Page 6 - PCPA Winter 2025 Bulletin Magazine

PA CHIEFS OF POLICE ASSOCIATION
WE KNOW THAT
TRAUMA IN POLICING
IS CUMULATIVE. EVERY
CALL, EVERY TRAGEDY,
EVERY LOSS LEAVES AN
IMPRINT. AS CHIEFS,
WE CANNOT ALWAYS
PROTECT OUR OFFICERS
FROM THE HORRORS
THEY WILL ENCOUNTER,
BUT WE CAN AND MUST
ENSURE THAT THEY
HAVE THE RESOURCES,
RELATIONSHIPS,
AND RESILIENCE
TO PROCESS THEM
IN HEALTHY AND
SUSTAINABLE WAYS.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Colleagues,
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for the tremendous
outpouring of compassion, support, and strength you have shown
following the tragic ambush that claimed the lives of Sergeant Cody
Becker, Detective Mark Baker, and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser of the
Northern York County Regional Police Department.
Your letters, messages, phone calls, and presence, whether in person or
in spirit have meant more than words can express. In the darkest days of
our profession, the law enforcement family truly reveals its strength. The
solidarity shown by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association and by
so many individual members reminded all of us in York County that we
never stand alone.
I would also like to offer a special note of gratitude to Colonel Christopher
Paris and the men and women of the Pennsylvania State Police. Their
leadership, coordination, and logistical support during the planning and
execution of the services for our fallen officers were extraordinary. From
procession routes to honor guard details, communications, and traffic
control, the PSP worked tirelessly alongside our agency and partner
departments to ensure our officers were honored with the dignity and
respect they so greatly deserved. Their professionalism and compassion
were a source of stability and pride during an unimaginably difficult time,
and for that, I am forever grateful.
The weeks since September 17, 2025, have been filled with grief,
reflection, and resolve. The pain of losing three of our own in a single
moment is immeasurable, yet it has also underscored one of our most
urgent responsibilities as leaders: ensuring the comprehensive wellness
of the men and women we command and of their families.
The Importance of Comprehensive Wellness
Wellness in policing can no longer be defined solely by physical fitness
or access to employee assistance programs. True wellness encompasses
emotional, psychological, spiritual, and family well-being. It requires
creating an environment where officers feel safe to seek help, where
peer support is encouraged, and where leaders model vulnerability and
balance without stigma.
We know that trauma in policing is cumulative. Every call, every tragedy,
every loss leaves an imprint. As Chiefs, we cannot always protect our
officers from the horrors they will encounter, but we can and must ensure
that they have the resources, relationships, and resilience to process them
in healthy and sustainable ways.
This responsibility also extends to the families who stand beside our officers.
Spouses, parents, and children carry the unseen weight of our profession
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