Blue View by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)

Leveraging the diversity of this great nation has become an important aspect of running a successful law enforcement agency. When members of the public believe their law enforcement organizations represent them, understand them, and respond to them; and when communities perceive authorities as fair, legitimate, and accountable, it enhances trust in law enforcement and instills public confidence in government. 

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Robert Gaddy, a captain with the North Carolina Central University Police Department and the current state lodge vice president. With over 25 years of law enforcement experience, Robert is a career veteran with expert skills in tactical law enforcement, drug interdiction, and narcotics and criminal investigations.

Robert’s FOP journey started in 1995 when he joined the Durham Police Department as a police recruit. Since then, he has served his local and state lodge in multiple positions. Nationally, Robert currently serves as the National Diversity Committee Chairman.

Community engagement is a guiding principle that seeks to develop strong ties and relationships in a community between law enforcement and the people they have sworn to protect.

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Reverend Markel Hutchins, a long-time activist, human and civil rights leader, professional speaker, and a friend to the FOP. Reverend Hutchins has led numerous movements on behalf of humanitarian causes over the course of a two-decade career. He has earned a reputation as an advocate for fairness and equality. Reverend Hutchins is one of the senior leaders behind the Faith & Blue initiative.

Pat and Markel discuss the importance of developing strong ties between communities and law enforcement, while also highlighting some of the projects that the Faith & Blue initiative has been working on with the FOP.

Last year was one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement in recent history due to the increase of violence directed towards law enforcement officers. In 2021, 346 officers were shot in the line of duty, 63 of whom were killed by gunfire. This included 133 officers who were shot in 107 ambush-style attacks—an increase of 115% from 2020. Thirty-two of those officers ambushed were killed.

Despite all of this, coupled with the nationwide crime crisis fueled by rogue prosecutors and the COVID-19 pandemic, the brave men and women of law enforcement continued to hold the line. They worked tirelessly to protect the communities they serve; they stood between good and evil.

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Tim Richardson, Senior Legislative Liaison, and Mark McDonald, Legislative Liaison, from the National FOP’s Government and Media Affairs Center to discuss the recently published 2021 Year-End Summary Law Enforcement Officers Shot in the Line of Duty report and dive in to how this data is collected and the trends we are seeing across the country.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the election of rogue prosecutors and activist judges who have replaced the “public safety first” mindset with a very different and harmful agenda of reforming the system under the guise of social justice. Their failed policies have had drastic effects on our society, leading to an increase in violent crime in some of our most vulnerable communities.

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Rafael Mangual, a Senior Fellow and Head of Research for the Policing and Public Safety Initiative at the  @Manhattan Institute . Rafael is a contributing editor of the City Journal and has been featured in numerous publications and on several national and local television programs.

00:00 – Intro 00:45 – About Rafael Mangual

02:15 – Why is Crime Surging Across the Country?

10:20 – Rogue Prosecutors

16:41 – How Mass Decarceration Contributed to the Crime Crisis

23:32 – The Cost of Bail Reform

29:00 – Who Are the Victims of Crime

34:15 – Relationship Between Poverty and Violent Crime

38:11 – Where Do We Go From Here?

42:08 – Final Thoughts

The rule of law, policing and public service are key to a free society. Many of the issues we have been facing here in the United States are being felt by law enforcement around the world, including by our brothers and sisters in Canada.

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Tom Stamatakis, President of the Canadian Police Association and Chairman of the International Council of Police Representative Associations, to discuss the CPA, cultural differences, challenges facing Canadian law enforcement, and the community engagement of police.

ICPRA was established to bring national police unions together to discuss police union issues, share information, and foster strong relationships between our national associations. Although we are from different countries, information sharing and networking benefit both our organizations through constructive dialogue, expertise, and shared experience.

00:00 – Intro

00:35 – About Tom Stamatakis

06:55 – Police Reform in the United States vs. Canada

15:42 – Demonization of Law Enforcement

24:20 – Police Leadership Needs to Lead

29:00 – Officer Recruitment Crisis

40:15 – The International Council: Sharing Information and Foster Relationships

46:25 – Final Thoughts

From helping secure our border to apprehending a dangerous fugitive across state lines, the partnerships between federal law enforcement and their state and local counterparts are critical to keeping the nation and its citizens safe.

On this episode of the Blue View, we’re joined by ATF Deputy Director Marvin Richardson, who has been the highest-ranking official at ATF for the past few years. As Acting Director, he led more than 5,000 employees and oversaw a budget of over $1 billion. The ATF’s responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products.

Having worked at the ATF for over 30 years, Deputy Director Richardson is a strong advocate for our brothers and sisters at the ATF and throughout our federal family. He understands the challenges of our profession and is here today to discuss the work of the ATF and the important ways that the agency supports our state and local law enforcement.

Incorporating multiple viewpoints and subject matter expertise towards effective and efficient solutions is critical, especially when it comes to training America's law enforcement officers.

The Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, better known as CRI-TAC, provides critical and tailored technical assistance resources to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies on a wide variety of topics. It features a “by the field, for the field” approach while delivering specialized technical assistance using leading experts in a range of public safety, crime reduction, and community policing topics. CRI-TAC is a public service and is offered at no cost to your agency.

On this episode of the Blue View, we're joined by Keith Turney, National Sergeant at Arms here at the National FOP. Keith has been a member of the Fraternal Order of Police for over 40 years and spent 31 years as a Joliet Police Officer, retiring at the rank of Commander.

Over his four decades in law enforcement, Keith has worn many different hats. Some of these include working as a crisis negotiator, an incident commander for a NASCAR Speedway, and upon retirement, was involved with labor issues with the Illinois FOP Labor Council. Anyone who has heard him speak knows of his passion for CRI-TAC and the great benefits it offers for the growth and stability of agencies across America.

For the past several years, the FOP has been sounding the alarm about the nationwide surge in crime. All across the country, our communities are seeing the real-life, and often deadly, consequences of rogue prosecutors failing to hold violent, repeat criminals accountable.

When rogue prosecutors like George Gascon in Los Angeles, Kim Foxx in Chicago, and Larry Krasner in Philadelphia choose to hand out slaps on the wrist to serious offenders, criminals become emboldened. They commit acts of violence knowing that they will not face significant consequences for their actions. Law-abiding citizens should have no patience for public officials who undermine the work of law enforcement agencies, especially when crime and violence are impacting so many people.

Prosecutors in too many jurisdictions are abusing their authority by imposing a social agenda instead of enforcing the law. Across the country, leaders with the Fraternal Order of Police are fighting back against these rogue prosecutors and activist judges because Americans should not have to live in fear. 

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Tim Shea, former Acting Administrator of the DEA. Prior to serving at the DEA, Tim served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Trump administration. In that capacity, he led the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country—responsible for the prosecution of both federal and local crimes in the District of Columbia.

Law enforcement officers are ordinary people called to do extraordinary things at times. They are human beings who are not immune to experiencing a range of emotions that can come due to the nature of this profession.

Often times, you hear that law enforcement officers were called to do what they do. But the real question is “Who does the calling?” The physical and mental wellness of law enforcement officers are necessary for the overall health of our officers. But there is a third piece to that: Spiritual Wellness.

On this episode of the Blue View, we’re joined by Rick Snyder, National FOP Chaplain and Indianapolis FOP President, to discuss how faith and resiliency can go hand-in-hand with a law enforcement officers overall wellness – especially at such a difficult and strenuous time for law enforcement.

00:00 – Intro

00:55 – About Rick Snyder

02:25 – Building Trust in the Community

05:15 – Combatting Rising Crime

13:38 – Officer Wellness

27:33 – Officer Support

41:25 – Remnant Reveal

46:00 – Closing

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is responsible for defending our country at the border and throughout the interior. To do so, DHS has over 240,000 employees, with more that 140,000 are in law enforcement positions.

The Department of Homeland Security was established in the aftermath of the devastating and disturbing September 11th attacks that sent shockwaves through every American. We witnessed true sacrifice, heroism, and a unified resolve against evil in the months and years that followed. The chief mission of the DHS is to ensure that no other attack like that would ever occur again.

On this episode of the Blue View, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the seventh head of the department, to discuss a range of issues, including the crime surge, border crisis and domestic terrorism. Secretary Mayorkas has served in numerous roles with DHS and is very familiar with the challenges facing law enforcement at all levels of government. Prior to his time at DHS, he served as prosecutor in California.

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00:00 – Intro

01:10 – About Secretary Mayorkas

05:48 – Crime Surge 09:45 – Border Crisis

16:55 – Combating Smuggling

21:00 – Coordinating Immigrant & Refugee Resettlement

24:00 – Domestic Terrorism

30:30 – DHS Programs

33:55 – Closing