Below is a draft of a note that could be shared with survivors to ease decision making regarding funeral rites for an officer who suicides. What do you think? How could it be made better? We are interested in your thoughts. Please share your comments below.
Dear Family:
The Anywhere Police Department joins you in mourning the loss of our beloved family member. It was our privilege to train and serve with a valiant warrior who was routinely exposed to danger for the safety and security of others.
Without permission, death interrupts opportunities for dedicated families to continue serving together, but it does not have the power to diminish the value of virtuous service provided during life. Memories indelibly etched in your minds, our minds, and the minds of citizens who benefited from the selflessness of our warrior-friend are unaltered by death, cause notwithstanding.
Soberly, the Anywhere Police Department embraces our solemn duty to honor, in death, the sanctity of life. Just as we prepare our personnel for known and unknown encounters, our department is prepared to extend to all family members last rites befitting their compassionate response to a call to the noble vocation of policing. To the best of our ability, we train our family to respond to the human condition. Police training does not immunize us against the assault wrought by adverse human conditions on the human spirit. Therefore, we commit our hearts and purest intentions to the responsibility of remembering and preserving the honorable service of our family members.
More importantly, however, we are prepared to honor your wishes during this time of grief and loss. Our identified representatives are available to assist in any way possible. They will communicate your desires and facilitate the sincere participation of our department. We want you to know without doubt, that the Anywhere Police Department is ready, willing, and able to honor our friend and fellow-warrior with you, in accord with the preference of his first family.
In sympathy,
Dear Family:
The Anywhere Police Department joins you in mourning the loss of our beloved family member. It was our privilege to train and serve with a valiant warrior who was routinely exposed to danger for the safety and security of others.
Without permission, death interrupts opportunities for dedicated families to continue serving together, but it does not have the power to diminish the value of virtuous service provided during life. Memories indelibly etched in your minds, our minds, and the minds of citizens who benefited from the selflessness of our warrior-friend are unaltered by death, cause notwithstanding.
Soberly, the Anywhere Police Department embraces our solemn duty to honor, in death, the sanctity of life. Just as we prepare our personnel for known and unknown encounters, our department is prepared to extend to all family members last rites befitting their compassionate response to a call to the noble vocation of policing. To the best of our ability, we train our family to respond to the human condition. Police training does not immunize us against the assault wrought by adverse human conditions on the human spirit. Therefore, we commit our hearts and purest intentions to the responsibility of remembering and preserving the honorable service of our family members.
More importantly, however, we are prepared to honor your wishes during this time of grief and loss. Our identified representatives are available to assist in any way possible. They will communicate your desires and facilitate the sincere participation of our department. We want you to know without doubt, that the Anywhere Police Department is ready, willing, and able to honor our friend and fellow-warrior with you, in accord with the preference of his first family.
In sympathy,
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