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Fall 2003
Traveling Through Grief, Survivors Hold Out Their Hand to Help One Another I would like to start this newsletter by thanking everyone who has had a hand in making this chapter so successful. When we were handed the most horrific tragic event of our lives, many knowing the pain it brings, stepped up to assist those who followed. And being able to witness survivors of all stages of grief come together and assist those just beginning their journey has been the most amazing privilege of my life. Watching those who have hurt so much transform their lives into something positive. Many of us never believed that we could go on to have a good life again. It is not an easy process. But knowing there are others who have gone through it and came out the other side gives great hope to our new survivors. I am blessed more than you will ever know to have walked with some of you on your journey. It is amazing to me to meet a new survivor and have them trust us to let us into their new world, not knowing what our purpose is. To me, that says a lot about the quality of our survivors and the amazing officers who were taken away from us. It is weird that we are all brought together by the death of a loved one, a loved one that none of us will ever get to meet here on earth. But to learn about these wonderful people truly helps in the healing of our broken hearts. Each time we come together, we learn more about them. What a wonderful tribute to those who have been lost. In closing, I would like to share a very poignant statement by a close survivor friend of mine, Lynn Mossbruker. "When the strength inside you becomes greater than the pain inflicted upon you, you cease to be a victim and you become a survivor." I truly believe my strength has come from so many of you.
God Bless, stay safe, and take care of one another. [ return to top ] Chapter Meeting and Elections
The meeting will be on Sunday, September 14th at 2:00 pm in the afternoon. Pizza and snacks will be provided. This will be the only notice of this meeting, no other announcements will be mailed out. We will be holding our annual elections, discussing our Blue Light Remembrance, our Back the Blue Cruise to Alaska and much, much more. Please plan on attending! [ return to top ] Trial News - And Views on Cop Killers The murder trial of Deputy Tanner has been moved once again. The family had to fight to get the date changed from police week to August. Now the trial has been moved to October. It will be two years in January that Deputy Tanner was murdered. This hardly seems like justice. The murder trial of Officer Hartzell from Youngstown is scheduled for possibly October. Our hearts go out to all of the family, friends, and co-workers who will be involved in these trials. A couple of views on cop killers: by Nikki Claypool I think that there should be harsher punishment for persons guilty of hit-skips. My father was a Lt. who was a victim of a hit-skip. The man who killed my father ran for eighteen months and received only one year in prison when they caught him. He only gets a year when my family and I are locked forever in a prison of pain. by Sara Sohn I think that trials should be faster. My brother-in-law was murdered January 13, 2001. The trial for the man who killed him started December 3, 2002, and he was sentenced April 18, 2003. Compared to other murder trials this may seem very fast, but it's not fast enough. Nothing will stop the pain you suffer and nothing will bring back your loved one. A faster trial will mean a faster start to the healing process. In loving memory of Detective Charles Douglas Jacobs III and Lt. Christopher Neil Claypool [ return to top ] Line of Duty Death Manual Now on the Website! With a grant from the Crime Victims Services section within the Attorney General's office, our new Line of Duty Death Manual is now available on the www.ohiocops.com website. We submitted a printed copy of the manual to them and they agreed to fund the development of the site. We received a grant in the amount of $1610 to accomplish this task. Our special thanks goes out to them and to Sue Veldkamp, our webmaster, who took the task, and as usual, ran with it! The site is finished and you can get to it through a link on our main website. It contains all of the benefits information, ranging from state to federal, IRS tax exemption information, educational benefits, memorials and much, much more. There are also samples of each of the forms that need to be completed upon a line of duty death. With this website, we can keep the information current. If you choose to print a copy, you can always check the site for updates and print revised sections as well as the entire document. All of the forms are in PDF format as well. [ return to top ]
Ohio C.O.P.S. Gets New Phone Number
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An FYI - Be Aware of Mail and Phone Solicitation
Ohio C.O.P.S. never does any phone or mail solicitation. But these other organizations do. It was brought to our attention that one of our members was in the process of giving money to one such group. The member called us, and we were able to tell them that it was not our organization. Please be aware that it is wonderful to give, but many organizations use a service to do their fund raising. Always call first, as to be sent literature on their group, and mostly find out how much the organization is actually getting. Many times it is less than 20%. If you want to give, why not give directly! Then they are guaranteed to get 100% of your donation! [ return to top ]
Officer From a Troubled Cincinnati Shares Poem
"The Police"
I have been where you fear to be,
I am the one you lean upon,
The one you ask to stand apart,
And through the years I've come to see,
And when you watch a person die, ~ Anonymous [ return to top ]
Health Benefit Dilemma
We have been looking into trying to correct the problem for those that don't have benefits, but we are taking that one step further to see what can be done about benefits for all survivors. Grace Leon, widow of Cleveland Police Officer Wayne Leon has been working on this situation from Cleveland with one of the representatives from that area. We will keep you posted on the progress she and the representative make. In the meantime, we encourage all affected to attend the meetings sponsored by the Ohio Police and Fire Pension. Contact them at 800.860.9599. [ return to top ]
Victims of Crime Compensation Program Gets Updated
Also included in the changes is the permitting of minor dependants of a homicide victim to receive compensation for mental health counseling. Also, this fund will now compensate for travel expenses incurred and wages lost by surviving family members to attend the trial of their officer's murderer. Our thanks goes out to the Attorney General and the Crime Victims Services Section for making this wrong right. [ return to top ]
New Survivor Shares Her Thoughts
It has been a great comfort to talk to others that have also been through a sudden line of duty death. Linda and Pam have literally dropped everything and have been there for us to help put together our shattered lives. Our lives will never be the same without Mike. I thank God every day for the strength and courage he has given to us and also for Linda and Pam of Ohio C.O.P.S. Linda Douds
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Someone you love has been murdered, or was killed by a drunk or reckless driver. It is an understatement to say that your life has been changed. Your anger and pain are deep, and it will take a great deal of hard work and time to recover. You may never feel as if you have "recovered". However, many persons who have been in your situation learn to "manage their grief". You will need time, determination, and, often, the support of a caring listener.
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