Police Chaplains Today

For the past few months I have been seeing posts on FB from cop haters that is quite troubling. To me, each one is a potential cop killer or at the very least, encouraging some lunatic with mental health issues, to do the same. You may have seen them as "citizens" who insist they have the right to walk up to a cop from behind with a camera/cell phone, and record what they are doing at something as simple as a traffic stop. It is all about their rights under the US constitution apparently and when the cop advises them it was a stupid thing to do and to step back, they quickly become aggressive and ask for the name and badge number followed by a demand to see a sergeant. It is comical in some ways but very disturbing in so many other ways. It seems the only purpose for the citizen to approach the cop, is to garner a reaction and film the entire confrontation which is solely initiated by the one holding the cell phone.  That is what our society has become and politicians are too...

Most of you know that I am a Chaplain with the Toronto Police Service. I write this as a friend of the policing community in Canada because I am totally disgusted with what is happening in our society. It has become fashionable to criticize our police. Politicians and special interest groups who scream the racist card every chance they get, lead the parade of haters. In Canada, we just had the forth officer die in the line of duty in the last month. We don't have enough details of the RCMP officer's murder in Burnaby, but the previous three were all ambushes where the officers never had the opportunity to defend themselves. Certain politicians who seldom praise our men and women in blue, send their condolences as if it makes up for their demand for defunding the police. I am going to use my words in this blog because if our cops were allowed to say what they are thinking, many would get in trouble. These men and women who put on their uniforms and race to dangerous situations w...

This past week has been a tough one for the policing community in Toronto and the surrounding area called the GTA. We lost two outstanding officers through the madness of others and yet God somehow still managed to orchestrate something that brought a measure of peace into the week. A gentleman in the church I attend, started something called Pitmasters Appreciation BBQ's for First Responders in Peel Region. For the past 3 years, First Responders have been appreciated through the efforts of various church and community groups. This year, I had the privilege of offering this in Toronto at 11 Division where I am Chaplain. We planned this 3 months in advance and yet God knew ahead of time why Saturday, September 17th would have a greater significance for each of us. We fed over 125 TPS officers from 3 different divisions, including the newly appointed Chief of Police. We were able to put a smile on the faces of those who serve us each day. We had sponsors like Dickson BBQ who supplied...

One of the strange (to me at least) things happening in our world today is the attempt to erase history. So many in the main stream, want everything that was evil or sometimes simply not to their personal liking, eliminated from our memories. Statues are often the favourite target because they are reminders of less than honourable events from years past. The problem as I see it, is that people don't seem to understand that we should learn from the past mistakes and not necessarily act like they never happened. I may not win that argument with some of you, yet I know many of my friends will agree with me. I have often told people that I am who I am today, because of my past. Both the good and the bad have shaped my life. As a Christian, my life and my future were automatically changed the moment I accepted Jesus as my saviour. However, I never pretend that my life for almost 17 years, never happened. I did some bad things and my hope is that my friends won't turn their backs on ...

Something that struck me during the past couple of months since my surgeries, is that each of us have a responsibility of living our lives to the fullest. Some might hear that and automatically think: party time! Sorry, but that is not what I am referring to. As a Christian, I believe God has created each of us and we are all unique in the gifts and talents we have. None of us is better than the person next to us, because God had a plan for all of us before we were even born. I realize that might seem extremely abstract to those who categorize "faith" as a non-entity but play along with me if you will. I am a firm believer that God is trying to get our attention all the time but the issue, or problem, is that many of us aren't interested in what He has to say. I have pointed out previously that absolutely everyone of you reading this, practices faith every day of your lives. If you took time to consider the simplest aspect of your day, it probably involves a measure of fa...

I am going to challenge more than a few of you with this blog but I do so with only the best intentions. As a former pastor and missionary, my background in approaching police chaplaincy was fixed on the "spiritual" health of our police officers. In hindsight it should have been on the complete wellness of the officer and their family. It is the same comment I would make to those who insist on calling "holistic health" the go-to phraseology when it comes to wellness. Holistic health usually leaves absolutely no room for spiritual health. Similarly, mental health professionals often exclude the spiritual component when it comes to offering resources to our officers. I am not even sure it is intentional but rather an oversight caused by a lack of knowledge. The same lack of knowledge clergy often have when it comes to mental health. Now that I have stepped on all the toes I needed to step on, let me make my main point. While each potential resource competes for the at...

The other day a Calgary police officer was killed in the line of duty during the course of his regular duties. It appears as if he was making a traffic stop of a vehicle with a 17 year old driver and his 19 year old passenger. All the details and the guilt or innocence of these young men is yet to be determined. The fact is that the officer died. It reminded me of another incident I experienced as a police chaplain in Toronto a few years back. While doing a ride along in downtown Toronto the Sergeant I was with noticed that the back licence plate of a car we were approaching at a red light, had no sticker. He immediately pulled up beside the car who was about the 5th car in the lineup behind the light, and motioned him to pull over once the traffic cleared out of the way. We were in the curb lane but instead of pulling in front of us, the driver pulled into oncoming traffic and made a quick left turn to another major road. This was early evening on a Friday summer night but the roads w...