Missouri FOP
Update
MOFOP
March 18, 2020
From The State Lodge
Brothers and Sisters,
I wish I were writing to you under better circumstances, however we have several topics to
consider.
Officer Down
First and foremost, we lost a brother this week. During an active shooter incident Monday
night in Springfield Officer Chris Walsh was shot and killed when he responded to locate the
shooter and aid the victims. Chris was 32 years old, married, with an eight-year-old
daughter. He had been on the department for roughly 3 ½ years. Also shot during the
incident was Officer Josiah Overton, 25 yoa. Officer Overton is recovering and I understand
his vest stopped a round above his heart.
Table of Contents
From The State Lodge 1 ..........................................
Officer Down 1 .........................................................................
Services for Chris Walsh - 3/21/2020 3 ..................................
National Board Meeting Canceled 3 .......................................
MO FOP Board of Trustees Meeting - Canceled 3 ..................
Coronavirus (COVID-19) 4 ......................................................
COVID-19 Resources 5 .............................................................
Additional Articles and Information 5 ...................................
Additional Cancelations 6 ......................................
Day On the Hill - Canceled 6 ...................................................
Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial - Canceled 6 ..............
Police Week in Washington D.C. - Canceled 7 ........................
Trustees Meeting, April 4th - Canceled 7 ................................
Should You Cancel Your Local Lodge Meetings & Events? 7 .
Legislative Update 7 ...............................................
Missouri FOP Scholarships 7 .................................
Don’t forget about the FOP Free College 8 ............
Stay Up To Date - MOFOP.org 10 ..........................
June 5th & 6th, 2020 (CURRENTLY STILL ON AS PLANNED) 10 ..................................
Preliminary Agenda: 11 ........................................................................................................
Legislative Report 11 ...............................................
COVID-19 Causes Session Slowdown 11.................................
Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Walsh’s
Family and our Lodge #22 brothers and sisters in
Springfield.
ODMP - https://www.odmp.org/officer/24490-police-officer-
christopher-walsh
Officer Christopher Walsh
Springfield, MO Police Department
End of Watch Monday, March 16, 2020
Services for Chris Walsh - 3/21/2020
Because of the quarantine and State of Emergency guidelines, the services for Officer Walsh
are private. The private services will be held Saturday, March 21st, at the Walnut Lawn
Funeral Home at Kansas & Walnut Lawn in Springfield. However, the procession and the
graveside service has received approval from the governor to include all those who would
like to attend. The procession will be at 1430 hours. The graveside service will be at
Rivermonte Cemetery at 4500 S. Lone Pine Rd. in Springfield. Because of the difficulties
with the COVID regulations, these plans are subject to change.
National Board Meeting Canceled
Along with everything else in the country the National Board meeting in Kansas City has
been canceled. The National Board and President Yoes were concerned for the health of our
board of trustees and made this difficult decision to protect our members and the order. We
successfully canceled all the events and hopefully we will get some consideration to host the
National Board in the near future.
MO FOP Board of Trustees Meeting - Canceled
After talking with some of you and given the state restrictions, we will have to postpone the
Trustees meeting. I will be sending out additional information in hopes of finding a time
that we can re-schedule. We may have to explore conducting the meeting by tele-conference
as the National Board of Trustees is having to do.!
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
As I write this our Country, State, and a number of County and City governments have
declared a state of emergency. I hope at the moment everyone and their families are healthy
and weathering the storm so far. Every day brings new information and every day it appears
this episode is getting worse. There are a lot of pundits online and on social media
downplaying the significance of this outbreak. However, to us this couldn’t be more real.
Not only because it affects our families too, but because we will be out in the middle of it
dealing with it on a daily basis. Not only being exposed to the virus, but we have to deal with
the stress and anxiety of the public who are unsure about the direction this is headed.
People have become paranoid about the virus, about money, employment, their mortgage,
their families, food, and even toilet paper. We’ve never experienced anything like this and
anxious and desperate people act irrationally. This spells difficulty for our members on the
street.
We have got to focus at this moment on how to protect our officers. Sadly, we have yet to see
most departments in our area come out with a solid plan on how to deal with officers
responding to calls for service. Most do not seem to have enough (or any) Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) on hand for the officer’s use. Most appear to still be in the
planning stage and are relying on the CDC’s recommendations for police officers response
and contact with the public. There has been little done for our officers in the way of
education and direction, other than “wash your hands.” Any exposure or department
required quarantine or time off should be considered part of a work related injury and you
should be covered by the department and/or workers comp. We are working on model
policies and guidelines we think should be recommended to our departments. Because of
this, you must REPORT ALL POSSIBLE EXPOSURES! It’s also imperative that if you are at
a higher risk of severe illness from the virus, you request an ADA exception so you may be
reassigned to limited duty.
Those who are higher risk of severe illness or mortality from COVID-19 include:
‣ Older adults
‣
People who have serious underlying medical conditions like:
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Lung disease
You should contact your lodge attorney for additional advice. We will also be sending out
additional information regarding these set of circumstances very soon.
Your department may also be facing manpower shortages, travel restrictions, canceled days
off, etc… because of the situation. Keep us apprised if you are being required to work under
unsafe conditions and we will try to help.
COVID-19 Resources
Some of the resources available from the CDC & IACP are:
• What Law Enforcement Personnel Need to Know about Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19).
• LE Visor Card (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 LE General Information Fact Sheet
• COVID-19 Resource - Staying Healthy as a Police Officer
• The IACP - Law Enforcement Information on COVID-19
• Health & Safety for LE Families
Government & Medical Resources on COVID-19
• Missouri Dept. of Health
• Center for Disease Control
• Johns Hopskins - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
• Harvard Medical School - Coronavirus Resource Center
• Whitehouse - Corona Virus Guidelines for America
Updated Maps for Tracking, etc…
• Missouri Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases
• Missouri Coronavirus Hospital Tracking
• Johns Hopkins Worldwide Tracking and Statistics
• Worldwide Tracking and Statistics
Additional Articles and Information
• Why Everything Is Closing For Coronavirus: It’s Called ‘Flattening The Curve’
• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/
607807/
• Concerned Physicians Unite
• Police One - Law enforcement planning for coronavirus staffing impacts.
• Police One - Infectious Control Articles
Letters and Information From President Pat Yoes and the National FOP
• National FOP Activity & Memo, Re: COVID-19
• Memo Regarding Police Week 2020
• President Yoes, Letter to POTUS – Re: COVID-19
• President Yoes, Letter to Dept. of Labor - Re: Health & Safety of Officers
Take the information and use it how it best suits you. If your department is not protecting
you or your fellow officers, please let us know. Local governments have a duty to provide you
with protection and to provide for you if you suffer a work related injury or illness. We will
be working on an appropriate response and place for your State Lodge in this situation.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions or needs from us. Everyone please be safe &
Healthy!
Fraternally,
Rick Inglima, President
Missouri FOP
ringlima@mofop.org
(816) 509-7911
Additional Cancelations
Day On the Hill - Canceled
The capital has asked that all groups cancel their visits, again due to the outbreak of
COVID-19. We will not be able to reschedule this and will have to miss it this year.
Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial - Canceled
The Law Enforcement Memorial Board has made the difficult decision to cancel or
indefinitely postpone the State Candlelight Vigil and the LE Memorial Ceremony. This was a
difficult decision to make. However, they felt it best in order to ensure the safety of the
participants and our surviving family members. With or without the ceremony, we will
remember our fallen.
ANNUAL MISSOURI LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL CEREMONIES
POSTPONED INDEFINITELY
FROM: Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial Board
DATE: March 18, 2020
Due to COVID-19 and the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to utilize social distancing to
help prevent the spread of the virus, the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial Board has decided to postpone indefinitely the
annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service and Candlelight Vigil, which were scheduled for the first week of May in Jefferson
City.
The board felt it was important to make this decision now in order to give families and law enforcement members as much
advance notice as possible to cancel hotel reservations and adjust their plans.
These services are an extremely important tradition within Missouri’s law enforcement community as we remember those who
made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the citizens of our state and honor their friends and loved ones. The board looks forward
to holding these services later in the year, once we have clarity on the COVID-19 situation.
Police Week in Washington D.C. - Canceled
We also received word yesterday that the National LE Memorial service and the surrounding
police week are also canceled. This is the first time since it’s inception 39 years ago that the
service has been canceled. See the below info from President Yoes in regard to this
decision:
• President Yoes Letter - Re: Police Week
• President Yoes Video Explaining the Decision
Trustees Meeting, April 4th - Canceled
After talking with some of you and given the state restrictions, we will have to postpone the
Trustees meeting. I will be sending out additional information in hopes of finding a time
that we can re-schedule. We may have to explore conducting the meeting by tele-conference
as the National Board of Trustees is having to do.
Should You Cancel Your Local Lodge Meetings & Events?
When considering whether you should be having your local meetings the National Lodge has
provided some guidelines that should strongly be considered when determining whether to
postpone meetings!
National Fraternal Order of Police - Meeting Activity In
Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
Legislative Update
We were excited about our legislative opportunities this year, especially since we already
had statewide residency bill pass the house last week. However, we’re not sure where
this will all stand based on the circumstances and the possibility that our Sate
Legislature may close down. See the latest report from our Lobbyist, Mark Bruns on
Page 11.
Missouri FOP Scholarships
Finally something good to talk about. It’s time to put in for renewals and new
scholarships for our kids. The lodge may award up to eight (8) scholarships or renewals
for $500 per year. Applications can be found here:
MOFOP Scholarship Application (Word)
MOFOP Scholarship Application (PDF)
Stay Up To Date - MOFOP.org
This newsletter is again coming to you through our email system on the new website. "
Please, send this to all your members and get them to sign up for the site to access the
members only information. The site is full of features, information and applications for
communicating quickly and directly with our members, ONLY IF YOU SIGN UP!!! You will
be able to access collective bargaining contracts throughout the state to see what they
contain, pay studies, legislative updates, upcoming events, cop/family activities, officer
safety info, officer down reports, FOP merchandise and much more… Take the time to
REGISTER @MOFOP.ORG!!!!!
Missouri FOP State Conference
June 5th & 6th, 2020 (CURRENTLY STILL ON AS PLANNED)
Our Biennial Sate Conference will be held June 5
th
& 6
th
, 2020 in Branson, MO. This is
the weekend that immediately precedes their yearly Law Enforcements Appreciation
week, “Branson Salutes.” This week
offers discounts and a variety of
gatherings and events, just for law
enforcement and their families. It’s
worth it to bring your family to the
conference and maybe even stay for a
couple days after the meeting to enjoy
the law enforcement discounts for the
week. A schedule of events is attached
below, and you can find additional
information on their website,
www.bransonsalutes.com.
We will be staying at the Westgate Branson Woods Resort this year and we think it
will be an excellent place for the conference, especially for family.
You can make reservations by calling the hotel at:
• 1-877-502-7058, then select option 1.
• Please be sure your guests use Group Code"S/O # 65-758 when calling.
• Reservations must be received by the Resort no later than""05/05/2020.
• All Group guest reservations require a minimum deposit equal to one (1) night’s
room & tax to be charged on a major credit card.
We do not currently have online room reservations for our block, but you can see the
hotel and it’s amenities at: http://wgbransonwoods.com.
Room rates are:
Traditional Guest Room - $98
One Bedroom Villa - $159
One Bedroom Grand Villa - $178
Two Bedroom Grand Villa - $279
Preliminary Agenda:
Thursday, June 4
th
• Pre-Conference Board Meeting (Evening)
Friday, June 5
th
• 1
st
Day of Conference (Day)
• Member Dinner (Evening)
Saturday, June 6
th
• 2
nd
Day of Conference (Day)
• Awards Luncheon (Day)
You can bring as many members as you want to attend, but remember that your lodge
receives, ONE VOTING DELEGATE for every 50 members in your lodge. This does not
include your state trustee. Please start making your reservations now and get us a
preliminary idea of how many delegates you’ll be bringing.
Additional details on events, entertainment and scheduling will be provided shortly. If
you need help or have questions, please contact Sarah Hardin
(sarahhardin.sh@gmail.com) or Rick Inglima (rick.inglima@gmail.com). Sarah Hardin
helped us pick out a beautiful property for this year’s conference.
Legislative Report
MOFOP LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – WEEK 10
COVID-19 Causes Session Slowdown
On Wednesday evening, leadership in the state Senate announced they would adjourn on
Thursday and not be in session next week due to growing concerns of the coronavirus
pandemic sweeping the globe. The week of March 16 is the regularly scheduled legislative
spring break, so senators and staff members will have at least two weeks – and possibly more
– away from the Capitol. Senate President Pro-Tem issued a statement saying “A number of
our members, staff, and their families fall into populations that are at greater risk due to the
coronavirus. We asked legislators if there was anything so pressing that it required us to be
here now, while it is unclear what kind of viral exposure we may have already had, and the
answer was ‘no.’ As a result, we will be pausing nonessential legislative activity in order to
protect the people who work in the Capitol and to ensure we will have a quorum when we
return from break to complete the budget.”
""""""""""" In the House of Representatives, the Budget Committee is slated to meet on Sunday at
2:00 pm and again on Monday at 9:00 am. The committee will do final mark-ups on the
2021 state budget in preparation for bringing the budget before the full House next week. In
order to meet their constitutional duty of presenting a budget to the governor, House
members will be in full session on Wednesday and possibly Thursday next week, after which
they will recess for spring break. It is unclear at this time when they plan on returning to
Jefferson City, but some observers are predicting a two- or three-week absence for House
members until more is known about the spread of the coronavirus. The only thing certain at
this point is that many legislative priorities are now in jeopardy, with the exception of the
budget. ""
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advances
""""""""""" The designation of Missouri being the only state in the nation without a prescription
drug monitoring program may be coming to an end. After passing the House nearly a month
ago, HB1693 was brought before the full Senate on Monday for consideration. After a debate
that lasted nearly eight hours, a compromise was reached which allowed the bill to move
forward. At the heart of the matter for opponents were patient privacy concerns over a
government run database containing health information of thousands of Missourians.
Supporters of the measure countered that a statewide database could help turn the tide on
the ever-increasing number of opioid deaths."" The deal that was struck around midnight
would allow the implementation of a “Joint Oversight Task Force” instead of the Department
of Health and Senior Services to oversee the drug monitoring program. The task force would
be made up of two physicians, two pharmacists, one advanced practice registered nurse, and
one dentist. “The idea was to move it out from a governmental entity and make it more a
private-sector approach where the actual prescribers and dispensers would be in control of
the PDMP,” said Senator Tony Luetkemeyer, who handled the bill in the senate. An
additional piece of the puzzle was language that prohibits law enforcement from accessing
the program. Once those provisions were in place, those opposed to the bill ended their
filibuster and allowed a vote to take place. Ultimately, the senate passed the bill by a 21-10
margin when the bill was brought before the body for a final vote. The measure now returns
to the House for their concurrence with the changes made in the senate. It is anticipated for
the new version to pass easily and then head to the Governor for his signature."
ACTION ON BILLS OF INTEREST
Police Officer Residency
On Monday, the House of Representatives took up HB1604 for a final vote before it heads to
the Senate. The bill states that no municipality can establish a residency requirement for
police officers any more restrictive than a one-hour response time. Several St. Louis area
Representatives rose to speak in opposition, but House leadership cut off debate with a
procedural motion, thus prohibiting opponents from speaking. When the votes were tallied,
the measure passed by a 105-41 margin. The bill is now in the Senate awaiting committee
assignment."
LEOBR
HB1889, which is the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights had been scheduled for a
hearing next Monday in the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee.
However, due to the coronavirus scare, the hearing has been postponed. While this is a
setback, the sponsor of the bill, Representative Nick Schroer is actively looking for other bills
that can be amended with our Bill of Rights language. Additionally, Representative Ken
Wilson, chair of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee has said he will
reschedule our hearing as soon as activities at the Capitol resume.
Witness Protection
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee met to
consider SB857 sponsored by Senator Tony Luetkemeyer. The bill creates the “Pretrial
Witness Protection Services Fund”, which allows DPS to dispense money from the fund to
local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of protection of witnesses and their
immediate families. After a brief discussion, the committee approved the measure on a 6-0
vote. The bill now heads to the full Senate for additional consideration.
Tuition Reimbursement
The House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee met to consider HB2628 on
Monday afternoon. The bill is sponsored by Representative Lane Roberts and is designed to
provide a method for reimbursement of tuition and fees associated with attending a basic
law enforcement academy in order to achieve POST certification. The reimbursement would
be available to individuals who obtain certification on their own and also to government
entities that employ peace officers. The fund would be administered by the POST
Commission. We testified in support of the measure. No vote was taken on the bill.
Hearings of Interest
Because of the coronavirus precautions in the Capitol, there are no Senate hearings
scheduled for next week and only a handful of House hearings. None of the hearings deal
with bills impactful to the FOP. Please note that hearings may be added or changed at any
time. For an update of House hearings, click"here. For an update of Senate hearings,
click"here.
Report of ALL Missouri FOP Tracked Bills: https://www.mofop.org/
MOFOP_WK10_AllTrackedBills.pdf
Mark Bruns / Bruns and Associates, LLC!
