5 Things Every Department Chief Needs to do Now Before the Unthinkable

America's Foremost Expert on Line-of-Duty Death Memorials, John Cooley, veteran of the LAPD, has some end of career warnings.

When a law enforcement officer is killed, the practiced objectivity of a department shatters. Suddenly, police leaders who are trained to take charge and solve problems are faced with an agonizing reality: dealing with the loss of one of their own is intensely personal, and it is incredibly difficult to remain organized when you are grieving.

For over a decade, Sgt. John Cooley served as the Officer-in-Charge of the LAPD’s Employee Assistance Unit and the department’s Funeral Coordinator, managing more than 80 police funerals—including 18 line-of-duty deaths. Widely recognized as the nation's premier authority on police memorial services, Cooley has spent his retirement educating agencies on how to handle the logistical and emotional aftermath of a tragedy.

If you are a Police Chief, Sheriff, or Department Head, the responsibility of honoring a fallen hero—and guiding your department through the darkness—ultimately falls on your shoulders. Based on his decades of experience, here are the five critical things Sgt. Cooley wants every law-enforcement leader to know before the unthinkable happens.

1. "Closure" is Not Synonymous with Burial

Because police leaders are natural problem solvers, their instinct during a crisis is to take control and make rapid decisions. Cooley frequently witnessed well-meaning police chiefs rush to schedule a funeral within mere days of a death, believing they were helping the family achieve swift "closure".

However, closure is a long journey, not a destination reached by closing a casket lid. When departments rush the timeline, grieving families often feel sidelined and overwhelmed, as if the department's agenda is being crammed down their throats. Leaders must remember to offer "guidance, not instructions," giving traumatized families the patience and time they need to make meaningful choices about the services.

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• Acknowledge targeting motivated by bias against a person’s profession.

• Provide stronger legal tools and penalties to deter violence.

• Offer clearer recourse and support for affected officers and

2. You Need a "Service Provider," Not an "Event Planner"

If a line-of-duty death occurs today, who is your funeral coordinator? Many agencies mistakenly default to their special events coordinator or patrol commander. As a result, the focus shifts to logistics—parking cars, managing traffic, and seating dignitaries—while the critical "people issues" become a disaster.

Cooley insists there is a profound difference between an event planner and a service provider. A true funeral coordinator must step outside the comfort zone of tactical logistics and immerse themselves in the human elements of bereavement. Their primary job is to listen to the family, coordinate emotional support, and navigate the psychological complexities of a traumatized department.

3. Your Protocol Must Be "Your Agency, Your Protocol"

When crisis strikes, it is too late to discover that your department's funeral protocol is incompatible with your actual organizational structure or resources. One of the most common mistakes agencies make is borrowing a neighboring department's 70-page manual and simply changing the word "deputy" to "officer". There is no universal, one-size-fits-all plan.

A funeral protocol should not be a lengthy narrative; it should follow the universal ABCs of police reporting: Accurate, Brief, and Complete. It needs to be a user-friendly action plan composed of bullet points and checklists that tell your team exactly what to do, when to do it, and who is responsible.

4. Practice "Compassionate Notifications"

Police culture prizes stoicism, but carrying that callousness into the station house following an officer's death is destructive. Cooley strongly advocates for "Compassionate Notifications," insisting that everyone—from the newest recruit to the Chief of Police—deserves to be told of a tragedy gently.

There is a stark difference between abruptly calling a commander and saying, "John was just killed," versus taking a few extra seconds to say, "Chief, it's difficult for me to tell you this, but there was a shooting...". Giving the listener a few seconds to emotionally process the incoming blow takes minimal effort, but it is the compassionate, necessary thing to do.

5. Adopt the "If Not Me, Who?" Philosophy

People experiencing acute grief are paralyzed; they rarely know what to ask for, nor will they seek out help on their own. Cooley stresses that offering "lip service"—such as handing a widow a card for a psychologist or suggesting she read a book—is a failure of duty.

Every department leader and funeral coordinator must adopt the mantra: "If not me, who?". If a family needs counseling, don't just give them a number; dial the phone and make the appointment for them. If they need to understand the funeral planning process, sit down and read the literature with them. True service means stepping into the void and doing the heavy lifting for those who cannot do it themselves.