On Capitol Hill for Police Week
Advocating for law enforcement: Follow along live on Substack
I’m honored to be invited back to Washington D.C. during National Police Week. I look forward to days of meeting with legislators and their staff to help move bills toward sponsorships and ultimately to floor votes.
Thank you to Paula Fitzsimmons and Bert Eyler who joined forces between the National Police Association and the Police Officers’ Defense Coalition for making this whole thing possible. It wouldn’t have happened without them and I credit this effort to them. Discussing some issues with other national police organizations last year, they said that some of our key priorities weren’t really on their radar.
If my flights are on time and the D.C. Metro is clear, I’ll be in the Rayburn House Office Building tomorrow morning.
While preparing to travel, I saw a LinkedIn post from the Dallas Police Department noting that this year they are remembering 95 total fallen officers. I remember ten years ago where five Dallas Police Officers were murdered providing security for an anti-police march. My curiosity caused me me do a little more research finding that NYPD has lost 932 officers since 1849 and Chicago 571.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 111 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2025. That number represents a 25 percent decrease from the 148 deaths recorded in 2024 and the lowest annual total since 1943. It is not a reason to celebrate but to share silent thankfulness.
As more than 100 names are carved into stone, they are preceded by 24,000 peace officers who gave their lives in the line of duty. Six already on that wall are friends and co-workers, of those four were murdered by criminals for doing their jobs well.
National Police Week is a time to stand still to honor the men and women of law enforcement who paid the ultimate price and to acknowledge what every officer carries the moment they pin on a badge and walk out the door. It is a week of folded flags, long silences, and names read aloud. Names that deserve to echo long after the ceremony ends.
While I look forward to doing my part by advocating for federal public safety legislation, please keep an eye out for me going live on Substack. I plan to do so at least twice a day and the first one should be sometime after 10 a.m. tomorrow just to document the beginning of the week. I’ll probably update via Substack Live on what we can expect to see in the coming days.
If you want to help, I ask that you do what my friends from Mission First Alliance are doing. While I was writing this note, I received a message from my friend Marcus saying that our mutual friend Jeremy “…let me know you are in DC this week for LEO Advocacy. Praying your time is very productive and our Almighty God will use you.” Thank you Marcus and Jeremy!
Perhaps the most profound moment last year was at a social gathering and the people I was standing with were the family who had lost a loved one in the line of duty. They don’t need lofty words and sentiments; they need and deserve our love and compassion.
Please keep all of our peace officers in your prayers, and this week especially, please keep the surviving families in your prayers also.