Local couple completes Concerns of Police Survivors Walk to the Wall in DC

  San Manuel residents Joellen and T.C. Brown travelled to Washington, D.C. recently. They both completed the 25-mile 2025 Concerns of Police Survivors Walk to the Wall. T.C.’s father, Leroy D. Brown, Cochise County Sheriff’s Department, AZ, was killed in the line of duty on Dec. 6, 1969.

  Deputy Brown was shot and killed by a man he had arrested several months earlier. Deputy Leroy Brown was survived by his wife, two sons, parents, one brother and four sisters. His wife and one son still survive.

  Other Fallen Officers they would like to honor and remember for their sacrifice:

Osvaldo Albarati – Lieutenant, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Government.  End of Watch – Feb. 26, 2013;

Eric Williams – Senior Officer Specialist, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Government.  End of Watch – Feb. 25, 2013;

Samuel Steele Hicks – Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Government. End of Watch – Nov. 19, 2008;

Jose Rivera – Correctional Officer, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Government. End of Watch – June 20, 2008;

Erik David Hite – Police Officer, Tucson Police Department, Arizona. End of Watch – June 2, 2008;

Jason Schwartz – Deputy Sheriff, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado. End of Watch – Sept. 28, 2001;

Scott James Williams – Senior Officer Specialist, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Government.  End of Watch – April 3, 1997;

Manuel Hurtado Tapia – Sergeant, Arizona Department of Public Safety. End of Watch – Jan. 8, 1991;

Martha Dixon Martinez – Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Government. End of Watch – Nov. 22, 1994;

Kent Donald Swanson – Sergeant, Shelley Police Department, Idaho. End of Watch – May 21, 2018;

Burke Jevon Rhoads – Police Officer, Nicholasville Police Department, Kentucky. End of Watch – March 11, 2015;

Darian Rey Jarrott – Patrolman, New Mexico State Police, New Mexico. End of Watch – Feb. 4, 2021;

Bradley Steven Henry Johnson – Deputy Sheriff, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama.  End of Watch – June 30, 2022;

Dillon Micheal Vakoff – Police Officer, Arvada Police Department, Colorado. End of Watch – Sept. 11, 2022;

Eric Jason Autobee – Correctional Sergeant, Colorado Department of Corrections, Colorado. End of Watch – Oct. 18, 2002;

Mary Katherine Ricard – Sergeant, Colorado Department of Corrections, Colorado. End of Watch – Sept. 24, 2012;

Thomas Lynn Clements – Executive Director, Colorado Department of Corrections, Colorado. End of Watch – March 19, 2013; and

Lisa Mauldin – Corrections Officer, Miller County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas. End of Watch – Dec. 19, 2016.”

  They also walked in honor of other Federal of Prisons staff lost in the line of duty during T.C.’s 20-year career with that agency.

  “There is not a registration fee to participate in COPS Walk events; however, participants, whether walking as an individual, or as part of a team, must raise a minimum of $1,000 per person. This covers lodging and meals for the participant during the event weekend.” Joellen and T.C. were able to raise nearly $2,500. They hope to better this amount at the 2026 COPS Walk Southwest in Buckeye, AZ that is usually held in February.

Honor the Fallen at the 2025 COPS Walk to the Wall

  “This event aims to honor America’s fallen officers by gathering survivors, friends, and members of the law enforcement community. Participants will take on the challenge of walking 25 miles over two days to raise funds for Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), which supports more than 80,000 survivors affected by line-of-duty deaths.” Over $95,500 was raised by the 50 participants and sponsors for C.O.P.S to honor the fallen and to help rebuild the shattered lives of the family members and co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty.

  Participants walked approximately 12.5 miles each day over one weekend in October. The walk takes place along the Potomac River and C&O Canal on Saturday. The walk on Sunday covered many areas of the Nation’s Capital and finished at the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall.

  “The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is centered in the 400 block of E Street, NW, Washington, DC and is the nation’s monument to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Dedicated on October 15, 1991, the Memorial honors federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of our nation and its people.

  The Memorial features two curving, 304-foot-long blue-gray limestone walls. Carved on these walls are the names of more than 24,000 officers who died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history, dating back to the first known death in 1786. Unlike many other memorials in Washington, DC, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is ever-changing: new names of fallen officers are added to it each spring, in conjunction with National Police Week.” Information on the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum can be found at https://nleomf.org/memorial/.

What is COPS?

Concerns of Police Survivors is an organization that supports the surviving family members and co-workers of law enforcement that are lost in the line of the duty.

COPS Mission Statement: Rebuilding the shattered lives of surviving family members and co-workers affected by a line-of-duty death.

Who is a Survivor?

  A family member or co-worker of a law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty.  Line-of-duty deaths include felonious, accidental, medical/illness, and suicide (in accordance with the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022.)

Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)

  Each year, between 140 and 160 officers die in the line of duty and their families and co-workers are left to cope.  C.O.P.S. provides resources to help them rebuild their shattered lives.  There is no membership fee to join C.O.P.S., for the price paid is already too high.

  C.O.P.S. was organized in 1984 with 110 individual members.  Today, C.O.P.S. membership is over 87,000 survivors.  Survivors include spouses, kids, adult children, parents, siblings, fiancés, significant others, extended family (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, grandparents, and in-laws), co-workers, and suicide survivors (as determined by the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022) of officers who have died in the line of duty according to Federal government criteria.  C.O.P.S. is governed by a national board of law enforcement survivors.  All programs and services are administered by the National Office in Camdenton, Missouri.  C.O.P.S. has 53 chapters nationwide that work with survivors at the grass-roots level.

  C.O.P.S. programs for survivors include the National Police Survivors’ Conference held each May during National Police Week; scholarships; peer-support at the national, state, and local levels; “C.O.P.S. Kids” counseling reimbursement program; the “C.O.P.S. Kids” Summer Camp, “C.O.P.S. Teens” Outward Bound Adventure for young adults, special retreats for spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, extended family, and co-workers; trial and parole support, and other assistance programs.

  C.O.P.S. knows that a survivor’s level of distress is directly affected by the agency’s response to the tragedy.  C.O.P.S., therefore, offers training and assistance to law enforcement agencies nationwide on how to respond to the tragic loss of a member of the law enforcement profession.  C.O.P.S. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  C.O.P.S. programs and services are funded by grants and donations.”  More about COPS can be found at https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/aboutcops.

  In the end a total of 63 walkers were able to raise in excess of $100,000 for Concerns of Police Survivors.