OCT 2020 Blues Vol. 36 No. 10

all the while he was

all the while he was continuing to fire through the wall. After several hours, they realized that the male had shot himself and was also dead. They found over 100 homemade bombs and explosives in and around the trailer. Shane saved many lives that day as no one really knows what they were planning. The female is serving 18 years in State prison before going to Federal prison for 15 years. I just wanted to see my son! I could not wrap my head around him being dead! They would not let me see my son! I told my husband that if they didn’t take me to see him, I was going to go myself. My husband finally told them that I was insistent upon seeing my son. They did finally let me go to the funeral home to see him, but he was completely covered except for his hand. I was not permitted to uncover him at all. We spent the entire week at my son’s house with his wife and three children. On the 2nd day after Shane’s death, I was asked if I wanted to speak with some other parents of law enforcement officers that were killed in the line of duty? I met a couple of other moms and dads from Concerns of Police Survivors. They sat with me, listened to me and cried with me. That was the first time I heard of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). Concerns of Police Survivors is an Organization whose mission is to help rebuild the shattered lives of those family members and co-workers of law enforcement officers that are killed in the line of duty. C.O.P.S. is a National 501c3 Organization with over 50 Chapters Nationwide. There are four Chapters in the State of Texas. Presently there are 54,000 survivors Nationwide. Survivors include spouses, children, parents, siblings, fiancé/ significant other, in laws, extended family and co-workers. C.O.P.S. also provides training for law enforcement agencies such as Traumas in Law Enforcement and the National Conference on Wellness and Trauma. As President of the Greater Houston Chapter as well as Western Region Trustee on the National C.O.P.S. Board, I assist the Chapters in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. I have learned through my 11 years as a survivor that the only way I can continue moving forward is to help other survivors. Every time another officer dies, my heart aches for those left behind, and my mind goes back to that tragic day in 2009. Shane had served 4 years active duty in the Army, then joined the Army Reserve and spent a year in Iraq earning a bronze star. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University in 2 ½ years with a Degree in Criminal Justice. Shane got accepted to attend the Texas Game Warden Academy and went on to serve 6 years as a Texas Game Warden. The need came for Shane to have a more structured work schedule, so he made the change to Chambers County Sheriff’s Office in May of 2009. Shane was shot and killed July 13, 2009. He was taken from his wife and three young children that day. Shane is and always will be my HERO!! 62 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 63