PROTECT AND SERVE... THE COMPASSIONATE WARRIOR
A careless watch invites the thief. (Old Scottish Proverb)
There is no glory in facing an abusive spouse who has just beaten his mate
senseless or into such fear as to render them unable to communicate...
suffering from sense deadening, trembling fear, hunkered down into a small heap
or into a fetal position, bruised, stomped and bleeding... BUT THERE IS THE
OBLIGATION TO STOP THE ABUSE.
There is no glory in picking up a small torn mangled body... whether blasted
by a bomb... or run down by a drunken driver... BUT THERE IS THE NEED TO
BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE LOSS AND CONTINUE TO FUNCTION
AS NECESSARY IN SPITE OF THE AFFECTATION... COMPASSIONATE
AUTHORITY.
There is no glory in taking life when you are trying to protect and preserve life...
BUT SOMETIMES LIFE FOR THE VICTIMS OF CRIME, WAR AND ABUSE
CAN ONLY BE PROTECTED BY INFLICTING INJURY OR DEATH UPON
THE PERPETRATORS SINCE THE PERPETRATORS THEMSELVES ARE
THE ONES WHO DICTATE THE FORCE NECESSARY TO STOP THE
DESTRUCTION OF LIVES OTHER THAN THEIR OWN.
THE EXTREMES OF PROTECTING LIFE AND TAKING LIFE IS THE REALM OF
THE PEACE KEEPER... ESPECIALLY OF THE BEAT OFFICER, HIGHWAY
TROOPER, DEPUTY SHERIFF, CORRECTIONS OFFICERS AND THE ON
THE FIELD SOLDIER. IN THESE POSITIONS OF SERVICE LIFE IS UP CLOSE
AND PERSONAL... AND IT INVOLVES CONFLICT, EMOTION (OFTEN HOT AND
VIOLENT), PAIN, INJURY AND SOMETIMES DEATH. Here is life in the nitty -
gritty. This is life where the rubber meets the road and the gravel does the grinding.
Here is life that must be dealt with as it comes. It demands the application of training,
discipline, reason, a cool head, persistence and patience. RUSH WITHOUT
PROPER METHODS AND APPLICATION AND OFTEN SOMEONE ELSE MUST
COME AND RESCUE THE INITIAL COMBATANTS... and still resolve the original
conflict...
IN ALL OF THESE INSTANCES WE MUST COME TO THE SITUATION EQUIPPED
AND PREPARED FOR THE WORST... BUT HOPING AND WORKING FOR THE
BEST OUTCOME.
IN MOST INSTANCES LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE SOLDIERS
WHO FIGHT ALONE... WHILE THE MILITARY CONSISTS OF SOLDIERS WHO
FIGHT TOGETHER IN SMALL GROUPS OR MORE... BUT THE GOAL IS
ALWAYS THE SAME FOR BOTH... PEACE AND THE PRESERVATION OF
LIFE AND LIBERTY.
The following Peace Keepers went out to duty... They paid a high price for service...
Some did not return...
================================================================
Inmate Injures Four Jail Officers In Santa Rosa (report from a reader)
POSTED: 7:00 a.m. MDT May 2, 2005
UPDATED: 7:08 a.m. MDT May 2, 2005
Story by The New Mexico Channel
<>SANTA ROSA, N.M. -- Four corrections officers are recovering from injuries
stemming from a confrontation with an inmate at the Guadalupe County Correctional
Facility in Santa Rosa. State police said Mario Rodriguez wouldn't return to his cell
as ordered at about 5 p.m. Sunday, prompting the confrontation with officers.
State police said Rodriguez attacked the officers with a padlock stuffed into a sock,
and the officers then used pepper spray to subdue him.
<>
The names of the four injured officers have not been made public. One had to be
airlifted to a hospital in Amarillo, Texas, for treatment. The condition of the others
is not known. About 120 inmates began banging on cell bars and yelling during the
incident, so prison officials placed the facility on lockdown.
Rodriguez is serving an 18-year sentence for convictions of kidnapping and rape,
and escaping from jail in Grants County.
In 1999, one corrections officer died at the Santa Rosa facility after nine inmates
became violent. More than a dozen inmates were convicted in the death and the
riot that followed.
Mike Barajas (thanks Mike)
================================================================<>
PoliceOne.com, 05/14/05
Denver Police Identify Detective's Killer
The Denver Police Department has released detailed information on the suspect
wanted in the ambush of two officers and has asked PoliceOne to distribute this
information to our members. Donald R. Young, 43, a married father of two and a
decorated detective, was shot three times from behind and killed Sunday.
Suspect Information:
Raul Garcia-Gomez: Age 21, Hispanic male, 5'6", 150 pounds, with short shaved
dark brown hair, brown eyes, thin mustache, full face and tattoos on his left
hand / forearm...
Other details: He may be driving a white 1995 Dodge Neon, 4 doors with a Colorado temp tag.
His current wherabouts are unknown.
(go to website for full story)
FATAL GUNFIRE CAME WITHOUT WARNING; PARTY HOSTS DIDN'T
OBSERVE ANY DISPUTE
Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News
The reception was winding down early Sunday at Salon Ocampo, and the hosts
were beginning to cut pieces of the baptismal cake for members of the band. The
cake-cutting was supposed to be the last order of business as the hosts wrapped
up what had been a beautiful fiesta for one of their newest family members. "I was
cutting the cake for the band members because someone had asked if they could
set aside some pieces of cake for them, and then I heard something strange. It
sounded like firecrackers," said one of the women who hosted the party.
(go to website for full story)
PoliceOne Safety Tip:
Age Does Not Apply (Secure - Login Required)
Submitted by: Inv. D. J. Cohen, Ret. USACIDC, CID/MPI Joint Drug Suppression Team
(DST) Very often and regardless of the situation, many officers turn a blind eye to
those who are elderly. We let our guard down and assume that the aforementioned
are less of a threat then younger individuals. Dead Wrong ...
(go to website for full story)
OFFICER DOWN, 05/14/05
Phoenix Police Officer Shot and Killed During a Traffic-Stop - 05/10/2005
David Uribe - [Phoenix, Arizona]
Michigan Police Detective Shot and Killed; Suspect Arrested - 05/10/2005
Lavern Brann - [Battle Creek, Michigan]
Texas Deputy Shot in Head During Traffic Stop Dies - 05/10/2005
Andy Taylor - [Kingsland, Texas]
Denver Police Detective Shot & Killed - 05/08/2005
Donald R. Young - [Denver, Colorado]
================================================================
WASHINGTONPOST.COM, 05/14/05
The News From Iraq Hits Hard at Home
<>Ohio Families Grieve and Reminisce After Death of Marines From
Lima Company
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 14, 2005; Page A13
"If they're wounded, they call. If they're dead, they come to the door," Davids said
Friday.
"That changed our lives forever, one ring of the doorbell."
Davids is the mother of Lance Cpl. Wesley G. Davids, a Marine from Lima
Company killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Wednesday, his 20th birthday.
Other Marine delegations went to other front doors, while Chief Warrant Officer
Orrin Bowman and colleagues telephoned 13 families to say their Marines had
been hurt.
The Columbus-based Marine Reserve unit took two hard jolts this week during an
offensive against insurgents near the Syrian border. Last Sunday, it was a firefight;
on Wednesday, it was a bomb detonating beneath a crowded troop carrier. One
squad from the 1st Platoon lost every member to death or injury, according to
officers at the scene.
================================================================
VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 05/14/05
IRAQ, WEEK 04/7-13
U.S. TROOPS KILLED - 23
U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED - 107
U.S. TROOPS KILLED SINCE 03/03 - 1614
U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED SINCE 03/03 - 12,350
================================================================
GOD CREATED HIS WORLD FOR PEACE...
GOD CREATED MAN FOR PEACE IN HIS WORLD...
MAN WOULD NOT LIVE IN PEACE IN GOD'S WORLD SO GOD CREATED
PEACE KEEPERS TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN PEACE...
SOME OF MAN, IN HIS SELFISH STATE OF MIND, WILL NOT SUBMIT TO PEACE
THEN GOD'S MINISTERS OF RIGHTNESS, PEACE KEEPERS, MUST MOVE
INTO SITUATIONS AND MINISTER PEACE AND RIGHTNESS...
IN THIS MINISTERING PEACE AND RIGHTNESS PEACE KEEPERS MUST LIVE
THE FULL GAMUT OF EMOTIONS OR BECOME AUTOMATONS WITH
FROZEN EMOTIONS AND NO FEELINGS...
THE WEIGHT WE PLACE UPON PEACE KEEPERS AND THE EXPECTATIONS
WE HAVE OF THEM IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR DUTIES IS AN
AWESOME LOAD FOR THE PEACE KEEPER. IF THE PEACE KEEPER
SUCCEEDS IN TURNING OFF HIS/HER EMOTIONS ON THE JOB (THINKING
THIS IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO SURVIVE) HE/SHE ALSO TURNS OFF
COMPASSION AND THE ABILITY TO INTERACT WITH LOVED ONES AT HOME...
UNLESS THAT PEACE KEEPER IS WELL TRAINED AND PRACTICES
PERSONAL ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT ON AN ONGOING BASIS. SOMETIMES
THAT GETS TO BE TOO MUCH TROUBLE AND THE PEACE KEEPER IS
FROZEN INTO A CONDITION OF NO EMOTIONS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS
CONDITION FOR THE PEACE KEEPER BECAUSE IT CREATES MORE AND
GREATER PROBLEMS FOR THE PEACE KEEPER, THOSE WHOM HE/SHE
DEALS WITH ON THE JOB, THOSE HE/SHE ASSOCIATES WITH WHEN NOT
ON DUTY AND FOR THOSE WHOM HE/SHE LOVES AND WHO LOVES
HIM/HER.
In a span of moments any Peace Keeper can be into situations which demand
fighting someone for their own life or for the life of someone else... and in the
aftermath of that same fight be called upon to minister emergency medical
attention and compassion to an injured person... buddy or stranger. They MUST
BE ABLE TO FUNCTION IN AND WITH THE VARYING DEMANDS NO MATTER
HOW THEY FEEL... AND FUNCTION SUCCESSFULLY!
I have seen the pictures from Iraq showing determination, fatigue and compassion.
I have witnessed the function of LEOS moving from one level of threat to another and
back down again... I have experienced it myself. Compassion (the ability to suffer/
experience the full range of emotions that another is going through) is something
that we are in the eyes of the ones whom we PROTECT AND SERVE... the term is
COMPASSIONATE AUTHORITY... THE ABILITY TO BE TOUGH AS NAILS AND
STILL BE GENTLE.
I know that some in Peace Keeping on the field do not agree with me. I have worked
with them and watched them as they function. In rare circumstances I have
interceded and asked their permission to step into the situation and give them relief
because the situation was escalating and would become uncomfortable and
dangerous for the person being dealt with, the officer or both. What I have learned
in the crucible of experience is mine. If another does not wish to listen to the voice
of experience... then the one with experience has only to wait and watch. At some
point the one who needs to receive instruction and/or assistance will get in so
deeply that rescuse will become necessary... and usually be appreciated when the
heat of conflict dies down.
In these organizations, whether military or paramilitary, we all must operate under
circumstances we do not create and with methods or circumstances with which we
do not agree... THAT'S LIFE FOR US!... BUT WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE
DISAGREEABLE IN THE PROCESS. EVALUATION, ASSIMILATION AND
APPLICATION ARE OUR TOOLS OF SURVIVAL. LEVELS OF DISCOMFORT
ARE AND ALWAYS WILL BE PART OF THE JOB. EXTREME DEMANDS
DURING A TOUR OF DUTY OR IN THE SPAN OF A FEW MOMENTS OF TIME
ARE REALITY FOR US. WE CANNOT BE RIGID... WE MUST BE ADAPTABLE!
THIS IS ONE OF THE DANGER AREAS THAT WILL GET US IF WE ARE NOT
ALERT, WATCHFUL AND SUSPICIOUS. BEING RIGID CAN BE DANGEROUS...
BEING TOO LAX CAN BE DANGEROUS... BEING TOO HARSH CAN BE
DANGEROUS WHEN IT IS NOT WARRANTED...
A POLICE OFFICER DIED AT A BAPTISMAL PARTY FOR AN INFANT AND HIS
FAMILY... THE ARTICLE SAID SHOT FROM BEHIND... SOMETHING
DEFINITELY WENT WRONG AND IT COST A PEACE KEEPER HIS LIFE.
A CONVOY PASSES OVER A SPOT ON THE ROADWAY... LIGHTER
VEHICLES HAVE PASSED BY WITH NO PROBLEM... A BOMB EXPLODES
UNDER A HEAVY AMTRAK PACKED WITH TROOPERS... AND A SQUAD IS
WIPED OUT. THESE WERE THE SURVIVORS OF A PREVIOUS HEAVY LOSS
THAT HAD TAKEN SEVERAL OF THEIR MEMBERS EARLIER IN THE WEEK.
CONVOY MEMBERS BRAVED FIRE IGNITED BULLETS AND SHELLS TO GET
AS MANY TROOPS OUT OF THE AMTRAK AS POSSIBLE... ORDNANCE
WHIZZING ALL AROUND THEM... HIGH EMOTION AND ENERGY FOR THE
EFFORT... THEN THAT WRUNG OUT ENERGY LOSS... FEELING AS LIMP AS
A WET CLOTH... AND EMOTIONALLY DRAINED AND EMPTY...
AND PROBABLY ANGRY! ANGER IS A COMMON RESPONSE TO GRIEF AND
LOSS.
ACTION UNDER FIRE... SOMETIMES EVEN FIELD MEDICS ARE FIGHTING
ATTACK WHILE BEING CALLED UPON TO TRY AND SAVE LIFE DURING THE
PROCESS OF BATTLE... THIS HAPPENS ON THE BATTLEFIELD...
SOMETIMES EVEN IN HOMELAND SECURITY... IN CITIES, SMALL TOWNS,
RURAL AREAS, INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS.
A STATE TROOPER STOPS A VEHICLE FOR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION... AND IS
AMBUSHED BY THE OCCUPANTS...
CITY OFFICERS RESPOND TO A 911 CALL... AND ARE AMBUSHED AS THEY
APPROACH THE LOCATION...
AN OFFICER SERVES A WARRANT ON AN ELDERLY MAN FOR SPOUSAL
ASSAULT... THE MAN ASKS TO GO GET HIS JACKET... FROM THE CLOSET
HE PULLS OUT A WEAPON AND SHOOTS THE OFFICER...
FOUR OFFICERS AND A CHAPLAIN RESPOND TO A DOMESTIC AT A
RESIDENCE... A WOMAN IS IN THE FRONT YARD SCREAMING AND
BLEEDING... HER SISTER IS INSIDE WITH A MAN... HE IS BEATING HER...
THE SISTER IS JUST INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR LYING ON THE FLOOR IN
A FETAL POSITION WITH A SHOE HEEL PRINT ON THE SIDE OF HER
HEAD AND FACE... FRIGHTENED SPEECHLESS AND BLEEDING... THE
CHAPLAIN CHECKS HER AND FOUR OFFICERS SURROUND THE MAN
WHO IS JUST A FEW FEET AWAY. THE MAN, SURROUNDED BY THE FOUR
OFFICERS, ATTACKS ONE OFFICER RIPPING THE OFFICER'S SHIRT AND
TEARING OFF HIS NECKTIE. THE BLUE WALL FALLS IN UPON HIM.
THIS MAN IS SO IMPERVIOUS TO PAIN AND IS SO STRONG THAT THEY
WRESTLE ALL THROUGH A KITCHEN UNTIL IN DESPERATION AN OFFICER
STRIKES THE MAN ON THE FRONT OF HIS HEAD SPLITTING HIS SCALP AND
SUBDUEING THE MAN... IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS EPISODE THE MAN
HAD TO BE HANDLED AND CARED FOR, TWO INJURED WOMEN HAD TO BE
HANDLED AND CARED FOR... AND THE CHAPLAIN RODE IN THE
AMBULANCE HOLDING THE BABY OF THE WOMAN WHO WAS STOMPED.
IN THE AFTERMATH ALL THE OFFICERS AND THE CHAPLAIN WERE
ACCUSED OF POLICE BRUTALITY AND ALL HAD TO SUBMIT TO
INVESTIGATION AND WRITTEN REPORTS... EMOTIONS AND DEMANDS
ACCELERATE AND SUBSIDE... THAN ACCELERATE AGAIN.
ON ONE CASE THERE MAY BE SHOTS FIRED BEFORE YOU ARRIVE...
UPON ARRIVAL ALL IS DARKENED IN THE WHOLE APARTMENT HOUSE...
WHERE IS APARTMENT #4... WHERE IS THE MAN WITH THE GUN?
EVERY DARKENED WINDOW AND EVERY DOOR IS A POSSIBLE THREAT.
YOU ARE ASSIGNED TO INVESTIGATE A MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH... A CAR
HAS RUN OFF THE ROAD INTO THE WOODS IN THE DARK AND CAUGHT FIRE.
IT IS BURNING WHEN YOU ARRIVE. WHEN YOU CAN FINALLY EXAMINE THE
WRECK YOU FIND FOUR YOUNG PEOPLE STACKED UPON ONE ANOTHER
IN THE REAR FLOOR BOARD BURNED TO DEATH... FOUR FAMILIES HAVE
TO BE GIVEN NOTIFICATIONS OF THE DEATH OF THEIR CHILD... IT BECOMES
AN ALL MORNING ASSIGNMENT MOVING FROM ONE FAMILY TO ANOTHER...
EMOTIONS RISE AND FALL... THEN RISE AGAIN...
Does all this take a toll upon us?... YES! Is this condition and demand survivable?
YES!... Do all Peace Keepers survive well?... NO! Why do some survive and do
well while others do not... and some even reach the extreme of suicide because life
holds no meaning for them and they either cannot feel at all... or they feel far, far too
much? If Basic School is thorough we are warned and prepared. If we listen and
learn we are prepared. If we seek education in related fields we are prepared. If
we have had experience we are prepared. If we ask for assistance we can be
better prepared. If we seek the counsel of many successful survivors we will find
they have many methods of dealing with all this. Some are like the movies and
drown it with alcohol. That might help for the moment but the memory is still there
when you sober up. SOMETHING MORE PERMANENT AND USEFUL IS
READILY AVAILABLE FOR MANAGEMENT OF THESE STRESSES THAT
WE ENCOUNTER. WE MUST LEARN THEM AND APPLY THEM FOR GOOD
SUCCESS.
Much info is available out there in the world and by internet.... books and websites.
Stress management classes and books are available. The techniques are simple
to learn about... but we must practice them for them to work. If you run all the
accessories in your car continuously and the charging system is not sufficient...
it will kill the battery and nothing will work... including the car for it cannot start unless
it receives sufficient electric power to turn the starter to crank over the engine until it
fires off and runs. OUR BODIES ARE LIKE AN OVERLOADED CAR
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM... WITHOUT PROPER ATTENTION OVERLOAD SHUTS
US DOWN LIKE A DEAD BATTERY.
This Chaplain knows the range of all these emotions and feelings all too well.
After numerous deaths of fellow officers, both on the job and by suicide, and
experiencing many deaths and debilitating illnesses in both parishoners and family,
I have come to the conclusion that we all will and must have some level of these
experiences in order to be whole people. If you never had a bad time, how would
you know a good time? If you never experienced pain, how would you know love
and peace when they came? If you never expereinced loss or deprivation, how
would you know how to appreciate a gift? If you never experienced an injury as a
child how could you relate to a child who is experiencing injury and loss? If you
never had a child nor was ever close to a child, how could you relate to a child's
needs?
If you never held a friend nor a buddy while they cried, how would you know how to
give concern and compassion? If you have never seen the results of death (no
life in the body of some one you have known), how can you relate to death in the
lives of others? THESE ARE ALL JOURNEYS THAT WE MUST TAKE IN OUR
PROFESSIONS IF WE ARE TO BE EFFFECTIVE IN DEALING WITH LIFE AND
WITH THOSE PEOPLE AROUND US, BOTH IN OUR PROFESSION, AND WITH
CIVILIANS.
THESE LESSONS COME FROM LIFE... AND FROM TRAINING. TO GET THE
EXPERIENCE TRAINING MUST BE APPLIED IN ROLE PLAYING AND IN REAL
LIFE. SOME ASK WHY DO I DO THE JOB I DO? WHY DID I CHOOSE IT? I DID
NOT ACTUALLY CHOOSE IT... I NOW BELIEVE I WAS CREATED FOR IT. THE
JOB FOUND ME AS MUCH OR MORE THAN I FOUND IT... IT IS WHERE I FIT...
AT LEAST FOR ALL OF THESE YEARS IT HAS BEEN WHERE I FIT.
Some of you out there know just what I am speaking of... the rest of you will learn if
you stick it out and are successful in Peace Keeping.
BE PREPARED. THESE VARIATIONS WILL COME TO YOU AS WELL AS
THEY HAVE COME TO ME AND TO OTHERS. WHEN YOU NEED ASSISTANCE,
ASK FOR IT... TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE WHEN YOU NEED IT IS A SIGN THAT
YOU HAVE GAINED SOME WISDOM... BUT REMEMBER THAT I ALSO ADD...
KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND DO NOT ASK AND YOU WILL HAVE TO GO
WITHOUT HAVING WHAT YOU NEED. THE ASKING IS UP TO YOU.
"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!" BE ALERT, WATCHFUL, SUSPICIOUS AND WARY.
DO WHAT YOU CAN FOR YOURSELF AND DETERMINE TO SEEK OUT THOSE
WHO CAN ASSIST YOU ALONG YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THIS LIFE. BE
SURE AND PROVIDE FOR ALL FACETS OF YOUR LIFE... MENTAL, EMOTIONAL,
PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL. YOU WILL NEED THEM ALL TO COPE
SUCCESSFULLY... DO NOT NEGLECT ANY PART. ASK... SEEK... KNOCK...
APPLY WHAT YOU RECEIVE AS BEST YOU CAN. DO THIS AND YOU WILL BE
SUCCESSFUL. DO IT NOT AND YOU WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL.
AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN... SO IT STILL IS!
"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN." Sun tzu
ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
Chaplain D. R. Staton (Don - C1) VBPD, VSP ALUMNI,
Officer, Instructor, Senior Chaplain, Director of Chaplains
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
==============================================================
Copyright: CHAPLAIN CORNER (DRS) 2005. All rights reserved. May not be
duplicated without permission, except to be forwarded with copyright and
all source information for any quotation intact.
To subscribe to this free e-mail message for Peace Keepers,
write to Chaplain D. R. Staton at chpln1@verizon.net or at
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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