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..."
Line of Duty Deaths (LODD) Totals for 2019
66 LODD in 2019
Gunfire as the cause of death is 44% from previous years (2010 to 2018) with 51 cases of death by gunfire in 2018.
- 21 gunfire
- 20 auto (struck by vehicle, crashes, vehicular assualts)
- 25 Felonious Deaths
- 28 Non-felonious deaths
- 14 Military Veterans
- The agency with the highest number of LODD deaths is Texas with 7
- Last year there were 163 LODD deaths in US
- Suicides out number LODD for 3rd straight year
- Law Enforcement continues to be one of the most dangerous professions in America
Blue Help a non profit working to prevent suicides says there were 159 suicides in 2018
Suicides out number LODD for 3rd straight year 2017 also 159 and 2016 178
Exposure to horrific situations shootings, accidents, etc add to stress and lack of mental health increases possibilities. Data indicates that less than 10% of police depts have suicide prevention services
DATA from Officer Down Memorial Page and it updates daily as researchers update information: www.odmp.org
Carmen's Message
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.
Our Current Fallen Heroes
Sergeant Michael Stephen
Stone County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas
End of Watch Thursday, July 18, 2019
Sergeant Mike Stephen was shot and killed while responding to a domestic incident at a home in the area of 2020 Flag Road at about 9:00 am.
He was speaking to a female in the front yard when another subject opened fire, striking Sergeant Stephen and the woman. The subject who shot Sergeant Stephen was found dead by responding deputies.
Sergeant Stephen was a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the Stone County Sheriff's Office for 20 years and also served as chief of the Pineville Fire Department.
Conservation Officer Shannon "Opie" Barron
Red Lake Nation Conservation Department, Tribal Police
End of Watch Sunday, July 7, 2019
Conservation Officer Opie Barron suffered a fatal heart attack while investigating an illegal harvesting call off of Highway 89 north of Red Lake.
He and other officers had just cleared from the call when he radioed dispatch requesting EMS for himself. The other officers returned and immediately began performing life-saving measures. He was transported to Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Barron had served with the Red Lake Nation Conservation Department for 19 years. He is survived by his wife, two children, and aunt who raised him.
Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Dixon
Hall County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch Sunday, July 7, 2019
Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Dixon was shot and killed following a vehicle pursuit of a stolen vehicle at approximately 11:15 pm.
The vehicle was believed to have been connected to several burglaries and car break-ins over the previous days. A vehicle pursuit started when deputies attempted to stop it. Multiple suspects then fled on foot after the car crashed. Deputy Dixon pursued one of the suspects and exchanged shots with him in the 600 block of Highland Avenue.
Deputy Dixon was fatally shot during the exchange and the suspect was seriously wounded. A second suspect was apprehended approximately eight hours later while additional suspects remain at large.
Deputy Dixon had served with the Hall County Sheriff's Office for three years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Our Current Fallen K9 Heroes
K9 Doby
Fairfax County Police Department, VA
End of watch: February 22, 2019.
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Your $37 a month donation will help sponsor an officer‘s stress reduction program And help us continue to send immediate funds to fallen Officer families.
