Code 7 Connection Newsletter Qtr 4 2022

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Wes in Newsletter

Quote of the Quarter

“You can’t run around in the sewer all week and come out smelling like roses.” Chaplain Anderson

Celebration Time!

Code 7 officially launched December 15, 2012. These past 10 years have been filled with contrasting adventures.

I’ve experienced achievement and idleness, heartbreak and happiness, tragedy and comedy. I’ve seen relationships shattered and restored, multiple promotions, a few too many terminations, and medical retirements because doctors deemed they were unfit to continue.

I’m still hopeful and trusting in God for the ability to be His hands, feet, ears, and compassionate heart to connect to others.

Living Water

With your help, Code 7 has provided an estimated equivalent of 2 million water bottles for our officers. Hydration and connection are our calling cards. A new sign was just approved to be attached to the wall above the water filtration and bottle filling station we placed during COVID. Here it is:

Over the Past 10 Years of Ministry

I’ve responded to house fires, too many suicides, motor vehicle and motorcycle deaths, and children deaths.

I have celebrated officiating officer weddings and grieved with families as I conducted cop funerals.

I was with the football linebacker turned cop when he stopped the squad car to listen for the faint cry of a kitten. He found the tiny exhausted feral fluff ball with its head stuck in the triangle of a chain link fence. He got out his leatherman and freed the poor baby. Watching the pride in his countenance as the youngster scampered away was priceless.

I’ve been in car chases, foot pursuits, stakeouts, seen infant CPR, and drunken individuals who have urinated themselves but insist they’ve only had 2 beers. I watched paramedics plug a bleeding gangster’s stab wound while he fought with them to stop providing care. I’ve seen individuals convulsing and foaming at the mouth, literally gasping for their final breaths, who, once medication had been administered, awoke and became angry that their high was cut short.

My partners have been needle-pricked while searching pockets, and stabbed in the face and arm while asking about a thrown object. I saw an ice cream truck that had smashed into a light pole, and I was the recipient of a melting treat. I’ve seen cars upside down, on their side, into fire hydrants, trees, and fences. I’ve been to intersections where people are sitting, passed out drunk, at the wheel of a running vehicle as the signal light cycles through green multiple times – yikes.

On your dime I have shared lunch with literally hundreds of officers around the county and enjoyed a few laughs as we relaxed. I’ve bought gallons of coffee to help my friends stay awake on their overnight shifts.

On many occasions I have shared my office and backyard with officers telling of their homefront stresses and asked for help. I’ve heard the disappointment and complaints of workplace politics and the relationship damage caused by the exposure to critical incidents. Through it all, I have been able to invest into the lives of our men and women of law enforcement who are sacrificing for us every day.

In Conclusion

Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your financial support through the ups and downs of the economy. Thank you for your encouraging emails and notes over the years. Thank you for your heart of graciousness and kindness to the police in your hometown.

I am celebrating the Code 7 anniversary by riding along on December 15th. I covet your prayers as we embark on the next 10 years.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

Code 7 Connection Newsletter Qtr 3 2022

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Wes in An Inspirational Thought for Today

Quote of the Quarter

“Walking around in public in your underwear is not a crime.” ~ True, but not recommended.

Prayer

This has been a season of prayer requests. I have been asked to open ceremonies and meetings with prayer at a surprising rate. I am honored each time I have an opportunity to give thanks and invite God to lead our law enforcement and their activities.

DEA Red Ribbon Awards https://www.dea.gov/redribbon

Public Safety Peer Support Assoc. https://pspsa.org/

San Diego Police Officers Association Awards Ceremony https://www.sdpoa.org/

Faith and Blue Weekend

Chula Vista Churches and the Police Department joined together for a Faith & Blue event. People from across the city gathered with the intent of blessing the police department and developing unity. My friend Jeff, who loves Jesus, spearheaded the event for the PD. He did a terrific job bringing all the pastors and faiths together and making it a great success!

Police community relations was there along with a SWAT vehicle and the DUI team. There were lowrider cars on display, jumpies for the kids, and some cornhole play.

As Police Chaplain, I was invited to speak along with a few of the pastors. Some shared Scripture and prayed. A group prayed for the Chief and another circled with some of the command staff to pause and thank God for the event.

National City Police – Welcome Swag

After some time off, I am back in the car doing ridealongs at National City PD. We also have a new sponsor, National City Clergy Association. NCCA has stepped up and is sponsoring some of the most important work we do. They are covering the cost of all the water we provide for the officers AND they have initiated sponsorship of the new officer SWAG we started providing.

The swag consists of a new Code 7 lunch cooler with food storage containers and ice packs, a NCPD logo knife, a gift certificate for the uniform and equipment store, a Code 7 thermos tumbler, and coffee card, PLUS, a set of handcuffs with their badge number. The officers are surprised in front of their peers when they are presented with the swag. The training officers often call dibs on the coffee card, which is a small price to pay for all they have learned. Welcome new police officers!

Uniforms, Laughs, and Smiles all around National City

It was photo day in National City Tuesday of this week. Nearly every employee at the department met at the shipping terminal and looked directly into the sun for about 15 minutes trying not to squint as the sun rose creating the perfect light for the photo. I think those who were absent will be drawn in similar to the crimes of violence hallway carpet.

My fellow chaplain Rick Rojas and I decided to take a pic of our own to celebrate the ministry we get to share.

In Conclusion

We are quickly approaching the 10th year mark of Code 7. I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given to serve alongside our law enforcement. As I look forward in anticipation of the next 10 years, I do so with the encouragement you have shared through your prayer and financial support. Thank YOU!

Code 7 Connection Newsletter Qtr 2 2022

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Wes in An Inspirational Thought for Today

Quote of the Quarter

“It doesn’t take much to make me happy. Six meals a day. Ten hours of sleep. A pair of yoga pants, complete solitude, and no social obligations whatsoever.” (message from one cop to another)

CHILDREN!

Cops acquire the ability to detach from emotional aspects of many of their assignments or to use justification as ways to cope with the extremely challenging situations they regularly face. These are learned traits and a requirement to stay emotionally healthy.

Detaching can keep the officer focused on the details of the case and away from absorbing the emotional content present. Justification takes terrible situations and reframes them into something they can live with. If someone who has been drinking, drives their car at a high rate of speed into a ditch, and was not wearing a seatbelt, at least the officer can justify saying someone was foolish and their life ended in tragedy, but it was their fault.

With children, it’s different, very different. We see children as innocent, helpless, vulnerable victims. It’s much harder to remain safely distanced emotionally. The worst call a cop can get is a call with an injured or non-breathing child. There is no way around the urgency of response and connecting emotions that follow.

Every cop hearing the reedy beeping tone indicating only emergency communication is allowed on the main radio channel is itself a stimulator of stress. All who are listening to the radio are praying, the next communication from the officer arriving on scene will be a message notifying everything is actually ok with the child. This comforting message does not always come, but it is what everyone holds their breath for.

Details related to the child’s death may stick with the officer for the rest of their life. Future tragedies involving children may trigger previous incidents compounding the situation. Cases involving children are hard cases to move on from. I write this article intentionally without details. I am attempting to limit connection points to a particular case and trigger stress. Thanks friends for your hard work and dedication on even the toughest calls.

HANDLE IT

When most teenagers are directed to empty the trash in the house, unload the dishwasher, or clean their room, things aren’t usually accomplished to the satisfaction of the parent. With cops, what’s assigned is theirs. From beginning to end of shift, they need to handle everything in their beat.

Did you know nearly 80% of the contacts cops are required to make are unwanted by the people they are dispatched to handle?! This makes for some unpleasant interaction more times than cops would like.

“Handle it” might mean they take a report, it might be making an arrest, helping a citizen with mental illness, writing a ticket for no seatbelt, or texting while driving. Cops Handle It! They are the counselor, parent, comforter, person of reason, and resource 411. Police get the call to do the things most other people don’t want to do. Cops need our cooperation to keep peace and need our support as a reminder that more people are for them than against them.

THE BOMB dot Calm

I was privileged to spend a day with the lead bomb specialist from AFT recently, and it was a blast! LOL The day started with a little tour of a museum / collection of confiscated or recovered explosives from all around the county. Then I had a closeup look at the new Bomb Disposal equipment that is taken to scenes to detonate unsafe materials if called out by local law enforcement agencies.

Then I had a closeup look at the new Bomb Disposal equipment that is taken to scenes to detonate unsafe materials if called out by local law enforcement agencies.

As the day progressed, we traveled out to a designated spot in the desert with about ten other bomb techs to destroy the collected items. I went along to experience the powerful fun and was not disappointed.

I watched as a team of Sheriff Department and ATF bomb experts inventoried the confiscated and collected fireworks, expired flares, explosives, and other incendiary devices. A plan was formulated to dispose of every item. There was a complex plan for effective destruction of the contraband to ensure the safety of everyone.

REALITY CHECK

Heather Glogolich, a police officer and trainer, presented her audience of cops with a reality check. I share part of her perspective and cop mindset. She says, “Here is the reality of if. We wake up every day and our job is to put on a bulletproof vest and carry a gun, knowing that we have a higher chance of not going home. I don’t take this for granted any single day of my entire career.

I wake up and I know that being a cop is a blessing and that I’ve been given a gift to help people. In reality, my whole family knows that it might be the last time they ever see me. When I walk out of my house, there’s a sign that says ‘Come Home Safe.’ My kids realize that when their father and I walk out the door, we may not come home – this is their reality. Other people are putting on business suits or construction hats. We put on a bulletproof vest every day to help us not die.”

In Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read these stories. They reflect some of the realities our cops face on a regular basis. Thank you also for your generosity in sponsoring Code 7. Your financial support of this organization allows me to be present for ride alongs and invest extra time with officers after a stressful event takes its toll.