<b>My daughter Heather got up</b>

<b>the day that Chris was killed.</b>

<b>There on the kitchen</b>

<b>table were two erasers</b>

<b>that Chris had gotten her</b>

<b>for her brand new chalkboard.</b>

<b>So she sat down and</b>

<b>wrote this thank you letter,</b>

<b>thanking him for getting them for her.</b>

<b>And of course he never got the letter.</b>

<b>He was killed that day.</b>

<b>And if you fast forward</b>

<b>maybe four or five years later</b>

<b>and we're in the car and Heather says,</b>

<b>mom, you got to listen to this song.</b>

<b>And she turned it up</b>

<b>and I'm aging myself.</b>

<b>It was Mike and the</b>

<b>mechanics, the living years.</b>

<b>And the voice came on,</b>

<b>the verse came on that said,</b>

<b>I wasn't home that</b>

<b>morning, my father passed away.</b>

<b>I didn't get to tell him</b>

<b>all the things I had to say.</b>

<b>And so I grabbed her hand and I said,</b>

<b>well Heather, what would</b>

<b>you have said to your dad?</b>

<b>And she said, I would have</b>

<b>asked him to watch over me.</b>

<b>I would have asked him</b>

<b>to love me every day,</b>

<b>but I would have</b>

<b>thanked him for my erasers.</b>

<b>And with that, she started to cry.</b>

<b>And so I held her hand and we got to</b>

<b>where we were going.</b>

<b>But when I got back to the house,</b>

<b>I called another survivor who knew</b>

<b>what those moments were like,</b>

<b>who would talk me through it,</b>

<b>not pity me, pity is a wasted emotion.</b>

<b>Just help me be and do</b>

<b>what I need to for myself</b>

<b>and my girls and others</b>

<b>that are going through this.</b>

<b>And so it's just this</b>

<b>camaraderie that is based on</b>

<b>an event that ties</b>

<b>you together completely.</b>

<b>That moment in the car with Heather</b>

<b>happened years after Chris was gone.</b>

<b>But to understand why it hit so hard,</b>

<b>we have to go back to</b>

<b>the day Vivian learned</b>

<b>exactly how her husband died.</b>

<b>So Vivian, we've talked</b>

<b>about Chris quite a bit,</b>

<b>but we still haven't talked about</b>

<b>what actually happened to Chris.</b>

<b>Okay, it was funny.</b>

<b>At the time I was told</b>

<b>that nobody could talk to me.</b>

<b>They were told nobody</b>

<b>could talk to me about it.</b>

<b>And then they told me that</b>

<b>the grand jury had to meet</b>

<b>before anything could happen.</b>

<b>I don't know what that was about,</b>

<b>unless somebody on</b>

<b>the grand jury thought,</b>

<b>oh, she was going with</b>

<b>this guy that shot him</b>

<b>and they've made this deal</b>

<b>to get him out of the way</b>

<b>so that they could continue.</b>

<b>Now that was what I was</b>

<b>told was the reason behind it.</b>

<b>But it was 10 months</b>

<b>before I got any payment.</b>

<b>But I mean, right away, like</b>

<b>they came and picked you up</b>

<b>and you went to the hospital</b>

<b>and all that kind of stuff.</b>

<b>But how soon did you</b>

<b>know the cause of death</b>

<b>and the circumstances</b>

<b>surrounding it and whatnot?</b>

<b>It was a while before I heard.</b>

<b>Finally, one of the</b>

<b>officers from the CERT team</b>

<b>came over to my house on his</b>

<b>own and told me how it happened.</b>

<b>They were training in an abandoned</b>

<b>building on Capitol Hill.</b>

<b>The elevators were taken out.</b>

<b>So when you went up the different levels,</b>

<b>you would have a set</b>

<b>of stairs on the left,</b>

<b>go across the floor</b>

<b>and have the other stairs</b>

<b>up to the next floor.</b>

<b>So it was a kind of a</b>

<b>zigzag way to get out.</b>

<b>Well, they had been training on,</b>

<b>I believe it's the</b>

<b>third and fourth floors.</b>

<b>They were doing training if</b>

<b>there is an active shooter</b>

<b>in one of the rooms of Congress,</b>

<b>how do we go in to get him out or her out</b>

<b>with as little danger to</b>

<b>the people there as possible?</b>

<b>And so they were practicing that.</b>

<b>Well, in the meantime, the one officer</b>

<b>went up to change his</b>

<b>clothes and go home,</b>

<b>where about 20 of them</b>

<b>stayed on the floor they were on</b>

<b>and continued talking</b>

<b>about the scenarios.</b>

<b>Well, he went up there, he changed,</b>

<b>he's required to wear his loaded gun</b>

<b>and he came down the stairs.</b>

<b>And as he walked the</b>

<b>cross, he got caught up</b>

<b>and when they were arguing about the</b>

<b>different scenarios.</b>

<b>And so finally Chris said,</b>

<b>okay, we'll do it one more time</b>

<b>and you, you and you come in on me.</b>

<b>And he chose the one</b>

<b>gentleman that had changed his clothes</b>

<b>and reloaded and without</b>

<b>thought he fired the shot.</b>

<b>And he was also Chris's friend.</b>

<b>I never had any animosity toward him.</b>

<b>We're all human.</b>

<b>We all make mistakes.</b>

<b>And when officers are</b>

<b>involved in this kind of incident,</b>

<b>you know they are shattered</b>

<b>inside out kind of shattered.</b>

<b>And I never had any animosity.</b>

<b>I wished him well.</b>

<b>I think he finally went on to</b>

<b>flexi and taught down there.</b>

<b>And I just, I wish him</b>

<b>nothing but the best.</b>

<b>To have that moment inside your head</b>

<b>is terrible for any person.</b>

<b>So did he stay on the</b>

<b>department for a little while</b>

<b>or how did it all play out?</b>

<b>Yeah, he stayed on the department</b>

<b>and eventually he went down to flexi.</b>

<b>The Florida.</b>

<b>He was the federal law</b>

<b>enforcement center in Georgia.</b>

<b>Georgia.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>And he taught down there gun safety.</b>

<b>Can you think of a</b>

<b>better person to do that?</b>

<b>Perfect.</b>

<b>Vivian, the National Law</b>

<b>Enforcement Officers Memorial,</b>

<b>you as COPS president</b>

<b>served on our board of directors</b>

<b>for three years.</b>

<b>And it was the years when</b>

<b>we were actually designing</b>

<b>this memorial.</b>

<b>What was it gonna look like?</b>

<b>What were the elements</b>

<b>that were gonna be part of it?</b>

<b>And we got to this</b>

<b>debate about whether or not</b>

<b>we should have representational statuary,</b>

<b>meaning officers in</b>

<b>uniform on a pedestal,</b>

<b>maybe three or four of</b>

<b>them to represent all</b>

<b>of law enforcement.</b>

<b>And we realized, my</b>

<b>goodness, how could we do that?</b>

<b>There are so many</b>

<b>different uniforms and ethnicities</b>

<b>and man and woman.</b>

<b>And we decided, you know what?</b>

<b>We need a symbol of law enforcement</b>

<b>that could represent</b>

<b>all of law enforcement.</b>

<b>And it came down to a</b>

<b>debate between the eagle</b>

<b>and the lion.</b>

<b>And Vivian sat at that board meeting.</b>

<b>I remember it vividly</b>

<b>and made a compelling case</b>

<b>for the lions, which we ended up</b>

<b>selecting, of course.</b>

<b>After Vivian's commentary,</b>

<b>there was really no decision to be made.</b>

<b>It was obvious the lions were our choice.</b>

<b>But Vivian explained to me the lions.</b>

<b>You mentioned Narnia,</b>

<b>which I was not familiar with</b>

<b>at the time, but it had</b>

<b>something to do with your girls.</b>

<b>And I'd love to hear</b>

<b>maybe that story again,</b>

<b>if you can recall it.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>When the girls were</b>

<b>younger, they would go to bed</b>

<b>and I would read them a</b>

<b>chapter from the Chronicles</b>

<b>of Narnia.</b>

<b>And this was about a fantasy world</b>

<b>where the lion was the king,</b>

<b>but he always looked after the children</b>

<b>who were there in Narnia.</b>

<b>And my girls loved those stories.</b>

<b>They couldn't wait to go to bed</b>

<b>so they could hear the next chapter.</b>

<b>And to me, that really</b>

<b>spoke of law enforcement.</b>

<b>I have seen cops, when they think a child</b>

<b>has been wounded or abused,</b>

<b>man, you just see the hair goes up.</b>

<b>They are on high alert.</b>

<b>They can't stand that</b>

<b>something evil has happened</b>

<b>to a child.</b>

<b>And I thought, what</b>

<b>better way to draw other people</b>

<b>to the memorial than to see these lions</b>

<b>who are constantly on watch.</b>

<b>Actually, there's a wall</b>

<b>near the National Archives</b>

<b>that says eternal</b>

<b>vigilance is the price of freedom.</b>

<b>And that's what those lions are doing.</b>

<b>They are constantly on watch</b>

<b>and they are constantly looking around,</b>

<b>making sure nothing</b>

<b>happens to those young lions.</b>

<b>You know, that's one of</b>

<b>the more memorable things</b>

<b>for me too are the lions.</b>

<b>And the only quote that I</b>

<b>can still today remember</b>

<b>from being at the memorial is your quote,</b>

<b>right next to the lion.</b>

<b>And it's, again, that quote is,</b>

<b>it's not how these officers</b>

<b>died that made them heroes.</b>

<b>It's how they lived.</b>

<b>And I think we'd all like to know</b>

<b>everybody that's listening.</b>

<b>Did that just come off the</b>

<b>top of your head off the cuff?</b>

<b>Or was that something that you researched</b>

<b>and thought about?</b>

<b>How was that inspired?</b>

<b>Well, it was inspired</b>

<b>by a lot of departments</b>

<b>ranking line of duty death.</b>

<b>If you went down in a blaze of glory,</b>

<b>you were a hero,</b>

<b>streets were named after you,</b>

<b>all that kind of thing.</b>

<b>But if you died accidentally,</b>

<b>especially if that ugly</b>

<b>word liability rears its head,</b>

<b>it was swept under the</b>

<b>carpet as soon as possible.</b>

<b>And to me, it was just</b>

<b>such an appalling way</b>

<b>to look at law enforcement.</b>

<b>An officer gets</b>

<b>dressed, he goes into work</b>

<b>and he doesn't say, well,</b>

<b>I think at three o'clock,</b>

<b>I'm gonna be at this door</b>

<b>and I'm going to be shot and killed.</b>

<b>They don't think that.</b>

<b>Another officer coming</b>

<b>into work does not think that,</b>

<b>oh, you know what?</b>

<b>Today I'm going to be in</b>

<b>an accident during a pursuit</b>

<b>and I'll be killed.</b>

<b>They don't think that.</b>

<b>They go, they go out.</b>

<b>That's what's important, is</b>

<b>that they're always going out.</b>

<b>So Vivian, did you labor over those words</b>

<b>over a period of time</b>

<b>or did that just pop</b>

<b>right out of your head?</b>

<b>It just popped right out of my head.</b>

<b>It's not how they</b>

<b>died, it's how they lived.</b>

<b>That's what needs to be honored.</b>

<b>And now we have the</b>

<b>memorial in the museum</b>

<b>where the memorial</b>

<b>acknowledges who they were</b>

<b>and the museum tells us what they did.</b>

<b>And it's just such a perfect blending</b>

<b>of two elements of law enforcement.</b>

<b>One thing, go ahead, Dennis.</b>

<b>No, I was gonna say, you</b>

<b>may say the same thing, Craig,</b>

<b>or we're recording this</b>

<b>before police week 2026</b>

<b>and it'll be played back</b>

<b>before police week, I'm sure.</b>

<b>Tell us Vivian about the</b>

<b>importance of police week.</b>

<b>I remember my first time there, Bill Erfurth</b>

<b>first took me there,</b>

<b>introduced me to</b>

<b>Craig, how many years ago?</b>

<b>20 some years ago.</b>

<b>I know what it means to me,</b>

<b>but I'd like to know what it</b>

<b>means to you and your family,</b>

<b>your girls.</b>

<b>We have come to cherish it.</b>

<b>It is looking at that</b>

<b>memorial and saying,</b>

<b>finally, America has</b>

<b>acknowledged their heroes</b>

<b>and it brings us such comfort.</b>

<b>Every time the girls go, they're gonna</b>

<b>get over by the lions</b>

<b>and touch them and do that kind of stuff.</b>

<b>And our grandchildren</b>

<b>have been there too.</b>

<b>And it is just such a</b>

<b>special place for me.</b>

<b>I remember my mother had two brothers</b>

<b>that when served in World War II.</b>

<b>And after the war, we</b>

<b>went to every monument</b>

<b>that was in DC for World War II veterans.</b>

<b>And man, when we were there,</b>

<b>we better hadn't bother my mom</b>

<b>unless we were bleeding or unconscious.</b>

<b>They were honoring the honorable.</b>

<b>And it was a miracle both of</b>

<b>her brothers lived through it.</b>

<b>One was on the USS California</b>

<b>when Pearl Harbor was bombed.</b>

<b>And it was a sacred place.</b>

<b>And now the memorial has become</b>

<b>Law Enforcement's hallowed ground.</b>

<b>And Craig, as the founding</b>

<b>person here of the memorial</b>

<b>and the museum and the chairman emeritus,</b>

<b>I want you to give your speech.</b>

<b>We try to do this on every episode of</b>

<b>Heroes Behind the Badge</b>

<b>but tell our audience</b>

<b>why they need to show up</b>

<b>at police week.</b>

<b>I think there's really two sets of folks</b>

<b>that we're addressing here.</b>

<b>Both need to attend police week,</b>

<b>need to see that memorial,</b>

<b>need to visit that museum.</b>

<b>First group of course is</b>

<b>the law enforcement family.</b>

<b>That would be the officers who've served</b>

<b>or are serving and their families.</b>

<b>They need to understand</b>

<b>that they are following</b>

<b>in the footsteps of some of</b>

<b>the greatest men and women</b>

<b>that have ever walked</b>

<b>the face of this earth.</b>

<b>That they are falling</b>

<b>and carrying on the service</b>

<b>of men and women who</b>

<b>literally laid down their lives</b>

<b>for their profession</b>

<b>and for public safety.</b>

<b>And so I think, and Bill</b>

<b>has spoken to this many times</b>

<b>on this podcast about why</b>

<b>police week is important to him</b>

<b>as an officer that it</b>

<b>kind of rejuvenates him,</b>

<b>makes him realize why</b>

<b>he became an officer</b>

<b>in the first place.</b>

<b>Because some officers get</b>

<b>hardened by all the filth</b>

<b>and the depths of depravity</b>

<b>that they have to deal with</b>

<b>in law enforcement.</b>

<b>But you come to police</b>

<b>week and it's refreshing</b>

<b>and it's rejuvenating and it's inspiring.</b>

<b>So that's why I think the</b>

<b>law enforcement community</b>

<b>needs to make that trip.</b>

<b>You visit that museum</b>

<b>and you see the history</b>

<b>of your profession and</b>

<b>how you now proudly wear</b>

<b>that same badge as</b>

<b>the officers who served</b>

<b>two, 300 years ago.</b>

<b>And you go into that Hall of Remembrance</b>

<b>and you see the, and hear the</b>

<b>stories of the men and women</b>

<b>who have made the ultimate sacrifice.</b>

<b>So now fast forward.</b>

<b>You've got the public</b>

<b>audience, all right?</b>

<b>If you're a citizen of this nation</b>

<b>and we call our group</b>

<b>Citizens Behind the Badge, right?</b>

<b>These are the majority of Americans,</b>

<b>vast majority of Americans</b>

<b>who support law enforcement</b>

<b>and respect law enforcement.</b>

<b>But to come to national police week,</b>

<b>attend that candlelight vigil,</b>

<b>attend the Peace</b>

<b>Officers Memorial Day service</b>

<b>at the FOP and their auxiliary,</b>

<b>put on every May 15th at the US Capitol.</b>

<b>You all of a sudden</b>

<b>understand that the value</b>

<b>of law enforcement in this country</b>

<b>and are inspired by the men and women</b>

<b>who are literally</b>

<b>willing to put down their lives</b>

<b>for the safety and protection of others,</b>

<b>people they don't even know.</b>

<b>It's incredible to me.</b>

<b>And this is why I</b>

<b>wanted that museum built</b>

<b>more than anything because</b>

<b>I wanted the fellow citizens</b>

<b>who hadn't had the chance</b>

<b>to meet a police officer,</b>

<b>to meet a survivor,</b>

<b>to hear their stories,</b>

<b>to have a sense of what</b>

<b>it's like to walk in the shoes</b>

<b>of a police officer and</b>

<b>understand the dangers they face.</b>

<b>So all of that is so important to me</b>

<b>why not only officers and their families,</b>

<b>but the citizens of this</b>

<b>nation need to come to Washington</b>

<b>at some point in their lives.</b>

<b>During national police week,</b>

<b>this year it's the week of</b>

<b>May 10th through the 16th,</b>

<b>attend the candlelight</b>

<b>vigil on the national mall</b>

<b>where 30 to 40,000 people will gather</b>

<b>and hold candles aloft to</b>

<b>honor the fallen heroes.</b>

<b>More than 24,000 of them have their names</b>

<b>on the national memorial.</b>

<b>And then they'll go</b>

<b>away inspired, I think,</b>

<b>and have such a great appreciation</b>

<b>for the men and women in law enforcement.</b>

<b>So to me, that's why it's so important.</b>

<b>And by the way, when we</b>

<b>talk about what's different</b>

<b>between 1984 and today,</b>

<b>there was really no assembly of law</b>

<b>enforcement professionals</b>

<b>and thousands of</b>

<b>survivors on the west front</b>

<b>of the US Capitol or at</b>

<b>the National Law Enforcement</b>

<b>Memorial or on the mall</b>

<b>honoring the men and women</b>

<b>in law enforcement.</b>

<b>That didn't exist in 1984.</b>

<b>It was 1982 actually, the FOP did start</b>

<b>to have a national ceremony in Washington</b>

<b>to honor National Police Week</b>

<b>and Peace Officers Memorial Day.</b>

<b>But those ceremonies were sparse.</b>

<b>There were no survivors there.</b>

<b>There were maybe a few</b>

<b>hundred people today.</b>

<b>There's 30 to 40,000 people that attend,</b>

<b>including thousands of the</b>

<b>surviving family members.</b>

<b>So night and day, as Vivian said,</b>

<b>between 1984 and today,</b>

<b>and all those are</b>

<b>some of the reasons why.</b>

<b>Along those lines, I wanna</b>

<b>ask Vivian before we finish,</b>

<b>I wanna ask her this question.</b>

<b>You mentioned two</b>

<b>organization, one being cops</b>

<b>and the other, I</b>

<b>think, being heroes, right?</b>

<b>Yes.</b>

<b>I'm very familiar with it.</b>

<b>My daughter serves in</b>

<b>central Florida with cops here.</b>

<b>So I go to all their events.</b>

<b>I'm a huge supporter.</b>

<b>But could you let people</b>

<b>know here, our audience,</b>

<b>how they can become involved?</b>

<b>Because apparently both</b>

<b>organizations get support</b>

<b>from people who are not just</b>

<b>survivors from the community.</b>

<b>I'd love to hear you</b>

<b>tell us how to get involved.</b>

<b>Well, Heroes organization,</b>

<b>they're in the phone book.</b>

<b>All they need to do is call up and say,</b>

<b>where can I send a donation?</b>

<b>What can I do to help?</b>

<b>And with cops, basically</b>

<b>the same thing is true.</b>

<b>We do get some grants</b>

<b>from the government,</b>

<b>but there's always need.</b>

<b>I mean, nobody wants to</b>

<b>talk about the financial need,</b>

<b>but it's there</b>

<b>bringing all these people in</b>

<b>and having them all in hotels.</b>

<b>It's a major, major</b>

<b>event to get this done.</b>

<b>And so that's one way.</b>

<b>I know I met a lot of</b>

<b>people when I've gone up</b>

<b>to the Memorial where they</b>

<b>said they're volunteering.</b>

<b>And so they were there</b>

<b>handing out brochures</b>

<b>or answering questions and that is good.</b>

<b>But you do need to</b>

<b>get the public involved.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>The last decade has been</b>

<b>horrible for law enforcement.</b>

<b>Yes, for sure.</b>

<b>And I know my daughter every year,</b>

<b>the cops in central Florida does a gala</b>

<b>and that's open to the public.</b>

<b>And that is one of their</b>

<b>major fundraising events.</b>

<b>And if you want to be</b>

<b>really, really moved,</b>

<b>I mean, some of the</b>

<b>survivors, as you know,</b>

<b>stand up and tell</b>

<b>their story right there.</b>

<b>I mean, in all of its detail.</b>

<b>And I'll tell you, if</b>

<b>you can sit through that</b>

<b>and not have a sense of awe about their</b>

<b>ability to stand up,</b>

<b>I'm sure you've done that.</b>

<b>And that is so impactful.</b>

<b>I can't say enough to our listeners,</b>

<b>if you haven't gotten</b>

<b>involved with cops or heroes, do it.</b>

<b>They need support, they need</b>

<b>volunteers, they need money.</b>

<b>Let's be real, they need money.</b>

<b>So if you would like to donate</b>

<b>to one of those</b>

<b>organizations or both, check it out.</b>

<b>Yes, absolutely.</b>

<b>You know, I wanna jump back in.</b>

<b>We were talking about</b>

<b>National Police Week,</b>

<b>which is coming up</b>

<b>here in May and the events</b>

<b>and Vivian's talked about</b>

<b>it, Craig just talked about it.</b>

<b>I wanna say a little bit</b>

<b>more because, you know,</b>

<b>the focus of course on</b>

<b>Police Week is officers,</b>

<b>law enforcement officers</b>

<b>killed in line of duty,</b>

<b>but it's just so much more than that.</b>

<b>It's a collective coming</b>

<b>together of camaraderie</b>

<b>and an esprit de corps.</b>

<b>And aside from the</b>

<b>immensely impressive awe,</b>

<b>inspiring type of</b>

<b>events, the candlelight vigil</b>

<b>and everything that</b>

<b>else goes on, it's a party.</b>

<b>It's a party to celebrate life.</b>

<b>And it's a party to celebrate police</b>

<b>camaraderie and unity</b>

<b>and something that</b>

<b>Vivian hit on about cops</b>

<b>where you wanna tell</b>

<b>the story to somebody else</b>

<b>and they say, I understand and I know.</b>

<b>Well, now you're with</b>

<b>like-minded people of cops.</b>

<b>And let me tell you</b>

<b>something, the Irish pubs there</b>

<b>and the bars and the parties,</b>

<b>they used to have these</b>

<b>bonfires in the streets.</b>

<b>I don't know that they do that anymore,</b>

<b>but I think it's important</b>

<b>for people that haven't gone.</b>

<b>Not only are you</b>

<b>there to honor the fallen,</b>

<b>you're there to celebrate life.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>And celebrate the profession.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>Yeah.</b>

<b>Vivian, there was a moment, last question</b>

<b>and then I have a comment, quick story,</b>

<b>but there was a moment that</b>

<b>you related to me years ago.</b>

<b>If you recall it, you</b>

<b>were at the memorial</b>

<b>and there were two</b>

<b>officers that were visiting.</b>

<b>It was maybe a weekday,</b>

<b>not many people there.</b>

<b>Yes.</b>

<b>You were at your quote,</b>

<b>it is not how these officers died,</b>

<b>they made them heroes,</b>

<b>it is how they lived.</b>

<b>And you had to maybe</b>

<b>explain it to those two officers.</b>

<b>And when you did it, it</b>

<b>had quite an impact on them.</b>

<b>Do you recall that story?</b>

<b>Yes, I recall that.</b>

<b>And they, before they</b>

<b>left, they asked me my name</b>

<b>and I told them, and this one officer,</b>

<b>you could actually see</b>

<b>the color leave his face.</b>

<b>And he said, you're the one</b>

<b>that wrote that over there?</b>

<b>And I said, yes.</b>

<b>And he said, and I mean,</b>

<b>tears were coming down.</b>

<b>He said, you're the one that let me know,</b>

<b>I don't have to die to be appreciated.</b>

<b>Wow.</b>

<b>I'll never forget that.</b>

<b>And that's so impactful.</b>

<b>The story I wanted to end with is,</b>

<b>we talked about Vivian and my first</b>

<b>encounter with Vivian,</b>

<b>not being all that positive and loving,</b>

<b>but we became great friends</b>

<b>and obviously did a</b>

<b>lot of good work together</b>

<b>to build that memorial and</b>

<b>to help support survivors</b>

<b>and fallen officers and so forth.</b>

<b>But I love the end of that story.</b>

<b>I call it the end,</b>

<b>we're obviously still</b>

<b>gonna be lifelong friends,</b>

<b>but we had just dedicated</b>

<b>the National Law Enforcement Museum.</b>

<b>This is October of 2018.</b>

<b>We first encountered each other in 1985.</b>

<b>So you do the math, that's</b>

<b>basically 33 years later.</b>

<b>We've dedicated the</b>

<b>museum, I'm walking the street,</b>

<b>I'm headed to a reception,</b>

<b>and who do I spot on the street but</b>

<b>Vivian Eney Cross.</b>

<b>And I was so thankful,</b>

<b>it's almost like God said,</b>

<b>you know what, you all</b>

<b>deserve a hug at this point</b>

<b>because you've come full circle.</b>

<b>Nice, nice story.</b>

<b>Very, very important moment for me.</b>

<b>Nice story.</b>

<b>Absolutely.</b>

<b>Let me thank you, Vivian.</b>

<b>Let me thank you on behalf of our heroes</b>

<b>behind the badge audience</b>

<b>for sharing all you've shared today.</b>

<b>You know, we all know that loss</b>

<b>is unfortunately a part of this job.</b>

<b>But what we didn't</b>

<b>know is there are groups,</b>

<b>there weren't back</b>

<b>then, but thanks to you,</b>

<b>there are now groups like</b>

<b>COPS, the memorial itself,</b>

<b>and heroes that can</b>

<b>help someone get through,</b>

<b>not recover fully,</b>

<b>but get through the need</b>

<b>you had to go through.</b>

<b>So I salute you, you</b>

<b>know, I look at grief,</b>

<b>grief can be either a wall or a doorway.</b>

<b>It's your choice.</b>

<b>Guess what Vivian chose?</b>

<b>Vivian chose a doorway, right?</b>

<b>She had every right,</b>

<b>after hearing her story today,</b>

<b>she had every right to</b>

<b>make it a wall, didn't she?</b>

<b>She made it a doorway,</b>

<b>she chose the doorway,</b>

<b>she walked through the doorway.</b>

<b>And on behalf of every law</b>

<b>enforcement officer family,</b>

<b>I wanna thank you for</b>

<b>walking through that door.</b>

<b>It has made a difference.</b>

<b>You have made a difference.</b>

<b>Thank you for guesting on</b>

<b>Heroes Behind the Badge.</b>

<b>Thank you, it was an honor.</b>

<b>I wanna remind our audience,</b>

<b>if you liked anything</b>

<b>that Vivian had to say today,</b>

<b>and there was plenty to like, okay,</b>

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<b>That's it for this episode.</b>

<b>Thank you again, Vivian.</b>

<b>We'll see you next time</b>

<b>on Heroes Behind the Badge.</b>

<b>(upbeat music)</b>