It was 20 years ago this month when the world stood still, watching in shock and fear as a series of terrorist attacks took the lives of almost 3,000 people on American soil. The catastrophic events that transpired on September 11, 2001, rocked our country to its core, forever transformed our national security landscape and caused more law enforcement line-of-duty deaths than any other single event in American history — close to 400 over the course of that terrible day and the ensuing two decades. Read More
Response to Resistance or Threat Part 2 – Overcoming Dangerous Police Jargon
This is the second in a three-part series on the need for law enforcement to take back the narrative on use of force in the profession. This second installment discusses recapturing the narrative of mixed messages and overcoming the jargon of “use of force.” This blanket term has paved the way for the words “excessive” and “force” to be coupled together, which always casts law enforcement in a negative light and portrays officers as unjust and violent aggressors. Read More
You Are Worth The Help
Here’s the thing about cops. Cops are resilient. Resourceful. Go-getters. A-type personalities. Cops are strong, courageous — some are damn-near unicorns (you know who you are). You sacrifice. You suffer. You endure. You see pain. You see death. You see hate, and you see evil, and you put everything on the back burner because when that uniform is on, you are it. You are the only thing holding that line, and that is good. You are good. You feel good. Read More
PORAC Director Profile: Wade Stern
When PORAC’s Statewide Chapter, which represents employees and officers from several state agencies throughout California, was formed last year, one of the top priorities was finding an experienced and passionate director to guide the new chapter. With nearly two decades of experience as a UC Riverside Police Department officer and four years on the Executive Board of the Federated University Police Officers’ Association, Wade Stern, who has been the president of the association for the last two years, was an easy choice for the chapter’s director position. Read More
PORAC Director Profile: Jim Bock
When Valley Chapter Director Jim Bock joined PORAC at the start of his law enforcement career in 1998, all he knew about the Association was that he “paid dues and had LDF coverage — that is where my knowledge began and ended,” he explains. That all changed a few years later, however, when Bock attended his first PORAC Conference in 2001 to learn more about association leadership. The networking, camaraderie and engaging conversation that took place during the Conference helped light a fire under him that has remained strong ever since. Read More