Virginia Beach Police Department, Virginia
End of Watch Thursday, August 7, 2008
Reflections for Detective Michael Smith Phillips
Det.Phillips Rest in Peace.
C.O. Stephen D. Celestino
Westchester County Dept. of Correction, NY
August 8, 2008
RIP BROTHER
Officer K.H Jordan
WPPD
August 8, 2008
Another Brother and Warrior has left to take his rest in the Summer Lands, after his fearless stand against those who are a threat to society. Detective Phillips, my prayers are with you on your journey. My prayers are also with the family, friends and coworkers of Detective Phillips. It always seems harder when it hits so close to home. To my friends with the Va. Beach PD Detectives Division, I will say a special prayer for you and take heart that this Warrior is at rest in the Summer Lands.
Investigator C.P. Smith
Amherst County Sheriff’s Office - Virginia
Investigator Christopher P. Smith
Amherst County Sheriff’s Office - Virginia
August 8, 2008
Mike and I worked for Hampton together, and he was a good coworker and officer who truly loved his job. I was shocked and saddened to hear the news. My wife and I extend our deepest sympathy to the Phillips family, as well as the VBPD and HPD.
Officer Jason Mills
Wayne County NY Probation Department
August 8, 2008
Rest In Peace Detective. We'll take the watch from here. Know that the perps are in custody and will pay for your death. My condolences to your family and the Virginia Beach PD.
PO Fred Nordt
Lake Success PD, Long Island, NY
August 8, 2008
My family would like to send our condolences to the family, friends, and fellow co-workers of Detective Michael Phillips~you're in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time. May God give you the strength to carry on and help heal your hearts. May you find comfort and support with those around you.
God bless you & rest in peace Detective Phillips!
Gail M. Pabst
Aunt of a fallen MI P.O. eow 2004
August 8, 2008
Rest In Peace.
#2959
U.S. Marshals
August 8, 2008
"The Final Inspection"
The policeman stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining.
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, policeman.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My church have you been true?"
The policeman squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't,
Because those of us who carry badges
can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
and at times my talk was rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
Because the streets are awfully tough.
But I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep....
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fear.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't.....I'll understand.
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, policeman,
You've borne your burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in hell."
Author Unknown
Anonymous
August 8, 2008
God bless you, brother, and thank you for your service. May the Lord watch over your family and your brothers in blue and keep them in this time of tragedy. You will forever be remembered.
Deputy S. H. Perry 0206
Gloucester County Sheriff's Office
August 8, 2008
may god be with your friends and family. Gone but NEVER forgotten. Rest in peace brother
VSP
Special Agent
VIRGINIA STATE POLICE
August 8, 2008
RIP brother
Sergeant John Coleman
Chesapeake Police Dept
August 8, 2008
God bless you and your family and your co workers. Your a True Hero. Rest in peace . From the Family of Det William Rolniak eow 2-4-04
Anonymous
August 8, 2008
Brother, know you did not die in vain. There is still work for you to do. You will know when that time comes. For now Brother rest. Those that are here will comfort your family. Like those that have gone before you there will be a call it may be in the day it may be in the night. But you will will be ready. One of us will be alone, scared and in pain. That is when you will be called upon. To comfort them in that moment to let them them know all will be alright and to lead them home. Brother until that time comes rest now you deserve it. We will finish what you started.
Heroes Live Forever
Det. Andrew J. Raphael V.P. P.U.T. VIII
Hallandale Beach P.D.
August 8, 2008
God bless you for your sacrifice.
Anonymous
August 8, 2008
Today we have lost a brother. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers. Your brothers in Brown will Never Forget the Ultimate Sacrifice that you made on August 7, 2008. We will always remember and carry on your Legacy.
We will all stand together along that thin blue line.
Deputy K. Grizzard
VBSO
August 8, 2008
Mike, I'm at a loss for words. The only thing I can think about was how you could talk. You could talk to anyone about anything. Thats just who you were. Always quick with a smile and a positive word. You always appreciated what others took for granted. You loved life, your job, and most of all you family. Always quick to tell a story about your kids and no matter how many long hours you worked or how many times you got called out, you always found time to lend a hand to a friend in need no matter what sacrafice you had to make. Now you have given the ultimate sacrafice, and for that we will all be a little safer. You are truly our hero. I know you will be watching over us from above. Rest in peace brother. We love you!
E J Scott
Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office
August 8, 2008
By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:
"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.
And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...
"Baa."
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth."
**Rest in peace my brother. You've secured your place in Heaven.**
Sergeant C. T. White
Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office
August 8, 2008
Rest in peace. Your dedication and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Keep a watch over us.
Officer K.A. Lokey
Virginia Beach Police Department
August 8, 2008
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Phillips family during this very trying and difficult time. Please know that you can find comfort in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Brian Jones
Citizen
August 8, 2008
Justice will be served on those who took you from us, brother.
Anonymous
August 8, 2008
It is a sad time in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The job we do is inherently dangerous, yet every day we leave our homes and our families to serve the citizens of Virginia. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Det. Phillips and the Virginia Beach PD community. Your brothers and sisters in blue from Fairfax feel your pain.
Police Officer First Class
Fairfax County Police Department, VA
August 8, 2008
Rest in peace brother, your sacrifice will never be forgotten.....
Detective Edward Carlile #814
Northfield PD (OH)
August 8, 2008
RIP Officer Phillips. Thanks for your years of service, 37 years old i usually don't write much on these however your age hit me very hard, my Father was the same age when he was taken from us i was 8 years old i still remember like it was today. And for the POS that took your life hopefully they receive the Death Penalty.
A Herman
Son Of Fallen Officer L Herman EOW 6/1988
August 8, 2008
Rest, brother.
Cpl Steve Headley
Mishawaka, IN police
August 8, 2008
What a senseless tragedy. Watch over your family in blue Mike as I am sure they will watch over your family here. May everyone who loved you find peace knowing you are in a safer place, walking a safer beat.
luvavbcop
An Officer's Wife
August 8, 2008
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