LAW
ENFORCEMENT: IT TRULY IS A FAMILY:
Sharing Just One of Many Heartwarming
Stories During National Police Week
05/14/04
We
can tell you that law enforcement is a close-knit family ... that the ties run
deep for those who put themselves in harm's way to serve the nation ... and that
the support and camaraderie are never stronger than when the community loses one
of its own.
But
better to hear it from someone like Stacy Pratt.
Stacy
is in the nation's capital with her family as part of National
Police Week, joining thousands of other law enforcement families in honoring
America's fallen officers.
It
was last September 11 -- a date already associated with loss and heroism -- that
Stacy's husband -- Omaha, Nebraska Sergeant Jason Tye Pratt -- was shot at point
blank range by a convicted felon who fled authorities following a routine traffic
stop. Tragically, Sergeant Pratt died eight days later.
The
community rallies. From the first moments of the tragedy, Stacy says
she was "overwhelmed" by the outpouring of concern, support, and compassion,
especially from within the larger law enforcement community. All the more so since
Sergeant Pratt's brother Michael is also a police officer in Omaha.
Stacy
says there was an "unbelievable police presence at the hospital" while
Sergeant Pratt lay critically wounded. She said it was "heartwarming"
to receive so many calls, letters, and expressions of sympathy. More than 6,000
law enforcement officers and concerned citizens attended the funeral. One police
officer several states away calls regularly to say that Stacy and her family will
never be forgotten.
Within
the FBI, the loss of Sergeant Pratt was felt deeply. He had served with
Bureau agents on a drug task force and was known and respected in particular for
his work on the Omaha SWAT team. Stacy says that she got letters of condolence
and many personal expressions of sympathy from FBI employees. The Metro Chiefs
Association of Omaha, headed by Special Agent in Charge Jim Bogner, also named
a service award in honor of Sergeant Pratt.
For
Stacy and her family, this support made an important difference. "People
ask me why I'm doing so well today. It's because I have a lot of people to lean
on. The law enforcement community is so vast, yet everyone reacts to an officer
who is lost just like he or she was one of their own. They don't all wear the
same badge, but it's one big family."
To
join in honoring Sergeant Pratt and other police officers who have lost their
lives in the line of duty, attend the 23rd Annual National Peace Officers'
Memorial Day Services at noon on Saturday, at the West Front of the United States
Capitol in Washington, DC. Or visit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
on the 400 block of E Street, NW, in Washington.
Pictured
is Stacy Pratt at FBI Headquarters, where she visited Louis Quijas, Assistant
Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Coordination.
