I have been home on extended leave for almost two months now and have been so caught up in family events, reconnecting with old friends, working on my Masters, and getting ready for my next deployment, that I have totally neglected the blog. However, I hope to get some more training videos posted as early as next week.

In the meantime, one of the officers that worked for me at the Summerville Police Department years ago tracked me down the other day and had some real nice things to say about me and the training he received. During that time, Police Dynamics had not yet been developed as a curriculum, but I was still promoting many of the principles. Plus I provided some defensive tactics training to the officers as well.

Earl Worsham was a “cops cop!” He was the one I sent into the high-crime areas like Brownsville to clean out the criminal element. For those of you who have attended a Police Dynamics seminar, you may remember the story about Brownsville that I tell in the Dynamic of Relationships. Crime was so high there that the Post Office would not deliver mail! Rain, snow, sleet, the dark of night, would not stop the US Mail. But Brownsville stopped it!

Earl was tough and effective. But in spite of his toughness, he understood the importance of building trust-based relationships in the communities where he patrolled. He became somewhat of a folk-hero in Brownsville, earning the affectionate title of “Cowboy” by the locals. I thought you might like to read his comments to me, which I post here with his permission:

I was saying how proud I am of your accomplishments, and how thankful I am to have had the privilege to serve under you in Summerville. I wish I had followed you. I can’t underestimate the value of your support as I relentlessly pursued the criminal element. I want you to know that I was so proud to be  a police officer and that your training was the foundation of any sucess that I had.

I knew your expectations and professionally I can honestly say that I stayed within those bounds. You taught me how to conduct myself as an officer, and how to defend myself in my contact with deadly criminal forces. I can’t begin to tell you the times I faced deadly situations that could have went bad without the knowledge you bestowed upon me. It was never the same after you left for me. I will always miss it and will always be a cop in my heart. I hope I did some good.

God bless you and keep you, Ray Nash.
Earl Worsham

Earl, you did a bunch of good! And the lessons we learned working in areas like Brownsville will live on to encourage others…