Quote of the Quarter
“Take care of your mind – it has to manage your entire body! – author unknown
National Police Week May 15-21
This week is National Police Week. Departments from across the nation garther in Washington D.C. at the Law Enforcement Memorial to remember and honor the fallen and injured officers and those who continue to serve the communities. Statistics show that 245 officers lost their lives in the line of duty in 2022, 12 of those here in CA. As you begin to read this newsletter, please pause and say a prayer of safety for our peacekeepers.
Specialty Units / Training Days
There were training days and experiences galore for me in the first quarter of 2023. I was blessed by Eastlake Church to be able to share a portion of the facilities for continued training of both the unmanned aerial systems known as the Drone as First Responder (DFR) and the K-9 teams.
Drone Training
Drones are a large part of the new era being ushered in predominantly by Chula Vista PD. The drone program works in tandem with Live 9-1-1 systems. Just as the title indicates, Live 9-1-1 allows police officers and drone operators to hear the 9-1-1 call in real time and initiate a response immediately.
Officers and operators of the drone often have a 60-90 second head start to a call if needed. They can make more informed decisions long before the dispatcher has time to capture all the necessary information and radio an officer to assist with the need.
Officers can hear the tone of urgency and make a determination if they should divert to assist an individual in distress or continue with their important business elsewhere. The advantage Live 9-1-1 adds is a true game changer.
The use of Live 9-1-1 in tandem with the drones has revolutionized the response of officers and has increased officer safety and improved response times. The four drones are located on rooftops across the city and respond to general calls for service and critical incidents. The drones are operated remotely from a central location by experienced officers. The video feed can be viewed by officers in the field on their mobile phones for real-time updates and for tactical decisions.
I hope many more cities have the opportunity to utilize both new tools of technology to provide faster and more informed care to their communities.
Here are some training pictures. Yes, I was invited to fly a drone and watch the officers enjoy the training. Fun times. And, what’s a training day without a little Chick-fil-A?
K-9 Training
Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who? It was amazing to watch the dogs follow the commands of the handlers and to have agencies from not only Chula Vista and National City, but El Centro and Bakersfield joined in the fun too. They came down to be a part of the indoor and outdoor training. The dogs trained as a group and as individuals as they conducted area searches for a “bad guy” hiding and article searches looking for drugs.
The dogs are such a great resource for our officers. I’m glad we were able to provide a new location for them to train so the searching for people or articles was unique to the dog and officer.
K-9 handlers insist they have the best job in the police department – I might agree if there wasn’t so much dang dog hair everywhere.
SRO – School Resource Officers
Fun Fact – Did you know if a school resource officer needs to call a parent, they often start the phone conversation by saying, “Hi, this is Officer X, everybody is safe and OK, Hey, so the reason I am calling today is…” Without that entering statement, the parent may not hear anything else.
Managing kids and teens is a big job. Our schools need help when it comes to this generation of entitled and unmotivated kids. We have a great team servicing our students and schools. Following up on school threats and keeping the peace is a ful -time job for the SRO team.
Here are a couple of our happy and valuable resource officers who advise and counsel kids and parents alike. I rode along with the team and got a behind-the-scenes look at some of the cases they encountered. They need prayer! Thank you for loving on our youngsters!
In Conclusion
Thank you for your interest in the work of Code 7. Your financial support of this organization allows me to be present for the police officers through ride alongs and meet ups to lend an ear to help carry their burdens and offer encouragement.
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ~ Jesus