APB American Police Beat

I was rubbing my chest when he walked in because, just 20 minutes earlier, a medical assistant had plucked a grip of those sticky EKG pads from the geography surrounding […]

Research shows that alcohol actively impedes trauma recovery by altering brain chemistry and disrupting emotional processing. Rather than supporting healing, alcohol can create a vicious cycle that reinforces fear memories, […]

First responder risks Peace officers, along with other first responders who have sworn their lives to protect their fellow citizens, not only put their physical safety at risk because of […]

There is an enormous and often tragic toll extracted from the lives of first responders by the work they are called to do. Police officers, correctional officers, firefighters, dispatchers, EMTs […]

Mandatory training on the first day off in two weeks. New guidance from administration with no context. Staffing shortages the night before. When officers walk into a training session already […]

If you’ve experienced thoughts of suicide as a police officer, you are not alone. Recent research estimates that 21% of officers — roughly one in five — report suicidal thoughts […]

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever shown up to work and thought, “I just don’t feel like putting my vest on today?” Probably not. Not because you […]

A patrol officer clears a fatal crash involving a teenager. Notifications have been made, the investigation is complete and the report is underway. Thirty minutes later, the same officer is […]

The numbers have long been whispered in roll calls and locker rooms, but recent years have forced them into the open. Law enforcement professionals die by suicide at a rate […]

A new chief rarely has a complete understanding of the organization on the first day in command. Even with careful preparation, research and extensive input from others, the full weight […]

My career in law enforcement spanned nearly 47 years. I worked in patrol, criminal investigations, the gang unit and the emergency response team. I held many pivotal positions, including supervisor […]

As the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) prepares to welcome the law enforcement community to Washington, D.C., for Police Weekend, those unable to attend in person will also […]

There is no single comprehensive, centralized database tracking all police suicides nationwide directly tied to 9/11. What is known is that at least 35 rescue and recovery workers died by […]

A supervisor reviews a report and corrects nearly every sentence. An experienced instructor develops a training plan, only to have routine decisions reconsidered. A trusted employee starts a project but […]

It’s said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That may be true for many things, but far too often the road to hell is paved with evil […]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York, the pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a […]

For most Americans, September 11, 2001, is remembered as a day that changed the nation forever. As a young college student in Missouri, I didn’t have any personal ties to […]

On September 11, a 26-foot, 16,900-pound steel beam pulled from the debris pile of the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, will return home to ground zero in […]

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, was America’s darkest day. It was a day that saw 2,977 people murdered by al-Qaida terrorists who attacked our country from within using American resources. The […]

On August 4, communities across the country gathered to celebrate National Night Out. For more than 40 years, millions of residents in thousands of cities have participated in the annual […]