Event: Veteran Attempted to Commit Suicide by Jumping from a seven (8) story building. Location: Syracuse, New York.
Chief of Police: Jon Godfrey
Hero’s: VA Police, Sgt Jesse McCoy, Officer Jon Dubler, Officer Jordan Brown
Synopsis: On December 19, 2012 at 2103 hours (EST) the following hero’s, VA Police Sgt Jesse McCoy, Officer Jon Dubler and Officer Jordan Brown saved a life.
The VA Police Officers were notified by the parking garage attendant that a suspicious male had stopped and requested the VA Police to meet him on the 8th (top) floor of the parking garage. The attendant immediately called the police dispatcher and made the report. The initial officers arrived within 90 seconds and found a Veteran in crisis and threatening to jump from the ledge. The veteran stated he had a weapon. Police Supervision were notified and responded as requested. The Supervisor notified the Duty Officer and the Chief. The Syracuse Police and Fire were requested via 911. Sgt McCoy, along with Officer’s Dubler and Brown continued to talk with the Veteran. Sgt McCoy as well as Officer’s Dubler and Brown quickly assessed the situation and felt Veteran threat of having a weapon was not credible. As the Veteran was in close enough proximity to jump, our team of hero’s continued to talk to the Veteran using an array of verbal judo skills along with distraction techniques. Our team of officers continued this dialog for several minutes, waiting for an opportunity to rescue the Veteran. When the Veteran made a move to jump over the railing the three officers, who had already positioned themselves, quickly rushed to the Veteran, pulled Veteran from the railing, preventing the Veteran from jumping 8 stories to what would have been a tragic ending. The Veteran was taken into protective custody without further incident and transported to the VA Emergency Department for mental health evaluation. The fine work of these superior officers, during the Holiday season is truly commendable. Sgt McCoy, Officer Dubler, Officer Brown, I am proud of all of you. Chief, my hats off to you and your team! Keep Charging!!!
Frederick R. Jackson
DAS/DirectorSecurity & Law Enforcement (07B)
Department of Veterans Affairs
(202)461-5544
Robert D. Cagle, Director, Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC)
The LETC (Law Enforcement Training Center) is a Franchise Fund Enterprise Center whose budget and staffing levels are based on revenue generated by reimbursable services provided by the center. The Director of the LETC is responsible for the advancement of global VA training policies and practices, management and oversight of all residence and field training programs. The LETC is organized into four divisions; the Academic Programs Division, Technical Programs Division, Advanced Programs Division, and the Training Standards Division.
Academic Programs Division
This division provides oversight and management of the VA Basic Police Officer course and both the USAF Basic Police Officer and Security Officer courses. Responsibilities include; developing programs and curricula designed to prepare newly hired police officers to provide professional law enforcement services in a health care environment; conducting needs assessments of field operations to ensure currency and validity of training programs; and to provide guidance to facility managers and Police Service Chiefs concerning training practice and policy.
Technical Programs Division
This division provides oversight and management of all in-residence and field training programs and policies for the use of department issued weapons, unarmed defense, physical training and tactical operations. Responsibilities include; development of all associated programs and curricula; conduct of specialized instructor courses; and continuous evaluation of improvements in law enforcement technology, methodologies and processes associated with these areas.
Advanced Programs Division
The Advance Programs Division develops comprehensive investigative and crime prevention instructional programs. Responsibilities include oversight and management of all specialty courses, and continuous evaluation of improvements in law enforcement technology, methodologies and processes associated with these areas.
Training Standards Division
The Training Standards Division provides evaluation, oversight and accreditation of in-residence and field training and instructional programs. Responsibilities include; internal and external quality control; statistical analysis; and monitoring of all programs to maintain accreditation standards.
The roots of today's VA police force began at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (VHA origins) which was authorized as a national soldiers and sailors asylum by President Lincoln on Mar
... Morech 3, 1865.
A court martial system was established at the National Homes in September 1867 to consider all cases of offenses made by residents of the Home. Judgment and sentencing were determined by the Governor of each National Home and a Sergeant of Police "a member of the Home" was appointed and paid $15 per month. By comparison, the home's chief baker was paid $20 monthly and nurses (male in those days) received $8. A guard house (jail) was located at each National Home branch to protect home "members" from themselves or others.
The first official police force was authorized at the National Home in Dayton at the April 11, 1882 Board of Managers meeting in order to preserve "the peace and quiet of the branch." The force consisted of a Captain, one 1st Lieutenant, and one 2nd Lieutenant. They were referred to as "guards" and the force eventually expanded to over 40 guards. The Homes operated under military rules, which often did not suit many of the former farmers and young immigrant residents who lived there. Drunkenness, fighting, violation of passes, profanity, disorderly conduct, and creating a nuisance were the most common offenses.
Proceedings of the Home "court" were recorded in Discipline Books. The most serious offense, in those early days, was bringing liquor onto the Home grounds, followed by going "AWOL" (absent without leave) and "jumping the fence" (defiantly leaving grounds without permission). By the 1880s, all of the National Homes operated beer halls in an effort to control the quality and quantity of alcohol consumed by veterans and to confine the ill effects of drunkenness to the Home grounds. Saloons cropped up in close proximity to all of the National Homes and were a constant temptation for many home residents. At Dayton there were 3,446 discipline charges recorded in 1888 including 1,192 for drunkenness and 1,138 for being AWOL. Members who misbehaved while AWOL were subject to civilian law and often arrested by civilian police and detained in community jails. Punishment for minor offenses at the National Homes included monetary fines and no passes for 30 days. For more serious crimes, veterans were often assigned to "dump duty."
In the 19th century, "dump duty" meant emptying and cleaning cuspidors, bedpans, and picking up trash from the grounds. The most severe penalty inflicted was stone breaking--which was ordered for men who brought whiskey onto the grounds, "jumped the fenced," or willfully disobeyed orders. Stone breaking began at 7 o'clock in the morning. A man was escorted from the guard house to his work pile and back until his sentence was completed. He got one hour and 20 minutes for lunch and his day ended at 5:40. A stone breaking sentence could last for up to six months. Repeat incorrigible offenders were dishonorably discharged from the Home. The National Homes became part of the Veterans Administration in 1930 and the Home police forces were retained; however, their adjudication system and old guardhouses (jails) soon became obsolete. Having no official police power at that time, guards checked entrants into VA properties, ensured safety of everyone on the grounds, and handed criminal offenders over to state or local police officers for processing in civilian courts or to the Department of Investigation (FBI after 1936) for federal crimes.
The Veterans Administration police operated in this manner for over 40 years. After 1970, violent criminal offenses increased on VA grounds and change was imminent for its police force. Guards were elevated to full police status and their training and responsibilities increased. VA police were provided with a weapon: mace. Afterwards, police batons were added and a VA Police training center was established in North Little Rock, Arkansas, to standardize their training. During the 1980s, a number of incidents took the lives of four unarmed VA police officers and several other VA personnel, resulting in further changes. Training requirements and program oversight again increased.
In 1989, after the Veterans Administration became the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Police and Security Service reorganized as the Office of Security and Law Enforcement. Required training hours for VA police increased from 40 hours in the 1970s to 160 hours by 1992.
In 1992, VA considered arming its police force for the time. Three years later, Secretary Jesse Brown directed development of a pilot program to arm VA police at no more than six facilities. The following year, a directive and handbook were written. The Firearm Training Unit of the FBI Academy reviewed VA's firearm training plans and determined that it met or exceeded Federal law enforcement requirements.
In September 1996, North Chicago VA Medical Center became the first facility to arm its police officers, followed by Richmond, Bronx, West Los Angeles, and Chicago (West Side). The pilot program proved successful, so around 1998, Secretary Togo West expanded the arming of VA police at a rate of about 16 sites per year. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the arming program was accelerated.
VA contracted with Beretta USA for specially designed pistols and firearms training for its police force. By fall 2002, 92 VA medical centers had 1,830 armed police officers and in 2003 the entire force was armed. In 2002, Jose Rodiguez-Reyes, an officer at the San Juan VAMC in Puerto Rico, was the first policeman to be killed after the VA Police force became armed.
Since 1985, at least seven officers have lost their lives while on duty. Today's VA Police officers face innumerable challenges when compared to the guard force of the past. They are vigilant, armed, professional law enforcement officers with a minimum of 280 training hours who have powers to enforce all federal laws. They are trained to prevent crime, defuse a variety of threats, and take action when needed. Their skills include accident investigation, surveillance, fraud detection, preventing or defusing violence in the workplace, fingerprinting, detective and crime scene investigation, and much more. Many of them have college degrees and backgrounds as military or civilian police officers. All must meet the standards set by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for federal police officers and investigators and must pass background, physical, and mental examinations. Not only are they on the alert for domestic or workplace violations, they watch for terrorist activity, as well. VA police officers work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to ensure enforcement of all federal laws and the safety of veterans, employees, contractors, visitors, and the public. Many of VA's Police force work behind the scenes as trainers, investigators, analysts, policymakers, developers of standards and practices, and more, to protect VA employees, veterans, property, and the public. The VA Law Enforcement Training Center in North Little Rock now provides professional police training to other federal agencies, not just to VA's own police force. Hide
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police is the uniformed law enforcement and police service of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for the protection of the V
... MoreA Medical Centers and other facilities operated by United States Department of Veterans Affairs and its subsidiary components of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as well as the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) respectively.
The VA Police have several divisions and operate separately but alongside the VA Law Enforcement Training Center (VA LETC) under the umbrella of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement.
The primary role of VA Police is to serve as a protective uniformed police force in order to deter and prevent crime, maintain order, and investigate crimes (ranging from summary to felony offenses) which may have occurred within the jurisdiction of the Department or its federal assets.
The role of investigating felony offenses is referred and investigated in conjunction with agents from the Office of the Inspector General (VA OIG).
The Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OS&LE) is the parent agency of the VA Police within the Law Enforcement Oversight & Criminal Investigation Division (LEO/CID) which provides national oversight to individual VA Police Services at each location throughout the United States. They also facilitate support, guidance, funds and regulation of the Police Service and their corresponding independent facilities.
Upper level management and specialty positions other than Police Officer include (in no particular order); Detective, Special Agent, Inspector, and Criminal Investigator. Other semi standardized rank structures are developed within each VA Police Service at the local level. These serve to reflect job title, function, and/or role and range from Sergeant to Chief. The VA Police also maintain groups of specialty service elements such as K-9, Special Weapons and Tactics, Bicycle, and Motorcycle patrols.
The VA Police are an armed, federal law enforcement and protective service entity that operates in and around the various Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, National Cemeteries and other VA facilities located throughout the whole of United States to include Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Among others, the VA Police are a specialized federal law enforcement agency, whose officers have full police powers derived from statutory authority to enforce all federal laws, VA rules and regulations, and to make arrests on VA controlled property whether owned or leased.
VA Police encounters and methods of law enforcement are often unique due to the fact that the majority of their work is conducted in and around a clinical or medical setting. Enhanced methodology and incident solutions (including advanced interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and problem solving skills) are required by their officers to be successful; as in addition to the full range of incidents and calls for service one might normally associate with police work, the VA Police also often encounter trained military Veterans suffering from medical and psychological traumas. Beyond normal law enforcement contact with the general public, VA Police officers also work in an environment which includes an extremely high percentage of individuals (to include patients and even other VA employees) who are military trained Veterans (with an increasingly large number of individuals who are returning combat Veterans). VA Police officers must strive to enforce the law while working with other VA staff to maintain an equitable balance; ensuring that the medical needs of the Veterans/patients are being met while at the same time continuing to operate as a full federal law enforcement agency.
Although the Office of Security and Law Enforcement exists and policies and training are standardized, VA Police operate throughout the United States under the direction of individual facility directors (much like a municipal agency would function under a mayor), causing an extensive amount of difference in operational format. VA Police personnel serving in the Executive Protection Division provide Protective Services for the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Affairs Police (Service) is made up of over 2800 appointed officers and administrative personnel. The agency's motto is "Protecting Those Who Served".
The Veterans Administration was founded in 1930. The VA Protective Service was established that year and was charged with maintaining order, protecting persons and property, and ensuring fire safety. As the VA evolved, the fire safety role was turned over to the Engineering Service and the Protective Service became a security guard force (OPM GS 0085 series).
By a 1973 federal law, the guard force was abolished and the VA Police (0083 series) was established. The President and Congress made this decision due in part to the changing needs of the VA and an increase in police-related matters not usually handled by a guard force or community law enforcement agencies. The agency has expanded in size since its inception and it now constitutes the largest uniformed federal police agency in the United States.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
38 U.S.C. § 902: US Code - Section 902: Enforcement and arrest authority of Department police officers
Sec. 902. Enforcement and arrest authority of Department police officers
-STATUTE-
(a)(1) Employees of the Department who are Department police officers shall, with respect to acts occurring on Department property -
(A) enforce Federal laws;
(B) enforce the rules prescribed under section 901 of this title;
(C) enforce traffic and motor vehicle laws of a State or local government (by issuance of a citation for violation of such laws) within the jurisdiction of which such Department property is located as authorized by an express grant of authority under applicable State or local law;
(D) carry the appropriate Department-issued weapons, including firearms, while off Department property in an official capacity or while in an official travel status;
(E) conduct investigations, on and off Department property, of offenses that may have been committed on property under the original jurisdiction of Department, consistent with agreements or other consultation with affected Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies; and
(F) carry out, as needed and appropriate, the duties described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) when engaged in duties authorized by other Federal statutes.
(2) Subject to regulations prescribed under subsection (b), a Department police officer may make arrests on Department property for a violation of a Federal law or any rule prescribed under section 901(a) of this title, and on any arrest warrant issued by competent judicial authority.
(b) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations with respect to Department police officers. Such regulations shall include -
(1) policies with respect to the exercise by Department police officers of the enforcement and arrest authorities provided by this section;
(2) the scope and duration of training that is required for Department police officers, with particular emphasis on dealing with situations involving patients; and
(3) rules limiting the carrying and use of weapons by Department police officers.
(c) The powers granted to Department police officers designated under this section shall be exercised in accordance with guidelines approved by the Secretary and the Attorney General.
(d) Rates of basic pay for Department police officers may be increased by the Secretary under section 7455 of this title.
***Expanded authority signed into law on May 5, 2010 by the President Of The United States (becoming Public Law No: 111-163).
LINE-OF-DUTY DEATHS
Seven officers of the VA Police have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty:
Marvin C. Bland, age 34, was killed in an automobile accident on September 6, 1985, while responding to a fire alarm at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Mark S. Decker, age 31, and Leonard B. Wilcox, age 37, were shot and killed on January 31, 1986, while attempting to question a suspicious man at the Brecksville VA Hospital in Brecksville, Ohio. Both Decker and Wilcox were armed only with mace due to administrative guidelines. While the officers were talking with the man he pulled out a .45 caliber handgun and shot Officer Decker, killing him instantly. Officer Wilcox attempted to run for cover, but the suspect chased him before shooting him as well. The killer was sentenced to two life terms for the murders.
Ronald Hearn, age 49, was shot and killed on July 25, 1988 at the Bronx VA Hospital in New York City. The alarm was set off when a man walked through the metal detector; when Hearn approached the man, he pulled out a gun and shot Hearn, who was wearing a vest but was shot between the two panels. At the time of Hearn's death VA Police were not supplied vests or firearms.
Garry A. Ross, age 41, died from a heart attack on December 24, 1990 at the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C.. Ross died after responding to a call of a mentally deranged patient, who assaulted him several times. Ross suffered a massive heart attack after he restrained the patient.
Horst Harold Woods, age 46, was shot and killed on January 10, 1996, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Woods had approached a man kneeling beside his patrol car; when Woods approached him from the opposite side of the car, the man stood up, exchanged words with Woods, and then shot him in the back of his head as Woods turned away. The man was arrested later the same day. The suspect was arrested a short time later by Air Force Security Police Law Enforcement Officers, now called Security Forces from Kirtland Air Force Base, where he was found with "two extra fully loaded clips, an 18-inch bowie knife and a long-barreled Derringer loaded with two shotgun shells."
Jose Oscar Rodriguez-Reyes, age 53, was shot and killed on April 24, 2002 while stationed at a gate at the VA Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Rodriguez-Reyes was attacked by two men for unknown reasons and shot in the head and chest. The two attempted to steal Rodriguez-Reyes' service weapon but were unable to remove it from the holster. Rodriguez-Reyes was the first armed VA Police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Two suspects were arrested by the FBI. Charged with murder, the suspect who shot Rodriguez-Reyes was convicted in July 2006.
PERSONNEL
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police currently have entry qualifications comparable to other Law enforcement in the United States. All VA Police Officers are required to have either a minimum of two years experience in law enforcement with arrest authority (in federal, state, municipal, or military police), or have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Applicants must also undergo a physical abilities test, fingerprinting, physical examination, Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI) psychological evaluation and background investigation.
Upon selection, VA Police Officers go through a supplementary eight-week training course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) located on Fort Logan H. Roots in Little Rock, Arkansas alongside the Eugene J. Towbin Veterans Medical Center. Additionally, VA Police Officers receive continuous in-service and specialized training (Written, Practical, and Scenario based) to include intermediate weapons, tactical and low light firearms, contact and arrest procedures on a regular basis. Officers may also partake in a series of advanced training courses offered by VA LETC on a selective basis to include crime scene investigations, traffic accident investigations, and technical surveillance.
VA Police Officers are certified in CPR (as first responders), the use of Oleoresin Capsicum Pepper spray, the MEB Manadnock Expandable Police Baton, and the Beretta 92D 9mm sidearm. However, the agency successfully transition to the SIG Sauer P229 DAK Version (Uniformed Officers) and SIG Sauer P239 DAK Version (Plain clothed Officials/Investigators) chambered in 9 mm. Additionally, measures of additional training were undertaken and implemented by the whole of the VA LETC academy in order to successfully achieve FLETA accreditation, which was officially granted on November 17, 2011. This accreditation placed the academy (and selected courses) on par with other well known federal law enforcement training centers and programs such as Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Training, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and the U.S. Secret Service James J. Rowley Training Center. The Department of Veterans Affairs Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) often serves as a training program that is capable of meeting the training requirements for DoD Officers and their respective installations. The Department of the Air Force routinely sends their civilian Police Officers to the VA LETC in an effort to meet or exceed their requirements for base security and law and order operations.
Like the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the VA Police are not members of the Law Enforcement Retirement System (LERS), and do not enjoy the same retirement benefits as most other federal law enforcement officers (20 years of service and out). Legislation has been proposed several times to change this (H.R. 1002), but the last effort failed to make it out of committee in the 109th Congress. There have been no successful attempts to change this as of the beginning of the 2013 United States Federal Fiscal Year.
Legislation to expand the powers and authority of the Veterans Affairs Police was eventually rolled into the S.1963 - Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 Bill (proposed law) and was re-introduced in the 111th Congress on Oct 28, 2009. The Bill passed the United States Senate on Nov 19, 2009, passed the United States House of Representatives on Apr 21, 2010, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 5, 2010 becoming Public Law No: 111-163. The GPO (Government Printing Office) has officially published this law in its roles, noting that the law (and therefore the increased uniform allowance and expanded authority of the VA Police to include the ability to conduct investigations, on and off Department property) which will take legal effect once the Department personnel are all trained and approved by the Agency Executive, the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs and the Department of Justice.
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