Worst words to hear on the desk: 'Officer down'

In my 23 years in television, unfortunately, I've heard the phrase 'Officer down' screech out of the police scanners on more than one occasion.

It's just awful. You get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, but have to mobilize into action.

You send reporters and crews to the various scenes as fast as you can. There are always more than one: the initial shooting scene, the suspect search location OR wherever the arrested suspect has been transported, the hospital where the officer was taken, CPPA HQ or FOP Hall....just to name a few.

If the incident happens overnight or when there are no crews, it's a bigger challenge but still necessary to mobilize quickly, touch base with a manager or boss, and then start calling in personnel/crews to cover the story and get to the scene...


My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of Officer Josh Miktarian. Even those of us who never knew him see what a wonderful human being he was and are affected and saddened by this senseless act.



I was on the news desk when Officer Derek Owens was struck down in the line of duty. It was just awful. What made the entire incident even more horrifying was when reports came out saying that Officer Owens may have actually made radio calls to the dispatcher after he had been shot. Hearing an injured officer speaking on a two-way radio is something I never want to hear again.