“Officer Down”—Now What?

The worst news any law enforcement agency can hear is that an officer has been killed.  How does an agency respond to those devastating words, “Officer down”?

Since 1996, Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) has provided highly acclaimed training to help agencies deal with officer death, injury, disability, police suicide, and the after effects of losing a close co-worker.  The “Traumas of Law Enforcement” is recommended for Chiefs, Superintendents, Sheriffs, Chaplains, Dispatchers, Benefits Assistance Officers, Planning and Research officers, Employee Assistance employees, Liaison Officers, Special Operations Divisions, Victim Assistance personnel, any law enforcement officer, law enforcement family member, or law enforcement survivor.

While the “Traumas of Law Enforcement” trainings have usually been funded through Federal grants to Concerns of Police Survivors, C.O.P.S. paid the $90,000 cost for these trainings out of their general account in 2008 and raised funds from Streamlight®, GLOCK®, Harley-Davidson, the 100 Club of Houston, TX, and the Maryland and Indiana Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors for the 2009 trainings.  C.O.P.S. is now able to redirect funds from their general account and corporate contributions to other C.O.P.S. programs thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs of the U.S. Department of Justice.  In May 2009, BJA announced a $1.5 million, 20-month grant to C.O.P.S. to fund the “Traumas of Law Enforcement” for 2010 and 2011.

The training is a three-day seminar, totaling 21 hours, providing law enforcement agencies with the tools needed… Continue reading