I first want to thank you for your confidence in me and allowing me to lead such an amazing organization. Several years ago, when I raised my hand to be Governor for District 7 (because Amy Osburn threw an elbow in my ribs while the current governor was looking at me), I never thought it would go this far. That Governor position turned into Sergeant at Arms, to V.P. to where I am today as President. I am forever grateful to those who taught me and mentored me through that process.

I took this office at a time where our foundation was shaken. Where in the state of Kansas we had lost three officers in three months, then September 28th happened, and we ticked up one more with Sgt. Heimann. The death of Sgt. Heimann hit a little closer to home because he worked for the Hays Police Department, the home department of our immediate past president Tim Greenwood and former Sgt. At Arms Phillip Gage. Sgt. Heimann was one of theirs. Just as Sgt. Heimann was one of theirs, Deputy Elijah Ming, Officer Hunter Simocic, and Undersheriff Brandon Gaede was one of “theirs” too. They were friends, family, classmates, and acquaintances to members of this association. The first letter I wrote in K.P.O.A. letterhead was to a widow and her children. That is heavy.

Every time we lose an officer it causes a wound in us. It causes a shockwave to ripple through our profession, our career, and our personal lives. We carry that weight as we proceed through the next months. We carry it on the traffic stops, the domestic calls, death scenes. There’s that ten-mile stare through our windshield as we sit parked thinking over how close the last call was. There is the irritability when we get home because we think “Nobody understands”. It is heavy and it all adds up. 

As anything in life, it’s what we do after something happens that matters. I want you to ask yourself something. “Am I hanging onto the things that are heavy?” “Am I carrying things that aren’t meant for me?” If the answer is yes (for most of us it is) then I want you to focus on the next thing….. What am I doing about it? Self-care is the most important thing you can do to ensure the darkness of this profession doesn’t win and to help ensure you have a solid, healthy career. To some it looks like an afternoon wetting a line, maybe sitting in the tree stand on a nice fall afternoon, hitting up the local yoga joint and getting a good relaxing stretch, a run, a hard session at the gym, healthy chaos (paintball or other combat sports), or finding a solid therapist who “gets it”. Those are all great things, and I want to encourage you to stay the course! Don’t lose yourself in the dark moments of this career. You are so much more than a badge. You are a father, mother, friend, and we need you here.

If you are struggling with things, struggling with the concept of self-care, or just need some resources, please reach out to me. We have a great network of people in this organization, and we can get you the tools to help. Understand, it is ok to not be ok. It is ok to ask for help. K.P.O.A. is here to help, just reach out.

I know this first letter from the President is a little heavy, but I feel it is necessary with the events that have taken place recently. As you can see, I am heavy on self-care and mental health. It is because I have been there. I had brothers who jumped in the trench and showed me the way out. Now I know the way out. Just ask. (bmoore@kechiks.gov)

Enough with the heavy!!! There is a lot of work to do in this next legislative session. Let’s go forth with our mission and do what we do to preserve our profession and keep Kansas an amazing place to live. Keep an eye on your emails for updates and things we are working on.

Love ya’ll,

Braden Moore