Thomas Lemmer has been invited to return to the Breaching the Barricade Conference (BTB) for an unprecedented fifth year. Each year, this premiere conference is uniquely focused on building resilience in meeting the challenges of the policing profession. This year, Lemmer will be presenting four sessions on gratitude, adversity, truth, and the importance of being proactive in policing. The full-day conference will be held on Friday, 3 October 2025 at the Farmstead Inn and Conference Center in Shipshewana, Indiana. [Click the link below to read more.]
Category: Courage
Bonhoeffer and Thanksgiving
Timed with the Thanksgiving holiday, Angel Studios has released the film Bonhoeffer – Pastor, Spy, Assassin. The film tells the true life story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran minister, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. He directly challenged the German church of the 1930s and 1940s to reject the heresies demanded by Hitler, which Hitler intended to advance his own power and further his brutal reign. To this date, the living example of clarity, courage, and sacrifice displayed by Bonhoeffer is a blessing. There is cause for thanksgiving. For those among the clergy and others holding positions of authority, including all who work in policing, the film is a recommended resource. [Click the link below to read more.]
I Still Love America, and the Police Profession
Two hundred and forty-eight years have passed since the 4th of July in 1776. I love America. The principles on which this country was created still guide me. The courage of our founders and their commitment to those core principles still inspire me. They were flawed people, who were determined to secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and those who would come after them. The work of securing those liberties continues until this very day. Our nation’s military personnel defend our nation from threats abroad. America’s police officers secure those blessings within communities across this nation. Before this day ended, I just wanted to say again, there is much to love there. [Click the link below to read more.]
Resistance and Collaboration with Evil
Each of us is commanded to do good. Everyone. The obligation to do good is always present, and it is particularly intense in the presence of evil. In our modern times, evil is not discussed much, and the notion of “good versus evil” leaves many people uncomfortable. That is unfortunate. Without contemplation about the timeless struggle in defense of good, we are all at risk of being unprepared. The need to be prepared for challenges, while seeking to advance good, is particularly important for all who hold positions of authority. It is here that a 2023 film set during the Nazi occupation of Belgium is a recommended resource. Not as a look back, but as preparation for what may await any, or all of us. It is an essential consideration for all working within the policing profession. [Click the link below to read more.]
Lemmer Returns for MSPCE 2023
Thomas Lemmer, the founder of Secure 1776, will once again be presenting at the Midwest Security & Police Conference/Expo (MSPCE). The annual two-day event is hosted by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. MSPCE 2023 will be held this week, on 10 and 11 August 2023, at the Tinley Park Convention Center, in Tinley Park, Illinois. The expo will showcase the latest products and services from more than 130 vendors. The event also includes a comprehensive training conference accredited by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Lemmer will be presenting two of the conference training sessions on 10 August. The first, “You Ask Yourself, Why Me? Why Now?” The second, “Leadership and the Police Policy Principles.” [Click the link below to read more.]
Memorial Day, Lest We Forget
There was a time before smartphones. A time before the internet. Perhaps when we relied upon the people to be smart, we were a far more thoughtful nation. It was not possible to scroll through mountains of the inane in a mirage seeking significance. No, its more than perhaps, an ease of technology makes true contemplation more difficult. Not so long ago, if you sought to remember a far-off loved one on a holiday, you had to plan ahead. It required actually writing a meaningful message, as there were no gifs or jpegs. If you sought to leave a written message, you needed to rely on the post office, and you needed a stamp. A particular stamp I first saw as a child comes to mind today. Why that stamp? Why today? Because today is Memorial Day, not the start of summer. [Click the link below to read more.]
Paying Respects to Officer Areanah Preston
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) will take the lead in paying respects to slain Police Officer Areanah M. Preston. Sadly, the department has considerable experience in how to render honors to a fallen member. Police Officer Preston was the second CPD officer murdered this year. The pain of the loss of Police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso is still raw. Areanah is due our respect for how she lived, and for her willingness to be a peacemaker. She and her family are owed our unending thanks and prayers for the cost she paid for being a police officer. We encourage all who can attend the wake or funeral to do so, and if you cannot to at least pause, reflect, and sincerely pray for her and her family. But what else? [Click the link below to read more.]
Lemmer Presenting at the 2023 ILEETA Conference
The International Law Enforcement Educators & Trainers Association (ILEETA) is holding its 20th annual conference in St. Louis. This year the conference will be held from 20 thru 25 March 2023. Our founder, Thomas Lemmer, will be presenting two sessions of his newest course offering, Police Policy Principles and Training. Without question, highly-effective police organizations establish and adhere to sound policies. When they do so, those agencies can more readily and simultaneously ensure constitutional policing, enhance public safety, and foster officer wellness. To be sound, their policies must meet the essential police policy principles identified in the model. Highly-effective police agencies then also ensure that their policy implementation and training program efforts are coordinated efforts. [Click the link below to read more.]
Tragedy, Another Murdered Police Officer
Late yesterday afternoon, Chicago Police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso was murdered as he honored his sacred oath. He and other police officers were responding to a domestic-related call of a man with a gun. As Officer Vasquez Lasso was coming to the defense of a victim, and a community, he was wounded by the offender. Despite the efforts of his fellow officers and medical personnel, Officer Vasquez Lasso did not survive the attack. His murder is a tragedy for his family, and a tragedy for a city that struggles against lawlessness. [Click the link below to read more.]
Two Veteran’s Day Items – Thank You
On this Veteran’s Day 2022, Secure 1776 remembers all those who have honorably worn an armed forces uniform in service to our nation. We encourage all who have not yet read our 2021 feature, “Fear is a Confusion Weapon,” to do so today. It is an inspirational story. In that posting we highlight the leadership of World War II veteran Roddie Edmonds. He continued to fight against evil, even while a prisoner of war. We salute the courage of all the soldiers who stood with him there, and throughout the history of our nation. We also take a moment to recommend a bit of Chicago journalism posted today. That article profiles the photographic work of Thomas Sanders. We recommend all passing through Midway Airport to see his photo exhibit of American veterans. We proudly join those today remembering our military veterans. [Click the link below to read more.]
Honoring Officer Lichwala, Photo Essay
Our time on Earth is limited. The length of a life is important, yet far less so than how that life is lived. The impact a person has on and for others is the truest measure. Such is the life lesson Chicago Police Officer Malgorzata Lichwala has shown us all. Maggie, as she is affectionately known by her family, friends, and fellow officers, has long been a force for good. She has done the challenging work of being a police officer in Chicago. As a member of the 25th District Community Policing Office, she has lived what it means to serve others. On this past Tuesday, the police and community gathered outside her Chicago home to honor her. To celebrate her. To say thank you to a woman who has served her community well. Even as Maggie continues to battle terminal cancer, she lives a life of courage and inspiration. [Click the link below to read more.]
Officer Ella Grace French, Honored Police Star Ceremony
On Sunday morning, 7 August 2022, Chicago Police Department (CPD) Star 15013 was formally retired in an emotional ceremony. It was the star worn by Police Officer Ella Grace French. I never had the privilege to properly meet Officer French. But one year ago, in the very early morning hours of 8 August 2021, I was privileged to stand among the couple of hundred CPD members, who met her, as she arrived at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. We were there because on the evening of 7 August 2021, Ella’s tour of duty came to a tragic end. We were there to honor her. To mourn her passing. It was there, for the first time, that I also came to be in the presence of Ella’s mother, Elizabeth French. There were heartbreaking images and sounds that will remain always. But there were also powerful and enduring images of love, courage, and strength. [Click the link below to read more.]
American Independence Day, Our Day
The Fourth of July is the most common, and date specific reference to a momentous historical event. The declaration of American independence by thirteen British colonies. Even now, American Independence Day is our day. I mean that both for all of us as Americans, and for Secure 1776. When I was setting up my consulting firm and website, I did so out of concern for both my profession and for my nation. Within our national borders, no profession is more directly related to securing the blessings of liberty than the one whose members have sworn an oath to the United States Constitution, and in that act, committed themselves, at the risk of their own lives, to enforcing the law, seeking public safety, and defending individual liberty. The courage, commitment, and unity displayed on July 4th, 1776 should, to this very day, be passionately honored, celebrated, and advanced by all Americans. For those concerned about justice, equality, liberty, and public safety, American Independence Day, should provide encouragement and renewed commitment to the principles on which the nation was founded. At Secure 1776, we still believe that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [Click the link below to read more.]
Buried Yesterday, Is There Resolve Today?
In our New Year’s Day editorial, we made clear that 2021 was not a “happy new year” relative to public safety. Our founder also made clear that for 2022 to be a “happy new year,” resolve would be required. On 29 December 2021, Bradley Police Sergeant Rittmanic’s last known words were to her attacker, as her own gun was pointed at her head. “Just leave, you don’t have to do this. Please just go. Please don’t. Please don’t.” Yet, her attacker was determined to kill her anyway and did. Yesterday, Illinois buried Sergeant Marlene Rittmanic. Today, we ask whether our community is fully resolved to say: “Enough!” In 2022, will we demand our elected officials and the media stop demonizing the police? Will our courts be the place where consequences occur, or will the streets continue to be the place where the truth about consequences are most visible? [Click the link below to read more.]
Defending Officer Ella French, Spectacle Chicago
As we mentioned on 30 October in our post “More Spectacle Chicago, Not Remarkable,” a combined 26 members of the Chicago City Council have the power to be remarkable. Why twenty-six? Well, in a 50-member council, 26 is a majority vote. But, that alone is not remarkable. The council votes in every session. A measure gaining 26 votes happens regularly. In fact, Chicago mayors rely on at least 26 members consistently voting as the mayor desires. Not remarkable. This has been true for generations. Today 20 members of the council sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The issue, Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). These 20 alderman expressed their assessment that Andrea Kersten should not continue to lead COPA. She is currently COPA’s interim chief administrator. She was also the chief investigator who approved COPA’s flawed report recommending slain Police Officer Ella French be suspended. [Click the link below to read more.]