#1-Act of Kindness/Remembrance (Corporal Courtney Brooks)

                                                              
                                                       Corporal Courtney Brooks


On January 1, 2008, exactly five years ago, Corporal Courtney Brooks, of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department was killed in the line of duty. In an utterly senseless act Cpl. Brooks was struck by a drunken driver while performing a traffic detail. As is so often the case in line of duty deaths, a superb human being who has devoted their life to public service is lost at the hands of an irresponsible menace. For an extremely thorough account of the incident and notes from a chilling plea agreement proffer by Assistant State's Attorney, Theresa Shaffer, please read this article.

Each year on average between 125-200 police officers are killed in the line of duty. The outpouring of support by law enforcement after an officer is killed is nothing short of awe inspiring. Representatives from law enforcement agencies from around the country and beyond respond to pay their respects and participate in funeral processions that can be several miles in length. Corporal Brooks' funeral was no exception. Unfortunately, as time goes by more and more officers join Corporal Brooks among the names on the Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. The memory of those who have fallen tend to fade with time to those who did not know and love them.

For the first "Act of Kindness and Remembrance" of the year I thought it fitting to honor an officer that had given their life on New Year's Day. New Year's Day is a day of celebration and hope. A day to clean the slate of disappointments from the previous year and look forward to better days in the coming year. A day to spend with friends and family. On New Years Eve, 2007, Corporal Brooks, like so many other officers across the country reported to work. While most people have the day off to celebrate and spend time with the ones they love, Corporal Brooks and those many other officers sacrificed spending time with their friends and family for the holiday and went to work. Corporal Brooks stood outside in the cold working a traffic detail while most of the rest of the population were in the comfort of the indoors, celebrating. Simply for the sacrifice of leaving their families and going to work on holidays we should honor law enforcement officers. But in this case, Corporal Brooks' sacrifice was so much more.

Corporal Brooks served his country for six years in the Army and served his community for 13 years as a police officer. He left behind three children and a fiance. His children were ages 17, 4 and 2 when he died.

In honor and remembrance of Corporal Brooks we placed flowers on his grave on this, the five year anniversary of his death, and made a donation in his honor to the Concerns of Police Survivors, a non-profit organization whose mission is as follows:

"Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. provides resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty as determined by Federal criteria.  Furthermore, C.O.P.S. provides training to law enforcement agencies on survivor victimization issues and educates the public of the need to support the law enforcement profession and its survivors.'

We have also left a message of reflection for Corporal Brooks at the Officer Down Memorial Page. We encourage you to leave a reflection as well. You can visit the site here.

We also encourage you to support C.O.P.S. and their important mission to assist police survivors. Visit their website.

Finally, please take a moment to view this video of a standing ovation that was given to Corporal Brooks at his funeral. Five years later, I hope you can all find a way to honor Corporal Brooks.