ORLANDO, Fla. – Today, we welcome in an organization close to my heart, Central Florida Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S).
C.O.P.S. was organized in 1984 with 110 individual members. Today, C.O.P.S. membership is over 75,000 survivors. Survivors include spouses, kids, adult children, parents, siblings, fiancés, significant others, extended family (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, grandparents, and in-laws), co-workers, and suicide survivors (as determined by the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022) of officers who have died in the line of duty, according to federal government criteria.
C.O.P.S. is governed by a national board of law enforcement survivors. All programs and services are administered by the National Office in Camdenton, Missouri. C.O.P.S. has over 50 chapters nationwide that work with survivors at the grass-roots level.
C.O.P.S. programs for survivors include the National Police Survivors’ Conference held each May during National Police Week, scholarships, peer-support at the national, state, and local levels, “C.O.P.S. Kids” counseling reimbursement program, the “C.O.P.S. Kids” Summer Camp, “C.O.P.S. Teens” Outward Bound Adventure for young adults, special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, extended family and co-workers, trial and parole support, and other assistance programs.
C.O.P.S. knows that a survivor’s level of distress is directly affected by the agency’s response to the tragedy. C.O.P.S., therefore, offers training and assistance to law enforcement agencies nationwide on how to respond to the tragic loss of a member of the law enforcement profession. C.O.P.S. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. C.O.P.S. programs and services are funded by grants and donations.
Their annual Blue Light Gala is Feb. 27 here in Orlando and open to you, the public. Today’s stream, we will introduce you to some members of the organization and survivors of fallen officers.
Watch the full video at the top of this story.
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