On November 27, 2015, at 11:30 am, 57-year-old Robert Dear Jr., armed with an SKS 7.62mm rifle, went to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, and started shooting. The clinic staff heard the shots and called 911 as Dear made his way through the building shooting at random targets. Officers responded and a […]

Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) across America are hurting. Many are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. This reality recently hit the Chicago Police Department (CPD) when two officers in the span of five days died by suicide. This comes after another CPD officer killed himself in January. Following the third suicide, Police Superintendent David Brown […]

On February 1, Lieutenant Michael Boutte of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office (MS) responded to a call for a subject attempting suicide in Necaise. Lt. Boutte was shot and critically wounded as he exited his police cruiser. He was airlifted from the scene to a New Orleans hospital, but succumbed to his wounds. The suspect […]

The capitol building overrun by rioters, police officers hurt and killed, unarmed citizens shot…. Did you ever think you’d see such chaos in our capital? I never did. While the new president and his administration will no doubt change the direction of our country, what does it mean for law enforcement? Some agencies will be greatly affected, […]

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at about 2:30 pm, Charleston (WV) Police Officer Cassie Johnson was dispatched for a parking complaint. Officer Johnson arrived to investigate the minor infraction and found Joshua Phillips, 38, had illegally parked his vehicle on private property. The property owner called the police to have the vehicle removed. The officer […]

The vast majority of officer-involved-shootings involve uniformed LEOs. When officers are promoted or transferred to a plainclothes unit, it’s easy to become complacent. Uniformed officers condition themselves to “turn-off” when the uniform comes off. It’s impossible to remain in “condition yellow” all the time. I recall when I was promoted to detective, it was strange […]

In 1979, I graduated from high school and began my law enforcement career as an Air Force security police officer. That’s the year Harold Preston joined the Houston (TX) PD. After my four-year enlistment, I joined the San Antonio (TX) PD in 1983. By then, Officer Preston was a four-year vet of HPD. Over our […]

Officers across the country are being disparaged, assaulted, and even murdered like never before. While many of the assaults are not new for officers, the upsurge in physical assaults can only be attributed to the nasty rhetoric directed at America’s law officers. No doubt you heard the about the September 12th attempted assassination of two Los […]

While the larger metropolitan areas receive the vast majority of media coverage, policing proves dangerous in the small municipalities across the nation. Recently the Beehive State reported an unusually high number of officer-involved-shootings. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, police shootings across Utah surpassed the total number for all of 2019.[1] There were four in early […]

Daily the national media cover the violent attacks on America’s law enforcement officers. Up until now, I’ve refrained from commenting on this in The Blue Line newsletter. Even now, I will refrain and allow God’s Word to speak. Hosea 4:2 can be a headline describing what is happening today in several major US cities, “There is swearing, […]