze, violently resisted arrest, knocked Officer Lunsford’s partner to the ground, and seized his department-issued Taser. Faced with the threat of serious harm or death to himself and others, Officer Lunsford discharged his firearm to neutralize the danger. Investigations concluded that Lunsford acted appropriately and within department guidelines.

Despite these findings, AG Torrez chose to indict Lunsford for voluntary manslaughter. This prosecution was not rooted in evidence or law, but rather in a political campaign to vilify law enforcement and appease anti-police activists. “This is not justice—it is persecution,” said NPA spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) “Officer Lunsford followed his training, protected his partner, and survived a life-threatening encounter. Now, he faces prison not because he broke the law, but because he wore a badge.”

You can read about the impetus for the letter here.

My Hope for This Holiday Weekend

We’re living at a chaotic point in American history, one in which faith and other foundational values like the nuclear family, intellectual curiosity, and patriotism are becoming obsolete.

The misplacement of these values has been devastating for our country. The moral depravity we now witness on a regular basis -publicly advocating for political violence and celebrating murderers quickly comes to mind- has rocked the nation’s collective consciousness. It’s especially a shock for those of us who were raised at a time when the above-mentioned values were still mostly in tact. Not that we didn’t encounter our fair share of bad actors; it’s just that we’ve never seen it occur at this level.

Growing up, Holy Week was treated with the reverence it deserved. In my humble Chicago neighborhood and others across the city, we’d attend mass on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and of course, Easter Sunday. Saturdays were reserved for bringing our baskets filled with Easter Sunday dinner to Church grounds for the priest to bless; it would then be followed up with an Easter egg hunt.

The nuns would instruct us (parochial school students) in the Stations of the Cross, a ritual commemorating Jesus Christ's last day on Earth. If you’re not familiar with this Catholic tradition, it involves visiting each of 14 stations in the Church, kneeling down and reciting a prayer. I can still remember all those metal lunch boxes clanking on the floor every time we had to kneel. : )

Though we didn’t quite understand all the words we had to recite and would have rather been engaged in a more entertaining activity, we did have a sense that what we were doing was something important and reverent, something much bigger than ourselves.

It makes me sad knowing that so many of our nation’s young people are growing up without the things that helped shaped my generation.

Lobbying for key legislation is of course, critical. Yet without true academic rigor, a deep love for our country, and the sense of belonging provided by faith, a solid family foundation and community, I have to wonder how we move forward as a strong nation.

Let me know what you’re thinking.

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.