Items

• 2020-05-28

  Covid 19- The First Wave

  Schools were shut down, business were closing. My parents stood outside my living room waving as they dropped off Easter baskets for my children. The monotonous routine of my husband coming home from his shift as a police officer and bagging his uniform in a garbage bag in the garage so I could immediately wash them for fear he had brought home Covid. Two months passed of this until that dreadful day when neither of us could smell or taste anything. He had brought home Covid. At first, it felt just like a cold with the exception of the loss of taste and smell. But a few days into our positive results, my husband's symptoms became more severe. He began having trouble breathing at night. We had medicines and took precautions to get him through those nights. I was scared because we had two young children at home and they began to show signs of Covid as well. I didn't feel like I had anywhere to turn. In the beginning, you were told only to come to an ER if it was absolutely necessary and even then, the people who were checking into the hospitals were not checking out. It felt like a death trap to bring in my husband. Days passed and symptoms improved. We were lucky, it had passed. We had long-lasting effects when it came to rapid heart rates and regaining our taste and smell, but feel very lucky we eventually recovered.
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  2021-10-04

  Show me the money

  Working in law enforcement the past few years has been tough. So tough that many are reconsidering the career and either leaving or just not applying in the first place. So many agencies, including my own are now offering hiring incentives... and each agency is trying to offer better than the others to entice people to hire on. It has turned into an incentive frenzy...
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  2021-09-17

  Sobering Statistics

  Once again, Covid-19 tops the list for Law Enforcement In Line of Duty Deaths, just as it did last year. Now, more than ever, Law Enforcement needs our support and assistance!
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  2021-03-24

  COVID-19 Claims Life of Trailblazing Bourne Police Lieutenant, Cancer Survivor

  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect law enforcement personnel far more than all other job hazards. The SARS-CoV-2 virus killed more American police officers and law enforcement personnel in 2020 than any other cause of death, and that trend appears to continue in 2021. Unlike most other essential workers, law enforcement professionals cannot reliably keep social distance or avoid personal contact with the public and their colleagues. Additionally, they are unable to seek reasonable accommodations that would allow them to do so, and their failure to fulfill their duties and sworn obligations is often grounds for dismissal and decertification.
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  2021-03-09

  Police1 Promotes Law Enforcement Submissions to the JOTPY COVID-19 Archive

  I wrote this article for Police1 to promote law enforcement submissions to the JOTPY COVID-19 archive. At the time of this publication, Police1 enjoys approximately three million unique visits per month to its website. The site published my article on 03/09/2021, and I intend to use this article to encourage further promotion of the archive's Law Enforcement collection.
• 2019-03-20

  The disregarded

  My experience was disheartening and eye opening. My department and municipality seemingly showed their true colors toward specifically road patrol. We were to continue to show up and perform our duties. When Covid-19 got a little more serious we told we could relax traffic enforcement and stay out of business unless called there. That was appreciated. And that was all we got. About a month road patrol was told we were being forced to take a day off to help limit our chance of exposure by a whopping %16. Sounded good, then we were told our forced day off we were to be “on call”. Then we were told that as road patrol since we were only supposed to be fit for duty/on call for 8 hours, we would not be getting our CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED and EARNED 4 hours of compensatory time! That was a big morale boost, sarcasm heavily implied. The. We as road patrol we found out every other department in the city was “working from home” including inside positions at our own department, ie detectives , court officers and administration. Those inside positions would receive full pay and not lose any financial compensation unlike road patrol. All the while other area department were being compensated extra for working during a pandemic. Some department got extra pay some got extra vacation time or comp time. We got nothing and were threatened in actually losing compensation. But we were expected to perform our duties still. We did receive a bonus of $1,000 from the federal government that was taxed. So we got $800. I am not complaining about an extra $800 mins you. But that money came from the federal government Not my municipality who has yet to recognize our efforts to this day. Needless to say morale is in the gutter and with an upcoming contract negotiation it is not going to get better. I feel the municipality could have done more or at the least something to recognize what we did. Granted it was unprecedented for all, but dealing with unprecedented from the road and the comfort of your home on Zoom are two polar opposites.
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  2020-04-04

  Using the pandemic to prohibit gun sales

  This particular story pertains to the overreach of government entities during the covid-19 pandemic, specifically regarding gun sales and the second amendment. Various government entities have utilized the pandemic to prohibit or impede gun and ammunition sales. This is particularly important to me as I believe it is the right of every law abiding man and woman to possess firearms to protect themselves and their families if they choose to do so. Furthermore, I believe in a fair and impartial government which should not have the ability to circumvent standardized governmental procedures in the event of an “emergency” they deem fitting.
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  2020-03-30

  Creating Safe Havens: University Police on Duty Despite Pandemic

  Like their public safety colleagues across the nation, the men and women of the Suffolk University Police Department are balancing caring for their community and their families. "We still have a job to do to take care of people and their needs," said Lt. Ramon Nunez. "We have to pick each other up and have a positive mindset that we're going to get through this together." "I tell her that police officers are like superheroes in the community and that our job is to go out and help other people." Patrol Officer Gisela Rodrigues' daughter sometimes gets a bit nervous when it's time for her mom to go to work, but the officer knows how to calm her.
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  2020-05-01

  Cops and Toiltet Paper

  Getting toilet paper in the COVID-19 pandemic