Wives Behind the Badge,

Inc. is dedicated to

providing resources and

emotional support to law

enforcement families. Houma– Louisiana Passenger

Safety Task Force, Louisiana

State Police Troop C, and the

Houma Police Department

conducted a free child passenger

safety seat check-up event on

Saturday, November 8th from

10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The event

took place at the Houma

Walmart, 1633 Martin Luther

King Jr. Boulevard, Houma, LA.

No appointment was necessary.

Child safety seats and booster

seats save lives. They offer the

best protection for children in

the event of a crash. During the

past 30 years, approximately

9,000 lives have been saved by

the use of child restraints

according to the U.S.

Department of Transportation’s

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA).

Nearly 3 out of 4 child restraints

are installed improperly.

It is important that caregivers

ensure children are properly

restrained in an appropriate

child safety seat, booster seat, or

seat belt—every trip, every time.

That is why they are committed

to educating parents and

caregivers on the correct

installation and use of child

restraints. For more information

on future child passenger safety

check-up events, see the contact

information below.

Contact Information:

Tfc. Evan Harrell

Louisiana State Police

Public Affairs Section – Troop C

Office- (985) 857-3680

OR

PFC Michael Toups #254

Houma Police Department

Passenger Safety Coordinator

985-855-6347

Troop A Hosts Public Safety Expo Baton Rouge, LA — State Police

Troop A hosted its 7th Annual

“Troop A Public Safety Expo” on

Saturday, November 1st at the

Blue Bayou Waterpark overflow

parking lot on the corner of

Highland Road and Interstate 10.

The event was a fun-filled, fami-

ly-oriented, health and safety

awareness event provided free

of charge to the public. It

included public safety displays,

free food and drinks, live music,

health screenings, K9 exhibi-

tions, and interactive games.

Held the day after Halloween,

children were encouraged to

dress up and enjoy trick or treat-

ing in a safe and friendly place.

K9 Team Named

Champions

2

BRPD “Boo With the

Blue”

2

Hollywood Style Riv-

er Rescue

3

Meet Your State Staff 3

Positions to Fill 3

November News 4

Hats Off To... 5

Inside this issue:

Multi—Agency Car Seat Check in Terrebonne Parish

November 2014 Volume 1, Issue 1

For our members, friends, family, and the entire LA Law Enforcement Community!

How to Volunteer 5

WBTB Programs 6

BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge

Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday

that the EBRSO K-9 Team took champion-

ship honors at the 2014 United States Police

Canine Association National Trial.

Captain James Broussard and Lt. Steven

Whitstine along with K-9 units Indo and Tigo

attended 2014 USPCA trials held in Wilson,

North Carolina from October 19-24 where

they competed against 45 other agencies

with 104 police K-9 teams. The East Baton

Rouge Sheriff's Office K-9 Division represented

Louisiana in USCPA Region 10.

Capt. Broussard and K-9 Indo took the 2014

USPCA National Champions title. They are the

first team from Region 10 to take the prestig-

ious title in the history of the event. Indo and

Broussard racked up 693.34 points out of a

possible 700 as they recorded perfect scores in

three of the five events.

K-9 Indo and his human teammate also

claimed a smattering of individual awards in-

cluding the Top Dog, Tom Larson, 1st Place

Criminal Apprehension, 1st Place Scent Work

and 1st Place Agility Awards. Lt. Whitstine

and K-9 Tigo placed 5th in Agility and

claimed a National Certification at the event.

The group rescued a paddle boarder during

the Big River Regional paddleboat race in

August. The woman nearly drowned when

she lost her balance, fell off her board and

was getting sucked toward the pumps of a

dredging barge on the Mississippi River.

Buie and Childers first noticed the woman in

distress and moved their boat to block her

from getting swept into the current. Spillman

and Dreher assisted the other two deputies in

a tow when the first deputies' boat started to

get pulled toward danger, too.

BATON ROUGE- Four deputies from three

different departments were honored by the

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff Thursday,

October 16th.

East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Deputy

John Buie and Livingston Parish Sheriff's

Office Sergeant Carl Childers were given the

Medal of Valor award. Two deputies from the

West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office, Captain

Brian Spillman and Deputy Mike Dreher, were

awarded the Distinguished Service Award.

The deputies demonstrated exceptional

courage and decisiveness by taking action

without regard to personal safety, an award

citation reads.

"The successful rescue is indicative of the

danger inherent in working in marine law

enforcement operations on the Mississippi

River," the citation continues.

Continued on Page 3.

EBRSO K9 Team Named National Champions

Deputies Honored for Hollywood-Style River Rescue

something for the community, to give back to the community,” said Cpl. Don Coppola with BRPD. "And this is a safe, fun way for kids to come out and enjoy Halloween in a safe atmosphere." They even rolled out a bomb fighting tool to help pass out candy. There was also a haunted house, music and a costume contest. Police also offered safety tips for those planning to go trick-or-treating Friday.

"First and foremost is safety. We recommend if you go trick-or-treating, maybe go in groups. Take a flashlight or maybe a glow stick with you. While crossing the street, make sure cars aren't coming in the lane and just have fun," Coppola explained.

He added adults should check all candy

given to children.

BATON ROUGE—The Baton Rouge Police Department hosted its first community Hal-loween party Thursday, October 30th. "Boo with the Blue" was free to the public and geared toward younger children. It was held at BRPD's new headquarters on Airline Highway from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Officials said it was the perfect way to enjoy Halloween in a family friendly environment. "Baton Rouge police and Young Leaders Academy came together and wanted to do

BRPD Hosts “Boo With The Blue” Halloween Party

Page 2 La Auxiliary - Wives Behind the Badge NEWSLETTER

Courtney Graves—Assistant Director

Jenna Gregory, Secretary— KARE Liaison,

Social Media Liaison, and Auxiliary Forums

Liaison

Brandy Jordan—Treasurer

Rebecca Falcon— BLK Liaison and

Louisiana Bullet Editor

Our Staff

“It's something that we enjoy getting, but it's

just part of our job," Captain Brian Spillman

said. "We work together as a group when we

are out there doing these type of events and

it was nice to be recognized for our work," he

added.

River Rescue Continued….

As the Louisiana Auxiliary experiences

exponential growth, there are volunteer

positions that we are seeking to fill. In order

to claim a position, you MUST be a LA

Auxiliary member (see page 5 on how to join)!

Positions are subject to change as interest is

growing FAST. Here is a list of available posi-

tions as of October:

*Welcome Classes/BLET Program Coordina-

tor

**Please contact Brooke Lowe with interest!

Vacant Positions to Fill

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

Brooke Lowe Meghan Olinger

Courtney Graves Jenna Gregory

Brandy Jordan Rebecca Falcon

Wives Behind the Badge, Inc. is an all-

volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to

providing support services to law

enforcement families. Here’s a brief

introduction of your state staff!

Brooke Lowe—Director, Blue Line Kids Di-

rector and Auxiliary Assistant

Meghan Olinger— Sponsorship Manager,

Agency Liaison and Auxiliary Event

Planner, and Assistant Director

Meet the State Staff

November News

Page 4 La Auxiliary - Wives Behind the Badge NEWSLETTER

Do you have any articles or announcements that

you would like to see featured in next month’s

article of the LA Auxiliary—Wive’s Behind the

Badge Newsletter?

Please email your articles to

blk.la@wivesbehindthebadge.

…..ALL of our volunteers!

“Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.”

-Henry Ford

A BIG thank you to all of our volun-

teers. LAWBTB is growing by leaps

and bounds and we could not

achieve this success without the

many contributions of our volun-

teers:

Beth Donahue

Brandy Jordan

Brooke Lowe

Christine Masotti

Courtney Graves

Deborah Deel

Emily Spoon

Erika Lolkus

Heather Meek

Heidi Wall

Jan Miller

Jenna Gregory

Jennifer Comardelle

Juli McCoy

Kim Gonzales

Lauren Coulon

Meghan Olinger

Mendi Keatts

Rachel Foye

Rebecca Falcon

Richelle Simmons

Keep watch on future newsletters as

we showcase a “Volunteer

Spotlight” of one of our volunteers!

Our HatsOff To…

How to Volunteer

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

If you are interested in joining the committee and becoming more involved with our

organization, please fill out our application at www.wivesbehindthebadge.org and send it to: volunteer@wivesbehindthebadge.org.

Families Behind the Badge Support

Forums

Our online support forums offer support

and a safe place for the families of law

enforcement officers to connect and

share. We welcome all family members

and officers themselves to join in the

discussions. *Membership is always free!

Blue Line Kids

The Blue Line Kids Program features a

separate secure online forum for law

enforcement children, ages 12-17, to

connect and talk. The program also

features contests, giveaways, and games

for law enforcement kids of all ages.

Educational Scholarships

We offer educational scholarships to the

spouses and dependent children of

federal, state, and local law enforcement

officers. Through special fundraisers,

grants, and donations from our

supporters, we are able to provide

financial assistance to help police fami-

lies complete their higher educational

goals.

WBTB Support Forums

Our online support forums offer

friendship, support, understanding, and

entertainment to spouses and significant

others of police officers. Our members

span the United States, Canada, Europe,

and Australia, and combine to make one

incredibly unique sisterhood.

*Membership is always free!

H.A.L.O.S. Program

Our H.A.L.O.S. (Helping Aid Lost

Officers Survivors) Program offers

sympathy and support in the event of a

line of duty death. The verified members

of Wives Behind the Badge are “Angels”

to the surviving spouses, families, and

departments of fallen law enforcement

officers and fallen K-9 officers.

Auxiliary Committees

Our state Auxiliary Committees act as a

local and state extension of the

programs and resources we offer nation-

ally. Our ultimate goal is to have volun-

teers working in each state to make sure

every law enforcement family is taken

care of.

Wives Behind the Badge,Inc. Programs

Wives Behind the Badge, Inc.

PO BOX 3126

Quartz Hill, CA 93586

Telephone: (661) 202-8604 Fax: (559) 408-5570 www.wivesbehindthebadge.org

info@wivesbehindthebadge.org

www.facebook.com/wivesbehindthebadge

Wives Behind the Badge, Inc. Louisiana Auxiliary

Brooke Lowe, Director 318—453—0555

louisiana.auxiliary@wivesbehindthebadge.org

www.facebook.com/LouisianaWivesBehindTheBadge