Urgency is defined as “the quality or condition of being urgent; pressing importance. A pressing necessity.”[1] Officers need hope…and it’s a pressing necessity. Two news stories immediately following our seminar at the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office (STPSO) in Louisiana reminded me of the urgency to bring hope to our law enforcement officers (LEOs). The first comes from St. Tammany Parish.
Just hours after our seminar, a deputy from the STPSO attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic infraction. The driver sped off and a police pursuit ensued. The pursuit continued south on IH 10 towards New Orleans. St. Tammany’s Sergeant Grant Candies deployed a spike strip attempting to stop the fleeing suspects. The suspect vehicle hit and killed the 37-year-old sergeant. After running down the sergeant, the vehicle continued southbound and was finally stopped when it crashed into a New Orleans PD cruiser 18 miles down IH 10 in Orleans Parish.[2] All the suspects in the fleeing vehicle were juveniles. The driver was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated flight.[3] Sergeant Candies did not attend our seminar, but half of the students were officers from the STPSO.
Sergeant Candies is survived by his wife and two children. Sheriff Randy Smith commented, “I ask our community to please pray for Sgt. Candies’ family as well as his blue family – his coworkers and other members of law enforcement. Sgt. Candies’ death reiterates the dangers our deputies face every day when they put on their badge. While we grieve, we also honor and we remember a man who lived with purpose, who led with strength and who left behind a legacy that won’t be forgotten.”[4]
The second story comes out of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Texas, and made national news. The headline reads, “A troubling trend? 4 former and current HCSO deputies take their own lives in the last 6 weeks.”[5] This is yet another reminder of the toll policing takes on officers. Jose Lopez, the president of the Deputies’ Organization, commented, “It hits very close to home and it’s a reminder to us how fragile life is and it’s also a reminder we do need to look out for each other. We do need to take care of each other.”[6] Dr. Thomas McNeese, the director of the HCSO’s Behavioral Health Division, said “This profession, unfortunately, takes a toll on people. And, over time, the longer you’re in it, the more of a toll it takes, and it changes people. It’s a combination of what they see on the job and what the job entails. We can’t help but ask the question, is that enough? Do we need to do something different? What else can we do?” [7]
Perhaps mental health professionals should seek help from spiritual health professionals (chaplains and clergy) to bring hope to LEOs. The Bible says, “He who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18b). For most people who pin on the badge, policing is a huge dose of reality when they see the violence humanity is capable of inflicting. An officer, who recently read Suicide is Not an Option, sent me a note that in part read, “With everything we see and go through in our personal lives and patrol experiences we fail to take care of ourselves. Thank you for the book, I really enjoyed it, I thank God I asked for help.”
Bringing Hope to Law Enforcement
The Strong Blue Line Foundation—at no cost to officers or their agencies—brings hope to LEOs with training seminars that help them navigate a myriad of issues they deal with. One issue is suicide. Statistics show that officers are much more likely to die by suicide than being murdered in the line of duty. In the “Suicide is Not an Option” seminar and book, officers learn not only why people who claim to be Christian opt for suicide, but where they can find real hope. Please partner with us to make strong officers with strong relationships by giving them real hope for complete victory! To help, go to TheStrongBlueLine.org and click on the “Donate” button.
On the Road
At the end of April, Sherry and I were in Watertown, South Dakota for an International Conference of Police Chaplains training conference. Minnesota Police Chaplain Kevin Norton invited me to present both “Winning a Gunfight” and “Moral Injury in Policing” seminars to the chaplains attending the conference.
Pray for your police.
[1] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
[2] https://www.wdsu.com/article/st-tammany-parish-sheriff-s-office-sergeant-killed-during-multi-parish-chase/64264525
[3] https://www.odmp.org/officer/27363-sergeant-grant-candies
[4] https://www.wdsu.com/article/st-tammany-parish-sheriff-s-office-sergeant-killed-during-multi-parish-chase/64264525
[5] https://abc13.com/post/4-former-current-harris-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-take-own-lives-last-6-weeks/16060117/
[6] https://abc13.com/post/4-former-current-harris-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-take-own-lives-last-6-weeks/16060117/
[7] https://abc13.com/post/4-former-current-harris-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-take-own-lives-last-6-weeks/16060117/
