In 1984, I was a rookie officer on the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD). It was a tough year for the SAPD. That year, four SAPD officers took their own lives. One was from my cadet class. I didn’t get it. And like many of my fellow officers, I asked why. Oh, we really didn’t […]

Ethan Miller showed up at a grocery store in Bend, OR to kill. On Sunday evening, August 29, the 20-year-old Miller, armed with a rifle and shotgun, randomly shot in a nearby apartment complex where he lived. He made his way to the Safeway store and continued to shoot. One witness said Miller laughed as […]

In February, Sadaat Johnson, 27, took his children for a treat. But Johnson didn’t receive the service he believed he deserved from employees at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Midvale, UT. Any reasonable person disappointed with customer service would request to speak with a manager. Johnson was not a reasonable person, and threatened employees by brandishing a pistol. […]

Recently, violence against law enforcement officers has escalated. According to ABC News, the number of officers killed by gunfire has increased 20% over last year.[1] Not only are the attacks more lethal, but many are premeditated. The surge in violence is not limited to the large metropolitan areas. Violence has reared its ugly head in small […]

The mass murder of children in Uvalde was yet another reminder of humanity’s depraved heart. On May 24th, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos murdered nineteen children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in the small Texas community. Seventeen others were wounded. Almost immediately the blame game started. Someone left a door unlocked. Someone sold Ramos a […]

Pastors and police officers have a lot in common. They deal with people going through crises. They are expected to have all the answers. They are believed to have unlimited resources at their fingertips. They are never off-duty.  On Thursday evening, March 31st, Harris County (TX) Deputy Darren Almendarez and his wife were grocery shopping in […]

In February 1983, I was deployed to north-central Alaska with the 6570th Security Police Squadron from Brooks AFB, TX for “Operation Brim Frost.” It was a joint Army-Air Force exercise to train for combat in arctic conditions. The temperature was minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit when our C-130 troop transport landed on the makeshift runway of Alaska’s […]

Crime goes up in the summer months in San Antonio. It seems the South Texas heat drives people to stupidity. Nineteen-eighty-four was my first summer as a police officer, and the first time I was assaulted on duty. Not long after checking into service, I received a call to the downtown Marriott hotel. I drove […]

Firearms are not designed to kill. They are designed to accurately project a fast-moving object at a high velocity. A firearm is a tool. For law enforcement officers, it’s a piece of equipment. Although not designed to kill, firearms do so effectively. Contrary to the belief of some, officers are not trained to kill. The […]

Law enforcement officers face tragedy daily. Sometimes that tragedy hits close to home. In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 2, Hazlehurst (MS) PD Officer Laquandia Cooley was dispatched to a shooting on Larkin Street. A body was laying in the street with a gunshot wound to the head. Officer Cooley recognized the victim. […]