What began as a desire to give back, became a reality ……

It began with a phone call no Law Enforcement Family wants to receive, “It is with great sadness that we inform you that your loved one has been killed while on duty.” The words and circumstances may be different but the loss, the grief, the emptiness is the same. 

From that moment life became a blur and I functioned mechanically not really focusing on what was going on around me. So many thoughts and emotions, how was I ever going to go on? Would I ever feel like living again? How will I deal with the emptiness? Even if you don’t want to think about it, you worry about finances, how are we going to pay bills. 

From the moment we received the notification; calls, messages, visits and mail began to come in from all over the country. All of these were from persons we did not even know but all had a common thread, the “Thin Blue Line”. Support was from Law Enforcement Families, Officers, and Supporters of Law Enforcement all sending love, support, and prayers. All of this support definitely helped us through some awful times and provided some comfort and peace. 

One evening weeks after Floyd’s memorial as I sat at home with family writing thank you notes, I shared with them that I wanted to give some of that love and support back to others who found themselves in our situation. My family supported my idea 100 percent and even offered to help. They too wanted to do something to honor Floyd and help others, so we began to research needs of Law Enforcement Officers and their families. 

We found so much data and information that we had to decide on what we could realistically do. When an officer dies in the line of duty families experience a loss of income immediately. Pay due and insurances are not quickly paid and can even take months depending on the type of death. So, one of our goals was to help a surviving family with immediate one-time financial assistance. 

The other area we felt passionate about was helping the Law Enforcement surviving coworker. Law Enforcement Officers experience a tremendous amount of stress in their jobs already and when they lose a coworker friend additional stress is added. Many do not access departmental resources for fear of being labeled so we all agreed that we wanted to help them by providing supportive events to help cope with the loss and stress associated with their jobs. 

And we want to do all this by engaging our local law enforcement groups and our community so we can work together and bring about change in perceptions of Law Enforcement here at home and across the country. 

Texas635 is an IRS 501c3 certified organzation.

Phoenix Police Department, Arizona

End of Watch Sunday, March 29, 2020

Commander Greg Carnicle was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call involving roommates at an apartment near 40th Drive and Pinnacle Peak Street.

He and two other officers were speaking to one of the occupants inside of the home when the man suddenly drew a weapon and opened fire, wounding all three officers. Commander Carnicle was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

The other two officers suffered non-life threatening wounds.

The subject was shot and killed by tactical units as they attempted to take him into custody.

Commander Carnicle had served with the Phoenix Police Department for 31 years and was scheduled to retire in two months. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Nevada Highway Patrol, Nevada

End of Watch Friday, March 27, 2020

Sergeant Ben Jenkins was shot and killed when he stopped to assist a disabled motorist on US-93 near mile marker 106 in White Pine County shortly before 6:00 am.

During the encounter with the subject, the man fatally shot Sergeant Jenkins. The man then stole Sergeant Jenkins' uniform and patrol car and fled the area. He was apprehended several hours later following a massive manhunt involving numerous agencies.

Sergeant Jenkins was a veteran of both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. He had served with the Nevada Highway Patrol for 12 years. He had previously served with the Nevada State Fire Marshal Division and with the Nevada Division of Forestry. He is survived by his wife, four children, five grandchildren, and mother.