• New Year President's Message
    Posted On: Jan 02, 2014

    Sisters and Brothers,

    On behalf of the Executive Board of the FOP of Ohio, I want to take a moment to wish all of you a Happy New Year.  The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio enjoyed an outstanding year in 2013.  I would like to point out some of the highlights of the past year:

    The State Lodge held its first ever “Lobby Day” and about 100 members filled the halls of the Statehouse lobbying legislators on the priorities of the FOP.

    The FOP of Ohio held its first event to honor Ohio’s Finest Law Enforcement Officer and a Civilian of the Year award.  There were many great nominees but Orlando Smith of the Cincinnati Police Department was the inaugural winner of this prestigious award.

    Queen City Lodge #69 hosted the National FOP Conference; the first time since the 1950’s an Ohio city hosted the biennial conference of the National FOP.  They did an outstanding job and were recognized by the State Lodge as the Ohio FOP Lodge of the Year for the work they did on the conference and in representing their members.

    Tom Martin, of Queen City Lodge #69, was named Member of the Year of the State Lodge.  His years of dedication and service to the Order were recognized.  He is so deserving of this outstanding honor.

    The FOP fought for, and won, partial restoration of funding for the Continuing Professional Training of law enforcement officers in Ohio and in 2014, every officer is mandated to have 4 hours of paid training.  There is more work to do on this topic and we will continue to fight.

    The State Lodge began a recruiting effort to help local lodges recruit members into the FOP.  It is our goal to have every eligible law enforcement officer in Ohio in a local FOP lodge.  We have a lot work to do but we are moving forward every day.

    The FOP fought against internet cafes and illegal gambling that popped up all over Ohio and we were successful in helping to convince the legislature that these illegal operations needed shut down.

    The FOP fought for increased penalties for human trafficking, to allow more flexibility in sentencing for Judges for felonies of the fourth and fifth degree, for a tax exemption for law enforcement officers who buy items in furtherance of their official capacity, to maintain the training requirements for carrying a concealed weapon, for local control of law enforcement training dollars, for more funding for local governments and many other legislative priorities.

    The FOP remains the largest, most influential, most respected voice for law enforcement officers in Ohio and across the nation.

    THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HAPPENED IN 2013….ACCORDING TO ODMP.ORG, NOT ONE OHIO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WAS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY.  We pray for the families, friends and co-workers of the 105 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2013.  We pray for the families, friends and co-workers of the 810 Ohioans killed in the line of duty and the 21,584 Americans killed in the line of duty in our nation’s history.

    We are grateful for your service to Ohio and your local communities.  We are grateful for your membership in the Fraternal Order of Police.  We are honored to serve you.  We wish and pray that 2014 will be a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and SAFE New Year for all of the members of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.

    Jay McDonald
    President


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