How Much Do We Want To Do?

The question is not how much can we do? But, how much do we want to do? There is so much that can be done to help a surviving family and our officers and their families when an officer dies from any cause, but especially in the line-of-duty. So I think the real question we need to ask ourselves is, “How much do we want to do?”

I was the funeral coordinator for a large agency, over 9,500 sworn, and I had the staff and resources to do everything we wanted to do. We had officers die on a far too regular basis. We became good at our job of burying them. We provided the surviving family, both immediate and extended family members, with all the support and services, and resources available. We supported the agency members and insured they had access to all the services and resources they needed. We offered the same support, services, and resources to the officer’s families. We did everything we could.

At my seminars I often meet officers who share that they have never had a death and wonder how prepared they really need to be. Will having a comprehensive protocol on file and maybe some resource material available be sufficient? If nothing happens, yes. If a death occurs and you want to do things right, yes. We always do things right. But if you want to do things not only right but best, then it will take more commitment, preparation and work.  

To be prepared means to have someone assigned as the agency’s funeral coordinator. Someone who will learn what this means, study the protocol and resource material, seek out training, improve the program, be an active participant in the planning process, be an integral part of the management team responsible for responding to a death, and be supported by the agency executive and command staff. Then the funeral coordinator can be prepared to do all that they want to do, which is all that can be done.

There should never be a question of what should be done, but only how much do we want to do, which is how much can we do. The “how much” will often be determined by how much everyone involved, the surviving family, officers, and the officers families, will accept. It is not determined by the funeral coordinator.

So how prepared do you want to be? Only you can answer that question.

If not you, who?

John Cooley

Policefuneals.com

Police Funerals - Police Suicides

by John Cooley  

As a chaplain, do you know if your agency is ready to deal with the suicide of an officer?

If any singular event can cause crisis and chaos throughout an agency, it is the suicide of one of it's officers.  Often the agency chaplain is then charged with planning the funeral and they can experience the indecision and contradictions coming from management.

Why?

Because suicide is such an unthinkable occurrence that no one wants to deal with it much less plan for it.  A suicide also brings out so many different emotions in people that little can be taken for granted.  The decision to have a traditional police funeral for an officer who commits suicide is at the discretion of the chief or sheriff.  Some will be in favor of a traditional funeral and honors ceremony and some will not. The decision will have to be made, and quickly.

When an active sworn member of a law enforcement agency dies, not a line-of-duty death, just a natural death, the family, co-workers and agency expect a traditional police funeral.  The opportunity to show a final tribute to a loving spouse, fellow officer and law enforcement professional. This is a special recognition reserved for sworn police officers nation wide.

The traditional police funeral typically consists of uniformed personnel attending the funeral services, the eulogy given by the chief, a motorcade followed by interment ceremonies that include the traditional honors ceremonies of rifle salute, taps, flag fold and presentation.

At the conclusion of the funeral, everyone should feel good about these unique services and ceremonies.  Respect, dignity and honor are sentiments being shown and spoken.  This is a tribute to one of their own who served with honor and excellence.  No officer should expect less from his peers.

Many agencies have never experienced the suicide death of an active sworn member.  The assumption is that if a death occurs, the agency would do the right thing.  There would seem to be no need for agency leaders to meet and discuss this potential occurrence or to design and develop a funeral protocol or policy for a suicide. Who would complain about a traditional police funeral being provided for an active sworn member of any agency?

Envision now, that a death occurs and the cause is not ordinary.  It is a suicide.

Will there be a traditional police funeral for a sworn member?  This question has been asked by many agencies and will be asked by many more.  Suicide often has a stigma attached to it.  Moral and religious beliefs often influence how a suicide death is perceived.  Older officers and younger rookies may view suicide from different perspectives.  People often speak in hushed tones and make comments about weakness, character flaws and eternal damnation.  Some disapprove because the act has embarrassed the agency and tarnished the badge.  There are others who perceive suicide as a human act and that the purpose of the funeral is to honor how someone lived and served.  Not to judge how they died!

The time to decide on an agencies response to a suicide is before it happens.  The response from an agency's members, management team and department chaplains may be varied and in opposition to each other.  Some will support a full traditional police funeral with honors and some may not.  Some may argue that funeral services and ceremonies are always at the request of the surviving family.  What if the family asks for a traditional police funeral?  How will your agency respond?  How will a decision not to have a traditional police funeral for a suicide be explained to the family?

The decisions on agency response to the suicide of a sworn member must be determined before it happens.  One it happens, time restraints and other demands placed on the agency can be overwhelming.  The expectations, for or against a traditional police funeral, can create substantial pressure on agency managers.  Will there or will there not be a traditional police funeral?  The answer is not universal or unanimous.  Agency leaders need to plan, discuss, prepare and put proper decisions into writing now before an event of this nature occurs.

I have managed funerals for 18 Los Angeles Police Department officers who committed suicide.  Each of these funerals had its own special circumstances and characteristics.  They were difficult enough to manage without having to discuss the propriety of a police funeral and honors ceremonies.  I have assisted other agencies that have experienced suicides and had no protocol or had done no planning for a suicide's funeral. These agency's planning processes were encumbered with lengthy discussions about whether or not they should have a traditional police funeral rather than how to manage one.  Suicide is a serious problem in our society.  It is even more serious within law enforcement.  Every agency needs to be prepared.

You, as a chaplain, are in a position to make inquiries and to determine the attitudes of agency managers.  Chaplains can help develop a protocol for funerals associated with a suicide now before there is a crisis when issues can be discussed without time constraints and emotions being on edge.  Chaplains need to be in the vanguard of resolving these unthinkable issues before they happen.

This bulletin is presented as part of a collaborative training program between the ICPC and Police USA.  Any questions about the program or publication of this bulletin should be directed to the Chair, ICPC Educational Committee.

If additional information about this topic is required, the author, John Cooley, can be contacted through his website at www.Policefunerals.com or by e-mail at Policefuneral@earthlink.net or phone (805) 522-4861.  John has given presentations on police funeral issues at several ICPC regional conferences and at the 2005 ATS.  For information about him speaking at a local or regional ICPC function, please contact him directly.