Never Forgotten
C.O.P.S has done so much for my family and I since my husband, State Trooper Gerald “Jerry” Ellis, died in March 30, 2019. A drunk driver was going the wrong way, and hit him head on. He was my...
View ArticleNot A Day Goes By
On May 28, 2014, my best friend and best man to-be in my wedding, Alex Giannini, was killed in a rollover accident on Interstate 10 in Benson, Arizona during Border Patrol operations. The months that...
View ArticleHe is Always There for Me
I lost my dad when I was 4 years old, Officer Robert Bennett – EOW June 17th, 2004. I have spent a large portion of my life with the gaping hole where a father should be due to the evils in this...
View ArticleFind What Makes You Happy
Cochise County (AZ) Sheriff’s Deputy Leroy Brown, EOW 12/6/1969, was just 38 years old when he was ambushed by a man he had arrested a few months prior. He left behind his wife and two young sons. His...
View ArticleTruly Family To Us
Cathy and Gilbert Lee became survivors when their son, New York City Police Officer Kevin Lee, died in the line of duty on January 27, 2006. Officer Lee was not only a loving son, husband, father,...
View ArticleThe Best Thing I Could Have Done
I would like to tell you my story and my experience with C.O.P.S Outward Bound. My father was Lt. Corey Dahlem EOW 4/4/07. I was a freshman in college when my dad was killed. As any C.O.P.S member...
View ArticleTake Care of Yourself
Terry Miyares and her family have been part of C.O.P.S. for many years. In fact, she credits God, her family and C.O.P.S. for showing her how to live again without the love of her life, Officer Emilio...
View ArticleWe Can't Live In The Bad
We all dread that phone call that happens in the middle of the night. Ours occurred on August 11, 2002, when we received a call letting us know that my brother, Detroit Police Officer Scott Stewart,...
View ArticleGetting Involved
Sometimes getting involved in the not-for-profit world isn’t a choice, it is something that pulls you in. It’s a calling. In 1985, Bev Fuller was working in the officer selection unit for the Arizona...
View ArticleI Have Made Forever Friends
C.O.P.S has done so much for my family and I since my husband, State Trooper Gerald “Jerry” Ellis, died in March 30, 2019. A drunk driver was going the wrong way, and hit him head on. He was my...
View ArticlePeer Support
Dave Wallace has a unique perspective on line-of-duty deaths. He is a retired law enforcement officer who served communities in the state of California for 29 years. During that time, Dave lost...
View ArticleMy Journey
My journey with C.O.P.S. started shortly after my dad, Robert W Varner, Jr, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, was killed in the line of duty. His End of Watch was 1/2/89. My early memories include Suzie...
View ArticleThe Community Mourned With Us
I would like to take a minute to tell our family story of how uplifting my brother's, fallen officer Alex Arango, chief and the rest of his fellow officers have been since my brother passing. My...
View ArticleI Wish I Had Found C.O.P.S. Sooner
The first year we attended National Police Week in Washington, DC., I was raw, frazzled, worn-out, emotional, avoiding at all costs all the “reality”, chasing a 7-year-old boy, and being chastised by...
View ArticleAchieve Healthy Healing with These Helpful Tips
By special guest contributor, Hazel Bridges of agingwellness.org Grief is a natural response to loss. There are many different reactions people have to grief, depending on the situation. It is...
View ArticleI Will Be Forever Grateful
October 20, 1977, that date is burned into my memory and I have often relived it like it was yesterday. That was the day my world shattered. That was the day my Dad, Cheektowaga Police Officer, David...
View ArticleThere isn't a day that goes by....
My brother James Kevin White was a Police Officer in Brookhaven, MS. He was killed in the line of duty September 29, 2018. Kevin was full of life, he loved to joke and he LOVED meme wars. You couldn't...
View ArticleLife Changing
Parents Retreat is a lifesaving “Safe House.” It has been the single most important tool in my healing after the loss of my Marcus. Experiencing the support of the counselors and the other parents...
View ArticleHe Is Always There For Me
I lost my dad when I was 4 years old, Officer Robert Bennett – EOW June 17 th , 2004. I have spent a large portion of my life with the gaping hole where a father should be due to the evils in this...
View ArticleI Am Able To Smile Again
My name is Andrea Zimmerman Lomas, my brother was New Jersey State Trooper Bertram Zimmerman #5853 - EOW 2/5/04. My brother died while pursuing an armed robber at a convenience store. I was nine...
View ArticleI Strive To Honor Him
Brian, my high school sweetheart, was hands-down the nicest guy I'd ever met. In all the time I'd known him, he could talk to anybody and put them at ease; as a Deportation Officer for ICE, he'd had...
View ArticleI'm Very Proud Of Him
I am the surviving granddaughter of Elmer J Baumgardner EOW 9/14/1948. My mom and my aunt are the last children of EJ. Our journey has been a great one and it keeps getting better. As I grew older, I...
View ArticleDon't Do This Alone
My middle brother was a force to be reckoned with. He was crazy smart, a fierce believer in standing behind what you believe in and dang funny. His smile travelled around the world the day of his...
View ArticleI Recently Lost My Dad Last Summer
I recently lost my dad last summer. I grew up basically with my dad gone for most of my childhood while he was out serving our country in the Air Force. While he was home, he worked at Hammond Police...
View ArticleIt's A Different Type Of Loss
Kim Weigand knows what it is like to need immediate support following a loss, which has led Kim to getting heavily involved in her local Pennsylvania C.O.P.S. Chapter. Kim and other chapter members...
View ArticleSurrounded
Eddie Gomez and his partner, Dan, had been together for two years and were just two days away from purchasing their first home together. On March 13, 2019, that dream was cut short when Colorado State...
View ArticleWe Are Not Alone
Hi, I am Cherese Hillman and I became a Surviving Spouse on October 31,2020 when my husband, Avery Hillman, died as a result from complications after contracting COVID-19 while he was working in the...
View ArticlePulls You In
Sometimes getting involved in the not-for-profit world isn’t a choice, it is something that pulls you in. It’s a calling. In 1985, Bev Fuller was working in the officer selection unit for the Arizona...
View ArticleMost Impactful Thing
In 2006, Retired Deputy Randy Wiessinger attended National Police Week as a motor escort for the buses. He has continued to do this each year and has gotten his department involved by sending...
View ArticleProud
Virginia Mondie was proud of the bond she had with her son, Special Agent De’Greaun Frazier of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Agent Frazier was dedicated to his family, especially to...
View ArticleNew Titles
You may recognize Aaron Slater and Danielle Delgado from their popular apparel company, ReLEntless Defender Apparel. ReLEntless Defender has donated over $132,000 to C.O.P.S. to date, and has assisted...
View ArticleChanged Forever
On January 29, 2022, my life and my children’s lives were changed forever. My husband, deputy Noah Rainey, died in a single-vehicle crash while responding to a call for help. In the hours and days...
View ArticleBe The Light
Tressie Durr and her son, Nash, became survivors on May 27, 2017. Her husband and father of her child, Lincoln County (MS) Deputy Sheriff Donald William Durr, was shot while responding to a domestic...
View ArticleMany Paths
This life has taken me on many paths, but they all seem to lead back to one main road called 'Grief.' I have lost my mother, my older brother Brian, and now my oldest brother Greg. My grief road,...
View ArticleFun On A Bike
Tim Caprio became a survivor when his wife, Baltimore County (MD) Police Officer Amy Caprio, was killed in the line of duty on May 21, 2018. Less than a year later, Tim’s life had changed completely....
View ArticleGrowth
Beth Wouters admits she hit an all-time low after the death of her brother, Warren (MI) Police Sergeant Christopher M. Wouters, on October 11, 2000. Attending National Police Week (NPW) that following...
View ArticleOpening Up
Keith Dorwart lost his father, Morgan County (IL) Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Dorwart, on April 5, 1994, when he was only three years old. Even at such a young age, Keith’s life was destined to be spent...
View ArticleGiving Back
“You have to give to get.” It’s a motto that Jackie Bergeron, surviving sister-in-law of Maplewood (MN) Police Sergeant Joseph Bergeron, EOW 5/1/2010, has lived by since the day her brother-in-law...
View ArticleI Will
Following the death of her brother, Iowa State Trooper Mark Toney, EOW 9/20/2011, Debbie Wiseman was looking for someone to understand what she was going through. It didn’t take long before she was...
View ArticleDad,
Dad, Year two without you has been harder than year one in a lot of aspects. The numbness has worn off and I find myself facing reality a lot more these days. I picture your face every day and smile...
View ArticleFriends and Family for Life
Being the only girl surrounded by her three brothers, nobody messed with Becci Enders. Especially when it came to her oldest brother, Chad. “Even before he was in law enforcement, he was our protector...
View ArticleA Necklace...
A necklace, it’s such a simple yet materialistic item that many individuals across the U.S. own and wear daily. However, for some, that simple piece of jewelry can serve as a reminder; a reminder that...
View ArticleSupport System
Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells and his wife Channing had just purchased land in Mississippi, they were pregnant with their first son, and Channing had recently graduated with her college degree. You...
View ArticleTruly Amazing People
Following the death of her brother, Iowa State Trooper Mark Toney, EOW 9/20/2011, Debbie Wiseman was looking for someone to understand what she was going through. It didn’t take long before she was...
View ArticleRandom
Randomly stumbled across this picture today. Thinking of and missing you, Dad! Madilynn Kendricks-Bush Surviving Adult Child of Patrolman Rodney Kendricks Lubbock (TX) Police Department EOW 7/8/2001...
View ArticleThey Get It
On July 21, 2009, Jersey City (NJ) Police Detective Marc Anthony DiNardo was shot while pursuing two murder suspects. After transport to a nearby hospital, Detective DiNardo succumbed to his wounds....
View ArticleThey Convinced Me
Following the death of her brother, Iowa State Trooper Mark Toney, EOW 9/20/2011, Debbie Wiseman was looking for someone to understand what she was going through. It didn’t take long before she was...
View ArticleThey Get It
Matt Bloesch was a typical 13-year-old trying to find his place in the world. His dad was his best friend who he respected and looked to for guidance. Matt’s world was completely shattered on August...
View ArticleComing Together
On July 21, 2009, Jersey City (NJ) Police Detective Marc Anthony DiNardo was shot while pursuing two murder suspects. After transport to a nearby hospital, Detective DiNardo succumbed to his wounds....
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